Hearing Support Officer

Blue Arrow are currently recruiting for a Hearings Support Officer to work with our public sector client in the heart of Edinburgh. This is a busy role, where you will be supporting multiple teams with administrative support. You will be providing an exceptional front facing services at times, whilst also supporting with back office business support to the wider team. This is a 12 month contract role and will be based on site 5 days per week at the clients vibrant, modern city centre office.

The Hearings and Witnesses Team is responsible for the delivery of trauma-informed, effective and efficient hearings, with engagement and support for witnesses and attendees being a key focus. This also means developing and maintaining relationships with other bodies and organisations such as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and core participant groups.

The Shared Services and Programme Management team provide a wide range of business support within the Inquiry. The main areas that Shared Services and Programme Management cover are finance, procurement, business management, executive and management support, property, training, events, IT/systems, human resources, risk management and programme management.

Main Duties of Role
* Responsibilities will include administrative assistance to Inquiry teams, reception cover, providing support to the Shared Services and Programme Management Team, assisting with generic inbox management, drafting responses to correspondence, minuting meetings and other administrative tasks (printing, filing) as required.
* To act as the first point of contact for internal and external enquiries to the Hearings and Witnesses Team ensuring all contact is trauma informed and person centred.
* To support the delivery of hearings by providing reception duties and in-hearing support as required, professionally and assertively ensuring compliance with hearing room etiquette.
* Managing the Hearings and Witnesses diary, prioritising, arranging and where required attending internal and external appointments and meetings, working closely with Hearings & Witness Support Officers to prioritise and arrange attendance of witnesses.
* Support virtual attendance at hearings by scheduling, issuing invitations and managing video conferences for key participants.
* To provide support to the Hearings and Witnesses Team, managing generic inboxes, preparing witness citations, drafting responses to correspondence, minuting meetings and other administrative tasks as required.
* To plan and manage key Hearings and Witnesses events, including confidently making announcements at hearings as required.
* Develop and maintain an understanding of the Inquiry's operations and develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders at all levels both internally and externally.
* Maintain effective filing and data storage including emails and retrieval systems in accordance with records management guidelines.
* Undertake any other appropriate duties as required to support the Hearings and Witnesses Team to enable them to fulfil their role.
* Undertake any other duties relevant to the needs of other teams within the Inquiry where capacity and skills permit.
Brief summary of role
The Hearings Support Officer will work under the direction of the Executive Support Manager. This role will be split between working with the Hearings and Witnesses team when required, particularly when hearings are running, and carrying out administrative support to the Shared Services and Programme Management team all other times.
The Hearings Support Officer will play a key and front facing role in providing an excellent level of service for both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring that the Inquiry's values of being trauma informed and person centred are upheld. The Hearings Support Officer will also undertake hearing reception duties on sitting days, meeting, greeting and checking in attendees at hearings and providing support in the hearings space as required, ensuring awareness of and compliance with hearing room etiquette.
The Hearings Support Officer will work closely with colleagues across the Inquiry, including the Inquiry Legal team, Chair and counsel to support the Hearings and Witnesses team and wider Inquiry to achieve their aims.
The Shared Services and Programme Management team provide a wide range of business support within the Inquiry. The main areas that Shared Services and Programme Management cover are finance, procurement, business management, executive and management support, property, training, events, IT/systems, human resources, risk management and programme management.
The tasks will include assisting with generic inbox management, drafting responses to correspondence, reception cover, minuting meetings, booking travel, reporting IT faults and other administrative tasks (printing, filing) as required.
The role-holder must be available to work in the Inquiry's office, in person, full time Monday - Friday. Experience of planning, organising and prioritising workloads to meet tight deadlines and the ability to work flexibly across the whole team if required is essential.
The role holder must be Self-motivated, working within a team or on own initiative with minimal supervision, demonstrating professionalism, sound judgement and reliability under pressure, and being accountable for outcomes.
They must have excellent interpersonal skills, including working confidently and assertively with a wide range of people and building positive relationships.

Blue Arrow is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to helping find great work opportunities for great people.