Business Support Assistant

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system. 

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Staff Benefits

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including: 

• 30 days’ annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year). 
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%. 
• Access to training and development. 
• Flexible working. 
• Interest free season ticket loan and bicycle loan. 

Introduction 

The Chamber and Participation Team (CPT) brings together all the disciplines that support the House of Commons Chamber within one coherent structure – the procedural offices that facilitate the core function of legislating, the operational teams who focus on ensuring that the Chamber runs effectively and efficiently, and the public-facing teams who promote Parliament’s role and seek to engage citizens across the UK with parliamentary business.

The Role 

Are you passionate about getting people involved in the UK Parliament and creating more engaged and active citizens? This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Business Support Team, which provides high-level administrative support for the education sessions, engagement activities and resources which the Education and Engagement Team deliver. The role will involve communicating with teachers and Members of Parliament via email and telephone, as well as taking and processing bookings. The post holder will regularly deal with large amounts of data and will need to ensure it is processed accurately. This role supports the Business Support Manager in the delivery of broader team processes, and services.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Process telephone and electronic booking requests for visits to the UK Parliament and for digital sessions, completing the relevant administration
• Promptly answer telephone calls and respond to queries effectively. Answer emails from teachers, Members and their staff, external organisations and members of the public in a timely manner
• Process travel subsidy claim forms effectively and in a timely manner
• Check and cross reference information and documentation. Follow up/chase missing, late or incomplete documentation, payments or records

Skills and Experience 

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• The ability to work successfully within a high-performing office/administrative support team, supporting a busy department, working with an organised approach to meet tight deadlines whilst ensuring attention to detail is maintained

• Experience of or ability to provide excellent customer service in a pressurised environment, particularly on the telephone and via email. Excellent communication skills both written and oral, with ability to convey complex messages clearly, concisely and effectively to a range of audiences.

• The ability to accurately process large amounts of data quickly, for example, from applications or customer feedback.

• Experience of working with IT systems such as databases, CRM, booking systems and Microsoft Office software (particularly Excel and Outlook)

• Ability to work successfully within a team, whilst upholding the values of equality, diversity, and inclusion

Next Steps and Additional Information

• Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against criteria 1-3 in the Job Description. 

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description. 

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

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