Dorset Council is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people in education across Dorset. We are looking for a motivated and dedicated School Administration & Finance Support Officer (SAFSO) to join our dynamic team. The SAFSO service is one of Children’s Services traded services and offers a support service to maintained schools and academies that use bespoke products for finance and management information systems (MIS).
The role is hybrid and involves working in the office in Dorchester, visiting schools in Dorset and working from home. The service provides a helpline, answering queries by telephone and email. The team delivers training on the MIS and finance systems to school staff, either in a classroom environment or online. Written technical guidance is provided on the supported systems. The service is valued for a personalised and individual approach to enable school staff to use their MIS and finance systems in the most efficient and effective way.
No day is the same and may involve answering helpline calls, developing or delivering training, or visiting a school in person. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are needed in all aspects of the role. The helpline is always busy and remote access is used to ensure queries are answered promptly and effectively. Training school staff is an important aspect of the role. By designing clear user‑friendly training materials and delivering training in a variety of ways, we look to enable school staff to be confident to perform their roles well.
We are a caring and supportive team and will provide full training to the successful applicant.
Key Requirements Of The Role
* the skills, knowledge and competency required to provide support on financial procedures, school administration and core business applications
* a responsive, positive and agile approach to problem solving; both reactive to demand and pro‑active in forecasting need
* commitment to exceptional customer service and meeting business needs
* effective and well developed communication and presentation skills; eg tact, diplomacy, objectivity, balance and a confident encouraging approach, at all levels
* the ability to balance demands with priorities and derive real benefits for the traded service
* understanding of how ICT systems can enable professional colleagues to deliver quality services and improved outcomes for children and young people in schools
* a proactive approach to maintaining and developing own training and knowledge in relation to the role
* commitment to continuous learning and improvement to respond to changing demands nationally and locally
Experience with school systems and working in a school office is highly desirable but not essential.
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