Job Description

Details

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Reference number

415269

Salary

25,746
25,488 per annum. Rising to 25,746 per annum on successful completion of probation.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

Administrative Officer
C1 APT

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Digital and Operations

Type of role

Administration / Corporate Support

Contact Centre

Other

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

10

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Piccadilly Gate, Manchester

About the job

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Job summary

Are you an excellent communicator who enjoys helping others?



Do you love working as part of a team, bringing an enthusiastic approach every day?



Would you like to make a difference to children and learners lives across England?



If so, then we'd love to hear from you!


This is an exciting opportunity for hardworking individuals to join our Application, Regulatory and Contact (ARC) team. Located in Piccadilly Gate, Manchester, your role as an ARC advisor will be to answer inbound customer queries and process childcare applications and administrative tasks providing our contacts with first time resolution and outstanding service with every interaction. The role does not involve any sales or cold calling.



You will play a pivotal role in being part of a supportive and welcoming team environment, with safeguarding children the heart of everything we do You will be coached to develop innovative customer service skills and techniques, combined with a requirement to utilise a range of multi-channel services in a fast-paced environment. It is crucial that you are confident using IT systems, as you will need to navigate multiple systems on dual screens whilst answering customer queries. You will be the first point of contact for providing guidance and support to our childcare providers and to members of the public.

To join us, we are looking for hardworking and resilient team players who are enthusiastic and genuinely want to make a positive difference to children's lives. Full training will be provided.

Job description

The key responsibilities of the role are outlined below. However, this is an overview of the role and is not exhaustive. Ofsted reserves the right to assign other duties commensurate with the

C1 APT

grade as required.

To complete all work in an organised effective manner to a high standard, making decisions within well-defined procedures and in accordance to legislation. To provide a high quality service to internal and external customers, responding appropriately and effectively to queries and complaints To meet and exceed agreed Key Performance Indicators to support the performance of the Contact and Administration Team. To understand and complete a number of processes in accordance with guidance and frameworks. To use a number of Information Systems to access, inform, complete and record work accurately.
To consider existing working practices and identify areas for improvement, providing feedback where appropriate and improving own performance by taking on board feedback and continuously looking for ways to improve.

Person specification

Please refer to this recruitment brochure for further information about the role and working for Ofsted.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:


Managing a Quality Service Communicating and Influencing Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:


Experience of working in a high volume customer service or administration environment working to targets and objectives. Good written and verbal skills to ensure high quality service to internal and external customers, responding effectively to all enquires and complaints to ensure a high quality customer experience. Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines, managing a range of different tasks.

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 25,746, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills contributes 7,458 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Ofsted operates a hybrid working approach, allowing colleagues to benefit from time in the office, with the flexibility also to work from home. Our expectation is that you will spend at least 60% of your time working in your office, or at external meetings or events. The exact balance will depend on the nature of your role and the suitability of your home environment, and will be discussed and agreed with your line manager.



Ofsted is committed to maintaining employee health and wellbeing, whether it is physically, emotionally, financially or socially, and offers a range of benefits to support employees in this. Such benefits include the option to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme, professional and personal development opportunities, 32.5 annual leave days per annum (plus eight days public holiday) and access to counselling and advisory services.



Any move to Ofsted from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility here.

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application and Shortlisting:

The panel will assess your application based on your evidence you have provided against the experience/technical skills as set out in the person specification.


Use the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to present your evidence.


You will also be asked to provide information within the "Employer/Activity History" section of the application form. This information is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV setting out your career history (this may be used in the sifting process).

Interviews:

The most suitable candidates will be invited to attend an interview during

week commencing Monday 11 August 2025

at

Piccadilly Gate, Manchester.

At the interview stage, you will be assessed on the combination of listed behaviours and technical/experience criteria as set out in the job specification.

Start date:

We are anticipating a start date of Monday 20 October 2025, subject to the satisfactory completion of your pre-employment checks.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : Jobs Email : jobs@ofsted.gov.uk
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Recruitment team

Email : jobs@ofsted.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles, which can be found at:





If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should email Ofsted recruitment at jobs@ofsted.gov.uk in the first instance.




If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at:




https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilservicerecruitmentcomplaints/