Business Support Officer

About the role

This is an exciting time to join our Business Support Team! We are a new local authority, created in April 2021. We are at the beginning of our journey of shaping what the Waste team looks like at West Northants Council, so there is plenty of opportunity to develop processes, and shape our offering so we can provide the best possible service to our colleagues in our Place directorate ad well as local residents.

We currently have 2 posts that we are recruiting to, 1 full time post (37 hours) and 1 part time post (25 hours). During the application if you can mention either "Full time role", "Part time role" or "Both roles" as this will allow us to direct your applications to the right people.

What will you be doing?

Working alongside our colleagues within the waste team, you will support the team by assisting with setting up suppliers, purchase orders and help pay invoices using our finance system (ERP). You will also be interacting with residents by phone to help solve problems and queries. Keep address data up to date on Bartec, as well as general administrative work around the office.

About you

You do not need experience across all aspects of the job as that will form part of your development journey, but you will need experience of taking minutes and have customer service skills, as this is the central to the role.

You will need to have a solution driven and adaptable approach to working, thrive in a busy environment with a positive approach to challenges!

Ideally you will have previous experience of using the waste systems ERP gold or Bartec, as well as local geographical knowledge. You will be able to smoothly manage your workload, whilst being able use your own initiative to 'think outside of the box’. You will use your great attention to detail to ensure that all customer and supplier details are correct on the waste systems.

If you have got experience within a local authority or waste and cleansing services organisation that is great, but not essential; being adept at building relationships with key hiring managers and quickly developing an understanding of the Business Support Officer roles, are most important.

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. 

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU  

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.