Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

In Coventry, we are working hard to build something special. Children and families are at the heart of everything we do, and we believe they deserve the best outcomes.  Children’s Services provides a wide range of statutory and non-statutory duties, from Early Help Services, through to children who are looked after.  Come and join us at an exciting time and be part of the Professional Support Service – an administrative team that makes a positive difference supporting Children’s Services every day!

We are at the very heart of Children’s Services in Coventry, working with colleagues at all levels across the service to contribute to positive outcomes for some of the most vulnerable Children and Families across the City. We are looking for people with potential, enthusiasm, a flexible approach and ready to develop their knowledge & skills. We value commitment and efficiency in action, a willingness to take the initiative and a mind open to new challenges. When you join our service, you’ll be working alongside people who are passionate about what they do and determined to make a difference.  

What is the job role?

The Quality Assurance front office team are a group of friendly, experienced and supportive Professional Support Service officers who provide support to Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs), Family group Conferencing and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL).

This support can involve many things such as setting up Child Protection Conferences, Adult Safeguarding Meetings, and Safeguarding Lead Training.

Currently each member of the team has an area of responsibility within our service, however there is a plan in place to get everyone multi skilled on all areas. The apprentice will be included in this plan to enable them to get an overview of all the areas that we support.

What this apprenticeship involves

Some of the tasks you will be involved with in:

• Taking phone calls from members of the public and other professionals, taking comprehensive messages and signposting callers to the correct department or person.
• Checking the inboxes of the multiple email accounts, filing the emails into appropriate folders and forwarding them on to relevant people.
• Sending out minutes of meetings to professionals and logging this onto a database.
• Taking attendance registers and collecting evaluation forms from training sessions.
• Monitoring use of and ensuring that stationery and office equipment is kept maintained.
• Setting up conferences and sending invites to professionals.
• Requesting reports and documenting all processes on a spreadsheet.
• Liaising with and providing administrative support to Independent Reviewing Officers and Social Workers.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Who are we looking for?

The most important of all the skills and knowledge you should have is a basic understanding of Data Protection as the information that we work with is highly sensitive and confidential.  You will receive ongoing training on this, but some prior knowledge of this is desirable.

As this is an administrative role you will need some experience in using different Microsoft packages such as Word and Excel.

You will be provided with support and training throughout the apprenticeship but will need to take responsibility for organising your time and identifying your own learning needs.

As this is a Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship you will need to either Maths and English GCSE 4/C or above (or equivalent) or ability to complete Maths and English Functional Skills level 2 as part of the apprenticeship.

Other things to consider

Given the nature of this role, you may come across some potentially distressing information, regarding the history and background of the families attending conferences. There will be support in place to assist you from both your direct Line Manager / PSS Manager and Occupational Health and Well Being Service.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Pre-interview and assessment* (via teams): 28 October 2022

Interview date(s): 4th November 2022 (face to face at Broadgate House).

*The pre-interview is a short session to give you further details of the apprenticeship role and to help you understand what to expect from and how to prepare for the final interview. You will also complete a short diagnostic assessment to check the level of Maths and English that you are currently working at and identify any support you may require. 

Did you know that there is support available to help you with your application?

If you would like support in completing your application or have any questions about our recruitment and selection processes, help is available at The Job Shop.

We would recommend that all applicants take advantage of this service in order to maximise your chances of being shortlisted.

Address: 1 Bull Yard, Coventry, CV1 1LH
Phone: 024 7678 5740
Email: jobshop@coventry.gov.uk     
Website: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/jobshop

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards & benefits package which includes:

• Flexible working arrangements
• An outstanding local government pension scheme
• Great opportunities to develop with access to accredited courses.
• Access to an award-winning Occupational Health Service
• Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Coventry City Council