Administrator (Reception)

JOB DESCRIPTION There is currently one two-year fixed term contract Administrator with Reception duties position to be filled.

The Ulster-Scots Agency The Ulster-Scots Agency is an independent employer. Its staff are public servants, employed on terms which largely mirror those of the Northern Ireland Civil Servants.

Salary The salary for the post will be within the AO range of £24,425 – £25,732 within which pay increases will be on an incremental basis provided staff performance reports are satisfactory. Starting salary will normally be at the minimum of the scale.

Location The successful candidate will be based at The Corn Exchange, 31 Gordon Street, Belfast, BT1 2LG. The premises are wheelchair accessible and there is an accessible toilet.

Annual Leave In addition to the 12 standard public and privilege holidays, there is an annual leave allowance of 25 days per annum pro rata.

Working Hours

The successful candidate will normally be required to work 5 days each week, totalling 37 hours. A flexible working scheme is in operation. The successful candidate may be required on occasion to work outside normal working hours dependent on business need.

Travel The post may entail some travel within Northern Ireland and for this reason the successful applicant will require access to a form of transport which will permit them to meet the requirements of the post in full.

Training Appropriate training will be provided, where required, to enable the successful candidate(s) to carry out the full range of assigned duties. PURPOSE OF THE ROLE The overall role of the administer with reception duties is to assist in the promotion of greater awareness and use of Ullans and the Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island. The role will also help to administer the Financial Assistance Scheme in a manner which meets the needs of the Community while adhering to all corporate governance compliances. Specifically, the administrator will act as the initial point of contact for visitors and clients whether that be in person, over the phone or via email. This role involves coordinating and scheduling a boardroom calendar and facilitating appropriate set ups and catering, processing incoming and outgoing mail and provide admin support to team members as and when required. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Reporting to the Office Manager, the adminitrator is accountable for providing professional administrative support to the smooth running of the Ulster-Scots Agency.

The main duties of the post will be: • To provide reception cover operating Agency telephone switchboard. • Assist officers with the organisation and administration of events and internal/external communications including mailshots, room bookings, hospitality arrangements, databases and registrations. • Greeting and directing visitors in a courteous and professional manner. • To provide additional admin support to the management team as and when required. • To process in-coming and outgoing post and update relevant Agency databases. • To create, update and maintain in-house databases. • Assist in preparation of reports. Provide information from records when required to assist officers with Freedom of Information request, Parliamentary and Assembly Questions. • Comply with the Agency’s Equal Opportunities Policy and other policies. • Participate in training and development initiatives in line with Agency policies and guidelines. • To assist the office manager in the smooth running of the office including premises. • To act as recording secretary at meetings in the absence of the Office Manager or PA to the CEO ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Applicants must, by the closing date for applications, provide evidence in their application form which demonstrates that they satisfy the following essential criteria: 1. Applicants must hold three GCSES grade A-C including English Language and Maths or equivalent. 2. Minimum of two years recent experience in organising and delivery administrative service in a busy office. 3. Minimum of two years experience in a customer facing/services environment. 4. Ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences in an appropriate style both written and oral. 5. High level competence in the use of IT packages, Microsoft Suite PERSON SPECIFICATION Candidates will be expected to demonstrate the skills and competencies set out in the eligibility criteria. In addition, they will also be required to demonstrate the skills and competencies set out in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) competency framework at Level 2 for the purposes of personal and professional development.

What is the NICS competency framework? The competency framework sets out how all NICS employees should work. It puts the Civil Service values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality at the heart of everything they do and it aligns to the three high-level leadership behaviours that every civil servant needs to model as appropriate to their role and level of responsibility: Setting Direction; Engaging People and Delivering Results. Competencies are the skills, knowledge and behaviours that lead to successful performance. The framework outlines ten competencies, which are grouped into three clusters as stated above (Setting Direction, Engaging People and Delivering Results): The competencies are intended to be discrete and cumulative, with each level building on the levels below i.e., a person demonstrating a competency at level 3 should be demonstrating levels 1 and 2 as a matter of course. The Receptionist post is analogous to Admin Officer in the NICS. CORE COMPETENCIES The Core Competence Framework, which is grade specific, describes what people need to do in order to be effective at work. It is not enough to just have the knowledge and skills to do our jobs. Competence is about what people actually do, it is about how you apply or demonstrate the knowledge and skills whilst carrying out your tasks. Demonstrated competence is observable and measurable.

COMPETENCY BASED INTERVIEWS Selection panels will design questions to test the applicant’s knowledge and experience in each of the above areas and award marks accordingly.

INTERVIEWS It is intended that interviews for this post will take place in Belfast from week commencing week beginning 14th October 2024.

INTERVIEW GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS If this is your first experience of a competence-based interview, bear in mind that it does not require to you: • Talk through previous jobs or appointments from start to finish, • Provide generalised information as to your background and experience: or • Provide information that is not specifically relevant to the competence the question is designed to test

A competence-based interview does however require you to: • Focus exclusively, in your responses, on your ability to fulfil the competences required for effective performance in the role: and • Provide specific examples of your experience in relation to the required competence areas.

In preparation for the interview, you may wish to think about having a clear structure for each of your examples, such as: • Situation – briefly outline the situation; • Task – what was your objective, what were you trying to achieve; • Action – what did you actually do, what was your unique contribution; • Result – what happened, what was the outcome, what did you learn.

The panel will ask you to provide specific examples from your last experience in relation to each of the competences. You should therefore come to the interview prepared to discuss in detail a range of examples which best illustrate your skills and abilities in each competence area. You may draw examples from any area of your work / life experiences.