Project Support Officer

About the role

Adoption England brings together Regional Adoption Agencies across the country, supported by a central team based in Leeds. Our shared mission is to strengthen adoption practice and improve support for children, adopted people and families. As a Project Support Officer you will play a key role in supporting the delivery of national programmes that drive improvement across the adoption sector. You will help coordinate projects that support Adoption England’s strategic plan and provide high‑quality project, administrative and portfolio support from organising meetings and preparing reports to maintaining systems and analysing information.

Responsibilities

• Work as part of a project team and provide portfolio support to assist in the delivery of programmes and projects.
• Develop, implement and maintain effective administrative systems, ensuring support is provided to programme and project teams.
• Prepare, produce and present high‑quality reports and statistical information relating to performance and monitoring of the programme.
• Arrange, attend and facilitate meetings and workshops, including scheduling, agenda planning and preparation.
• Produce management information from databases and spreadsheets.
• Assist in the development and management of monitoring, evaluation and reporting frameworks.
• Build productive relationships with the project team, partners and stakeholders.
• Represent the service at meetings as required and coordinate related work.
• Support policy and service development work undertaken by the project team.
• Attend regular team meetings and supervision as required.
• Take a lead on business support services and undertake regular supervision.
• Provide excellent customer service to all.
• Respect the sensitive and confidential nature of the work and follow good data protection practices.
• Be responsive to the needs of the project team and support colleagues as required.
• Understand and comply with organisational and statutory requirements (Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity).
• Hybrid working principles apply; the role will require regular time in the workplace and occasional travel across the country.

Required skills

• Excellent organisational, numerical, literacy and analytical skills.
• Effective contribution to internal and external meetings yielding positive outcomes.
• Ability to identify conflict among stakeholders and negotiate resolutions.
• Strong research and information analysis skills relevant to team disciplines.
• Capacity to develop productive working relationships that command respect, trust and confidence.
• Ability to prioritise competing demands across multiple projects.
• Teamwork and cooperation.
• Competence in IT usage and social media promotion of council work.
• Clear and succinct communication for verbal and written reports.
• Budget monitoring experience.

Knowledge requirements

• Understanding of local government working and public sector values.
• Awareness of service delivery issues within the public sector.
• Good theoretical and practical knowledge of adoption services.

Experience requirements

• Assisting in coordinating projects and initiatives in a relevant service or operational area.
• Achieving results in political‑sensitive contexts.
• Conducting research and analysing relevant literature.
• Participating from development to implementation of initiatives and policies.
• Working effectively with others to deliver projects across disciplines.
• Working in partnership with diverse partners on relevant projects.
• Participating in meetings with senior leaders and politicians.
• Relevant experience in project support management of financial, social or economic inclusion projects or regeneration projects.

Behavioural & other characteristics

• Commitment to equal opportunities in employment and service delivery and understanding of council policy.
• Willingness to take personal responsibility for and comply with Health & Safety policy.
• Conscientious, accurate and deadline‑driven approach to tasks.
• Respect for the sensitive and confidential nature of the work.
• Commitment to personal development and learning.
• Commitment to the goals and values of the organisation.
• Advocacy for improving quality of service delivered by the council.
• Promotion of a professional image of self, department and council.

Education & qualifications

None required.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays.
• Membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions.

Equality and diversity

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from women, carers, veterans, people from Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds and from the LGBTQ+ community.

#J-18808-Ljbffr…