Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Office Manager to join the Rural Payments and Inspections Division (Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate) in the Oban Area Office.
Within the ARE Directorate, the Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) are accountable for the strategic process that regulates and oversees the payment of Agricultural grants and subsidies and related inspection regimes totalling �700m/annum. In the current programme, this is split between direct aid to farmers and crofters totalling �500m and a further �200m under the banner of the Scottish Rural Development Programme. It is also responsible for other regulatory activity and expert technical advice.
RPID teams of professional agricultural, customer service and administrative staff are based in a network of 17 offices located around rural Scotland. These teams manage the implementation of agricultural, environmental, and rural policies, process applications for funding and provide high quality customer service.
This is a key post for local delivery of high quality customer service in the RPID Oban Area Office. The Office has five permanent administrative staff for whom the post holder would be the overall manager.
The Administrative Officer team undertake a wide variety of duties, including processing of claims and applications for a wide range of RPID administered schemes. The team are also the primary point of contact for farmers, crofters and the rural community in the area and are expected to provide a professional and helpful point of contact for all.
You will get to know our network of customers both internal and external, this can also include land agents, solicitors and colleagues from other government organisations.
The workloads will be varied at times. There will be a need to plan, organise and prioritise work to meet agreed deadlines, provide appropriate support to your administrative team while maintaining a high level of quality and accuracy. You should be able to work using your own initiative, have a positive attitude to change and be able to adapt to new procedures and priorities.
Job description
� Manage and develop a team of administrative staff ensuring they deliver high quality administrative support to a wide range of customers and colleagues.
� Oversight of the administrative work for the RPID Oban office including processing of applications, claims and correspondence for various agricultural and environmental schemes ensuring we meet set deadlines.
� Undertake the role of local Health and Safety officer, and act as point of contact for local accommodation issues, ensuring safe and efficient operation of the office.
� Work directly with the Principal Agricultural Officer to prepare and monitor budgets throughout the year to ensure procurement standards and procedures are followed and maintained in all activity.
� Lead for implementing / monitoring document retention and destruction policies for the office and document recording on eRDM (Scottish Government�s records management system)
� Process business and land change requests from customers, this will include interpreting mapping data and other forms of evidence to check eligibility of requests.
Person specification
1. Good people management skills with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with both colleagues and stakeholders
2. Proven planning and organisational skills with the ability to balance competing priorities and achieve set targets with minimal supervision
3. Good written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to produce clear and concise written material.
4. Proven and current experience using a wide range of IT Packages including Microsoft Office or equivalent.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �35,867, Scottish Government contributes �9,684 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
1. Learning and development tailored to your role
2. An environment with flexible working options
3. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
4. A with an average employer contribution of 27%