Are you an experienced supervisor looking for a new challenge? Do you thrive on change and providing excellent service to the children and families of Dorset? If your answer is yes, then following the retirement of the current post holder, an exciting opportunity has opened within Children’s Services for a Business Support Team Lead in the East Locality.
Reporting to the Business Support Manager, this role is both varied and engaging. The ideal candidate will be highly motivated and flexible, able to use initiative and prioritise a demanding workload within tight deadlines. Our approach to business support is modern and dynamic, embracing the latest technologies to provide essential resources for those delivering services to children and young people. We are committed to continuous improvement, staff development, and strive to be an employer of choice. Our service is customer-focused and adheres strictly to the Council’s standards and behaviours.
This position offers the flexibility of hybrid working arrangements, allowing for both office-based and remote 'virtual' work from home. We foster a strong team ethic through daily huddles and consistent communication using Microsoft Teams, ensuring a robust support network within the Business Support team. Your work schedule will be adaptable, tailored to meet the evolving needs of the business and service requirements.
What you can expect to be doing:
Our services are rooted in the community and delivered by multi-professional teams across six Locality Bases situated in either Dorchester, West, North, Chesil, East and Purbeck. Each Team Leader manages the business support team for one of these Locality teams with the potential to line manage staff across multiple sites. The locality-based business support staff in Children’s Services support a range of services and functions including but not limited to:
- Social Care
- Early Help
- Educational Psychologist
- School Attendance including EHE and CME
- School Admissions & in-year fair access
- Governor Services
- Portage
- SEN/SEND provision
- Early Years Support and Advice Service
- Virtual School
- Specialist Educators
Functions of the role include but are not limited to:
- manage a team providing business support across various services, ensuring alignment with the Business Support Manager and other Team Leaders to maintain a consistent service delivery model
- act as deputy for the Business Support Manager when required and represent the team in meetings
- provide guidance on Dorset Council policies and ensure compliance with statutory obligations, including Data Protection
- ·oversee and improve business systems, processes, and practices to enhance support quality, including management of data quality, collection, and reporting
- develop and maintain professional relationships with colleagues, partners, and other stakeholders
- responsible for the performance management and development of the business support team
- manage financial functions such as budget monitoring, procurement, payments, and invoice processing
- lead digital system development and data management, including record retention and statistical data collection
About you:
The successful candidate will play a crucial role in developing and maintaining high-quality business support for teams operating from a Locality base, as detailed in the Person Specification and Job Description. You will bring proven first-line management experience, capable of leading and developing a small team of business support administrators. Your focus will be on enhancing team skills, promoting continuous learning, and ensuring efficiency while implementing corporate policies.
Your role demands excellent IT skills to support our aim of being 'digital by default'. Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 and familiarity with bespoke systems such as Mosaic, Synergy, and Nexus is essential. Although training will be provided for service-specific systems, you must demonstrate effective use of Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel.
Our services prioritise customer engagement, requiring you to possess exceptional verbal and written communication skills. You will regularly interact with a diverse group of stakeholders, including partner agencies, families, and professionals, making it crucial to forge strong, positive professional relationships.
We are committed to fostering a positive culture and seek a leader who embodies responsibility and respect, collaborates effectively with both internal and external partners, and values the contributions and learning opportunities of all team members.
The work environment is dynamic and busy, often interrupted by queries from operational managers and staff. You may also handle sensitive or distressing content, especially in teams that work directly with children and families. This aspect of the role requires resilience and confidentiality.
Finally, you must be highly flexible and organised, adept at adapting to changing needs while achieving performance targets and meeting statutory deadlines. This position offers more than just employment; it is an opportunity to make a significant impact in a challenging yet rewarding environment.