Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Introduction

Are you interested in a career in Planning? As a Business Administration Apprentice in the Developer Contributions Team, you'll play a vital role in our Department. You'll be part of the team responsible for managing financial payments and non-financial contributions from developments which help fund or deliver new infrastructure (e.g. parks, play space, highways, cycle improvements etc) needed to support growth in Lewisham.

What’s the role?

Your duties will include:

• Electronic filing, scanning, collating, uploading, organizing and indexing documents; and creating readable documents.
• Generate correspondence / print and email letters / use postal tracking and send out postal notifications including using an enveloping machine.
• Entering data on to the Council’s systems and providing receipts.
• Use of excel spreadsheets including entering information and checking data.
• To learn and use specialist technology including IT systems and document management systems
• Assist Senior officers with reports or presentations by providing information from the Council’s systems and assist with the preparation of reports/presentations/documents and provide support in meetings when necessary.
• Respond to simple email requests and assist in organizing the team's files.
• To provide excellent customer service when dealing with stakeholders including members of the public
• Attendance at meetings within the Council as required
• Organising meetings for Senior members of the team and add reminders for the team.

You'll work with experienced professionals, learning valuable skills, and contributing to the smooth operation of our planning department. This is a fantastic opportunity to kickstart your career. At first, you will be trained on office and administration duties in the Business Administration Team and then you will move into the Developer Contributions Team (DCT). The DCT is a friendly, dynamic, hardworking and highly productive team where you can develop your skills and knowledge. As you progress, you'll have the chance to explore other roles within the Planning Department while earning a Business Administration qualification

What’s in it for you?

Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Gaining an accredited qualification
• Generous holiday allowance
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks

What we’re looking for

We are looking for someone with good maths and IT skills who is keen to learn, can work well in a pressured environment adapting to changing priorities, is flexible in their attitude to their duties, organised, and works well in a team as well as independently.

Location

We operate a hybrid approach whereby you will be required to work both in the office (primarily based in Laurence House, Catford, London,SE6 4U) and from home. Currently you will be required to be in the office at least 2 days a week, although this is determined by service requirements. The successful apprentice may, on occasions, work in other areas of Planning as needed. There may also be the opportunity to accompany other officers on site visits.

Special conditions

• Must be a Lewisham borough resident, Lewisham apprenticeships are ring fenced for Lewisham borough residents only.
• Must have GCSE English and Maths grade C and above or 4 and above
• Use the person specification section of the application form to complete the application questions.

***Please note*** Your application will not be processed if you fail to fully complete all the apprenticeship questions or if you use AI/Copilot to produce responses to the questions.

The recruitment process is anonymous and we don’t accept CVs.

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact Julia.Robins@lewisham.gov.uk

Please click here to view the Job Description

Please click here to view the Application Questions

Salary

£27,010 per annum (LLW)

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

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