AO Correspondence Officer - DHSC X3

AO Correspondence Officer (Temp)

Contract: August 2024
Salary: £11.55 per hour
Location: Westminster, London
Hybrid Work Setting

This is a temporary contract role until the end of the year for an Admin Officer role with an immediate start date (Compliance dependant) for a four-month duration offering a hybrid work setting and a central London location (Westminster).

Department Health and Social Care

As an AO Correspondence Officer, you will be contributing to this busy team by being responsible for the successful handling and the flow of correspondence cases from the minute they are received to the moment that replies are dispatched. This work provides value by being essential for ensuring members of the public get the high-quality information from the Government quickly (key values of democracy and Government-transparency). Much of the role includes being engaged with drafting teams, other Government departments and ministerial private offices. This means that the role provides an outstanding opportunity to experience working on a central government process involving ministers and gain a good understanding of DHSC policies and how they are communicated.

As an AO Correspondence Officer, you will be expected to:

" process a large number of incoming ministerial and public correspondence onto and out of the correspondence database
, SCRIBE.

o Accurately complete the data entry of cases initiated by the ingestion robot.
o Identify and pass cases for response to the correct drafting team, flagging sensitive or urgent cases as required.
o Use knowledge and judgement to analyse complex cases and make recommendations to colleagues and team leaders for handling as part of ongoing improvement in MCPE.
o Accurately issue responses digitally, performing final checks to ensure that correspondence meets quality expectations, and is sent to the correct addressee.

" Initiate and manage transfer requests with other government departments (OGDs) in line with Cabinet Office guidelines.

o Communicate efficiently and politely with OGD colleagues, ensuring that clear information is given, to secure a successful transfer
o Monitor and chase cases that fail to receive a response from an OGD within CO deadlines.
o Clearly summarise, and provide guidance if able, when escalating problem cases to senior managers for resolution.
o Be aware of the role that different Government departments play in policy making and use that knowledge to make decisions about which department is best placed to answer a query.

" Participate in other in-office tasks on your rota office attendance days (attendance levels sent by departmental requirement and business need)

o Accurately print and prepare bundles of draft replies for ministerial signature.
o Accurately scan and attach to SCRIBE records any hand signed cases from ministers
o Ensure that any hard copy correspondence is collected from post room staff, accurately scanned on date of receipt and shared with colleagues for logging
o Be flexible to the changing needs of private offices in a fast-paced central government department.

" Be an effective team player

o Support colleagues in your own team and the wider unit as required, to ensure that targets are met.
o Get involved in discussions about existing processes and suggest any identified changes that may help to simplify processes and routines.
o Pay close attention to detail and be committed to delivering a quality service.
o Opportunities are available for extra-curricular activities, such as organising team meetings, contributing towards the wellbeing of colleagues, and developing in an area of interest.

Brook Street are proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.

Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.

In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group