Senior Business Support Administrator - 2 Positions Available - Children's Services

Vacancy Information

Hourly rate of pay: £17.72 - £19.19

Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday, 09:00-17:00
Flexi time is applicable, and starting and finishing times are flexible.
One post is available immediately, and the second is expected to start late April (with some flexibility on the start date).

East Lothian Children’s Services is offering an exciting opportunity for two permanent Business Support Coordinator positions.

These roles will lead and manage the business support functions for two distinct service areas:

Role 1: Business support for Intake & Assessment, Support & Intervention, Child Protection and Service Development & Review.

Role 2: Business support for Fostering, Adoption, Kinship Care, Disability, Throughcare & Aftercare, and Wellbeing and Justice Services.

The successful candidates will play a vital role in delivering essential business support functions that underpin the effective operation of Children’s Services. Key responsibilities include:

The management of a team of administrators across various teams.

Developing and implementing systems for performance reporting.

Managing accurate records and databases.

Ensuring compliance with statutory and policy requirements.

Overseeing core administrative processes such as budget monitoring, procurement, record management, minute-taking, and statistical reporting and analysis.

Management of fostering and adoption panels is key to one of the roles.

Coordination of payments to carers.

A critical aspect of these roles is driving continuous improvement by reviewing business processes and introducing innovative solutions, including the integration of AI tools to enable smarter, faster, and more efficient workflows.

Additional duties include managing complex customer queries, liaising with internal teams and external partners, and ensuring high standards of service delivery. Strong knowledge of data protection and security is essential, along with the ability to work under pressure and manage competing priorities from Scottish Government requests, Children’s Services partners, and senior management.

East Lothian Children’s Services is committed to Keeping The Promise and ensuring the voice of children and families remains central to everything we do. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about children’s rights and achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people, and their families. We promote an open, trusting, and inclusive culture, prioritizing continuous professional development and trauma-informed practice.

Children’s Services is based at John Muir House, Haddington, with onsite parking available.

If you would like to discuss this vacancy or working for East Lothian Council, please contact Lisa Shine on 07929 837319.

Home / Hybrid Working Consideration
Applications for home or hybrid working will be considered for this post in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here. Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview.

Please Note:
All home/hybrid workers must live in the UK. Where an application for home-working is supported, it will be subject to a satisfactory trial period. Employees will be expected to attend Council offices for the duration of induction, and be on site in East Lothian workplaces, as required. Employees with a hybrid working arrangement in place will be office based and able to work from home, with permission, on an ad hoc basis.

Job Details

To provide advanced administrative and organisational support within the relevant department to ensure effective provision, development and delivery of service.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications
Educated to HNC/SVQ3 or equivalent in a relevant subject and/or be able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge, skills and competencies gained through relevant experience.

Level 1 Disclosure
This role requires Level 1 Disclosure Clearance to allow access to the Public Sector
Network. ELC will submit a Police Act Disclosure application on behalf of the preferred
candidate and receipt of the subsequent certificate will be required prior to commencement.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living outwith the UK in the last 5 years then you will also be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.