Admin Support Officer

M·E·L Research is a social research agency, with expertise in research, evaluation and behavioural insights. With 40 years’ experience in working for the UK’s public services, we have a very strong focus on what we want to achieve as a business.

We believe that all businesses have a duty to be socially responsible to re-invest in society, be active contributors to the local community, and to minimise their environmental impacts. We push for social value – in why we work, how we work and who we work with. Click here to see our recently published Social Value report.

You can read more about what it is like to work at M·E·L Research here.

Our history and journey

Formed in 1985, M·E·L Research has grown steadily to a core in-house team of over 30 research and evaluation staff, plus many more telephone interviewers and external CAPI interviewers and support staff. We are on an exciting growth journey, expanding our research and insights capabilities, enhancing our evaluation services, and embedding our data visualisation tools alongside recognised quality accreditations.  

Joining M·E·L Research means becoming part of a confident and forward-looking company, ambitious about the future and committed to broadening the expertise and solutions we offer our clients. At the heart of everything we do is our social purpose: to make a meaningful and lasting difference to society, to the communities we serve, and to our own people.

Benefits

Full details on what it is like to work for M·E·L Research can be found here.  

We offer employees a wide range of generous benefits including:  

• Flexible working arrangements based around the needs of the employee (such as family commitments/needs/childcare).  We are a very family-orientated business and encourage flexible hours and homeworking.  
• Provision of employer contributions to Royal London personal pension scheme starting from a 4% contribution and rising to 8% (subject to employee contributions that meet the auto-enrolment requirements)  
• In addition, paid annual leave allowance of 33 days per annum, including bank holidays (pro-rated for part-time hours), and your birthday  
• 2 paid volunteer days per year  
• Life assurance policy at 3x basic annual salary  
• Health cashback medical care scheme and employee benefits scheme inc. retail discounts  
• Eligibility for annual company profit and performance bonus scheme dependent on company performance  
• Annual pay reviews and cost-of-living pay increases (also subject to the company’s financial performance).  

Job description

Post: Admin Support Officer

Job Location: Birmingham city centre office. This is predominantly an office-based role, with occasional home working by agreement where operational requirements allow.

Reporting to: External Field Team Manager

Salary Range: £27,000 – £28,000 per annum for 37.5 hours per week (dependent on experience), plus potential company profit bonus, pension and other benefits.

Contract: Permanent.

Normal working hours: Monday to Friday, typically 9.00am to 5.30pm, with a one-hour lunch break.

For the full job description, please see the Admin Support Officer briefing pack.

Key responsibilities

The role is expected to be split approximately 50/50 between Field Operations support and wider business administration, although priorities will vary. Field Operations duties include practical office-based tasks, so regular attendance in our Birmingham office is necessary. The activities below are undertaken with guidance from the relevant managers.

• Support Field Operations by printing, assembling and posting interviewer packs, questionnaires and other project materials; organising equipment for interviewers; and checking, recording and processing items returned to the office.
• Help the Field Operations team with routine project and interviewer administration, including maintaining allocation lists, records and trackers, and passing on issues to the appropriate manager.
• Respond to routine enquiries and communicate with interviewers, colleagues, suppliers and other contacts, referring questions or decisions outside your remit to the relevant colleague.
• Maintain accurate spreadsheets, databases, business systems and records, including information about project materials, equipment and day-to-day business activities.
• Provide general business administration support, including arranging meetings, interviews, training sessions and travel, and helping prepare documents and presentations.
• Support HR administration, such as coordinating recruitment interviews, new-starter paperwork, induction arrangements and staff records, under the guidance of the relevant manager.
• Provide administrative support for tender opportunities and client proposals, and help maintain quality and compliance records and audit paperwork, working with the managers responsible for these areas.
• Help keep administrative processes organised, follow agreed procedures and make effective use of everyday digital tools; suggest practical improvements when appropriate.

General duties

• Undertake any other duties reasonably required by the company and commensurate with the nature and level of the role.

Training and support

You will be shown how to carry out our procedures and use our systems. Experienced colleagues and the relevant managers will provide instructions, answer questions, review work where appropriate and offer regular feedback. You will support, rather than independently manage, specialist HR, tendering and compliance activities. Responsibilities will be introduced as you learn the role.

Over time, there may be opportunities to develop broader skills in administration, operations, project support and business processes.

Who this role could suit

This opportunity may suit someone with administration or reception experience, or someone moving into office work from customer service, retail, hospitality, education, healthcare, logistics or another role involving organisation and communication.

We welcome applications from people at all career stages, including those changing career or returning to work.

What we are looking for

We are looking for a friendly, organised and reliable person to join M·E·L Research in a varied administration role. Approximately half your time will be spent supporting our Field Operations team with practical and routine project administration, with the remainder providing administrative support to colleagues across the wider business.

You do not need previous experience in social research or our specialist systems. We will provide training, guidance and ongoing support. We are looking for transferable organisational and communication skills, an eye for detail, reliability and a willingness to learn.

The successful candidate will:

• Be a UK resident with the right to work in the UK
• Good organisational skills and ability to manage a variety of tasks.
• Care and attention to detail, including keeping information accurate.
• Confidence using a computer, email and everyday office applications, with willingness to develop further skills.
• Clear, friendly communication and a helpful approach to colleagues and contacts.
• Reliability, initiative, discretion when handling confidential information and willingness to learn.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Helpful, but not essential

Experience of office administration, maintaining records or spreadsheets, organising documents or equipment, or supporting customers or colleagues is helpful, but not essential.

Previous knowledge of social research, specialist business systems, HR, tendering or compliance processes is not required; training and support will be provided.

Equal opportunities 

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent and free from discrimination or bias. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application process or have any questions about our approach to diversity and inclusion, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Applications

If you are interested in applying for this role, please upload your CV and a cover letter outlining your experience and why you are interested in working for M·E·L Research via the section below.

Applications close Sunday 8th November.

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