Business Admin Apprentice
Location: Unit 1, Canonbury Yard, 202-208 New North Road, London, , N1 7BJ
Hours: 40
Salary: £15,600
Planned start date: 04/09/2023
About Us:
Smart Works is a dynamic, high profile and fast-growing UK charity that dresses and coaches unemployed women for success at their job interview. We empower each woman by giving her the clothes and the confidence she needs to succeed.
After visiting Smart Works, 69% of clients secure a job within a month, gaining financial independence and transforming their lives.
The Smart Works service is delivered in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Newcastle, Reading and Leeds. Over the past ten years, Smart Works has helped over 30,000 women. It is our mission that any woman who needs our service should be able to find her way to a Smart Works centre.
In April 2022, Smart Works launched a new Three-Year Plan that will see the charity double the number of women helped annually from 5,000 to 10,000 women a year. To achieve this, we will grow our existing centres and open new centres in areas of need including Bristol and Liverpool.
At Smart Works in London there are now three centres in North, West and South London which support women from every Borough in London and beyond. London also acts as Smart Works HQ and supports local centres across the UK.
Smart Works has been voted Social Action Charity of the Year. More information about who we are can be found on our website.
About the Role:
As the charity works to double the number of women accessing the Smart Works service each year, the Business Admin Apprentice will provide essential administrative support across Smart Works.
There will be a breadth of opportunity to learn from and support all Smart Works functions. These are: Group Operations and Service Delivery, Fundraising and Partnerships, Brand and Communications, People, and Finance. In addition, across Smart Works there are opportunities to support at fashion sales and networking events. These are exciting moments to develop communication and networking skills, which may involve evening and weekend attendance.
This will be a full-time role, where the successful individual will also be enrolled on the Business Associate Apprenticeship with Corndel Leadership. The apprenticeship course will last 13 months, during which time the Business Admin Apprentice will develop skills through individual and group learning, put into practice in their day-to-day work. Upon completion of the course, the apprentice will be awarded a Business Administration Level 3 qualification.
The role would be based in our North London centre in Islington. This centre is the national hub and headquarters of Smart Works Charity, with eleven centres in total across the UK. There will be some occasional travel to our other London centres in Ladbroke Grove (West London) and Croydon (South London). Reasonable travel costs can be covered when this is required.
We are therefore looking for a friendly, organised and hard-working individual. The role requires a collaborative approach, excellent communication skills and a drive to ensure all women who visit us have the best possible experience. If you’re passionate about supporting women, then this is an ideal opportunity for you.
The Business Admin Apprentice will report to the Executive Assistant to the CEO, performing a range of activities such as:
- Providing full administrative support for Smart Works Charity (based in Islington) and the Senior Leadership Team, as well as other centres in West and South London where required.
- Performing daily centre administrative tasks such as answering the telephone, responding to emails and maintaining a tidy and bright centre.
- Responding to staff, trustee and volunteer queries relating to the Smart Works working environment and equipment.
- Ensuring all London centres, including Islington, have the resources and supplies needed to run smoothly.
- Managing incoming and outgoing post and deliveries, which will include wardrobe stock administration.
- Supporting with administrative and customer service tasks such as greeting clients, booking appointments and inputting data.
- Assisting with projects relating to London centres such as IT maintenance, property improvements and delivery of in-centre events such as staff conferences.
Smart Works is a community that shares a passion to empower women to thrive in work and life, determined to meet our aim of helping as many women as we can back into work. The successful candidate will therefore build strong working relationships across this community, with their own immediate staff team as well as other local centres across the UK and in London.
About You:
- Communication skills – Good communication skills may include verbal and written.
- IT skills – Some knowledge or experience of using Microsoft Office.
- Organisation skills – These can include time management, prioritisation and goal-setting.
- Customer care skills – Active listening and empathy are examples of this skill.
- Administrative skills – Managing calendars, event schedules and proofreading are types of this skill.
- Teamworking – This might be examples of problem solving, decision making or active listening.
- Non judgemental – A Smart Works value based on treating everyone with politeness and respect.
Please note applicants must not already hold a qualification at the same level or above, in this subject area (business administration).
Smart Works is a proud member of EDAC. We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, disabled candidates, and candidates with lived experience of unemployment as we would like to increase the representation of these groups at Smart Works.
Smart Works promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching the Charity’s needs with the skills and experience of candidates. These decisions are made irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
Any offer will be conditional subject to receiving two satisfactory references, the completion of a basic DBS check and evidence of eligibility to work in the UK. To see a full job description, please refer to the Smart Works website.
How to apply
Apply for this opportunity using the web link below.
Application deadline: 13/08/2023
Web link: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/1000185876
Email address: recruitment@smartworks.org.uk
More about Smart Works
Smart Works is a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes and interview training to unemployed women in need. We harness the power of clothes and confidence to allow a woman to be her best at a crucial moment in her life, giving her the confidence, the self-belief and the practical tools required to succeed at interview and transform her life.