The Opportunity
7Are you interested in earning whilst you learn?
Are you looking for a change in career, or to start your career journey?
Do you enjoy learning from others with hands on experience?
Take the first step in your career by starting your apprenticeship journey with West Sussex County Council. You will work within our Education and Skills Service, alongside colleagues in Pupil Entitlement: Investigation (PEI), to provide a customer focus service and administrative support.
PEI has five strands of business, non-attendance investigation, Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) team, Children Missing Education (CME) team, Elective Home Education (EHE), and Children in Entertainment & Employment. Your main work will be within the FPN team, with potential requirements to assist the partner teams should business need direct.
Salary: NJC Grade 3 £24,027 to £24,404 per annum
Contract Type: Apprenticeship until 28 February 2027 (18 months)
Working Pattern: 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday. You may be asked to work outside of normal working hours for example attending a career event or showcasing your apprenticeship experience.
Location: Bridge House, Worthing. We offer hybrid working; working patterns will be discussed on a successful appointment.
Closing date: 07 July 2025
Interview date: 09 July 2025
Role start date: 01 September 2025
As a Business Admin Advanced Apprentice, you will have the opportunity to gain great insight into the range of services we provide as a council within our Education and Skills Service. Our teams care passionately about positive outcomes for children and their families and finding solutions to challenging issues.
In this role you will learn by doing, using your theoretical knowledge from your apprenticeship in real life situations.
You will be valuable in applying and sharing the knowledge you gain through your apprenticeship, supporting your colleagues, and giving advice to clients.
Working in an empowered, collaborative, and innovative environment will support you to make a real difference for all our communities.
Key responsibilities of this role include:
- Reviewing referrals submitted by schools evidencing unauthorised absence and recording of these on a centralised database.
- Managing written and email correspondence and logging receipt.
- Recording of payments received and instigating refunds if appropriate.
- Compiling paperwork to assist Officers in presenting matters before Magistrates Court.
- Working independently and as a team to deal with unexpected problems and situations.
- Working with a range of teams and colleagues to widen your experience.
- Participating in meetings and briefings.
- Meeting deadlines and using your initiative to complete varied tasks, at work and in your apprenticeship.
We are looking for someone who:
- Has a good standard of literacy, numeracy, and ability to use Microsoft packages such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, to aid you in your admin tasks.
- Has good communication and interpersonal skills; you will deliver presentations on occasion in this role.
- Enjoys working as part of a team. This will support you to provide a co-ordinated service to clients and customers.
- Has five GCSE passes at Grade C / Grades 4-9 or above, ideally including English and Maths. However, you can undertake functional key skills English and Maths if you do not have these.
- Or has an equivalent vocational qualification, for example, Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship (you will need to provide evidence of your GCSEs grades including English and Maths).
Desirable, but not essential to this role, is some experience in customer facing roles and working with others, either in a job or an extra-curricular activity (e.g., Duke of Edinburgh).
If you have a flexible approach to tasks and a willingness to learn new skills, you could make a real difference. We are always keen to hear new ideas and solutions to improve our service we provide.
For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached. Please refer to the key skills in your application as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.
The Apprenticeship
You will work towards the Level 3 Business Administrator Advanced Apprenticeship provided by Weir Training.
You will be required to undertake and complete the various elements of this Apprenticeship. This will involve attending college and working with an assessor to develop a work-based portfolio.
For more information on the apprenticeship, please view our training provider website: Weir Training - Business Admin Level 3 Apprenticeship
Benefits
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:
Further Information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE05809.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Natalie Greene, Resourcing Specialist, at Natalie.Greene@westsussex.gov.uk
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and complete the Apprentice Application Form.
In your application, please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV.
Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
This post is subject to three years referencing, and an occupational health check.
Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application helppage.
Job Reference: CAFHE05809
