Civil service administrative officer

Civil service administrative officers perform administrative duties in civil service organisations and government departments. They ensure record maintenance, handle enquiries and provide information to the public, either in person, through emails or phone calls. They support senior staff, and ensure a fluent internal flow of information.

The duties of a civil service administrative officer include, but are not limited to:

• handle enquiries promptly and efficiently from members of the public, other civil servants and other organisations either in person, on the phone or in writing
• follow up enquiries with service users and handle complaints
• ensure information is shared with relevant stakeholders and other agencies
• carry out research and produce high-quality materials and reports
• manage an operational case load
• process payments
• organise, produce and maintain accurate records
• maintain and input information into databases and keep manual filing systems and information logs up to date
• prepare paperwork for checking by a manager and, in some cases, carry out initial checks
• achieve and deliver results within deadlines
• refer complex queries to higher grades
• undertake a range of general administrative tasks
• take an impartial interest in economic and political issues.

Civil service administrative officers work indoors, in offices. Regular office working hours often apply. Each individual department functions differently, however, and some may require longer hours, shift or weekend work.

Part-time, job-share and flexible working options are available.

The following job titles also refer to civil service administrative officer:

government administrative officer
local authority administrator
public administrative officer

No degree is required to work as a civil service administrative officer. However, having a degree can be an important asset for career advancement.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Civil service administrative officer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to civil service administrative officer.

defence administration officer
public administration manager
city councillor
secretary general
public finance accountant

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of civil service administrative officer.

• Bookkeeping regulations: The methods and regulations involved in the process of accurate bookkeeping.
• Legislation procedure: The procedures involved in the making of laws and legislation, such as which organisations and individuals are involved, the process of how bills become laws, the proposal and reviewing process, and other steps in the legislation procedure.
• Public finance: The economic influence of the government, and the workings of government revenue and expenditures.

These skills are necessary for the role of civil service administrative officer.

• Ensure information transparency: Ensure that required or requested information is provided clearly and completely, in a manner which does not explicitly withhold information, to the public or requesting parties.
• Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
• Keep task records: Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.
• Archive documentation related to the work: Select relevant documentation related to the ongoing or complete work and take steps to archive it in a way that ensures its future accessibility.
• Manage administrative systems: Ensure administrative systems, processes and databases are efficient and well managed and give the sound basis to work together with the administrative officer/staff/professional.
• Respond to enquiries: Respond to enquiries and requests for information from other organisations and members of the public.
• Supervise daily information operations: Direct daily operations of different units. Coordinate program/project activities to assure the respect of costs and time.
• Liaise with politicians: Liaise with officials fulfilling important political and legislative roles in governments in order to ensure productive communication and build relations.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of civil service administrative officer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Audit techniques: The techniques and methods that support a systematic and independent examination of data, policies, operations and performances using computer-assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATs) such as spreadsheets, databases, statistical analysis and business intelligence software.
• Budgetary principles: Principles of estimating and planning of forecasts for business activity, compile regular budget and reports.
• Office software: The characteristics and functioning of software programs for office tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, email and database.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of civil service administrative officer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Inspect government expenditures: Inspect the financial procedures of a government organisation which deals with budget and resource allocation and spending to ensure that no faults are being made and no suspicious activity occurs in the handling of financial accounts, and that the expenditures are compliant with financial needs and forecasts.
• Order supplies: Command products from relevant suppliers to get convenient and profitable products to purchase.
• Coordinate events: Lead events by managing budget, logistics, event support, security, emergency plans and follow up.
• Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
• Liaise with local authorities: Maintain the liaison and exchange of information with regional or local authorities.
• Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
• Recruit employees: Hire new employees by scoping the job role, advertising, performing interviews and selecting staff in line with company policy and legislation.
• Conduct workplace audits: Conduct work site audits and inspections in order to ensure compliance with rules and regulations.
• Maintain relationships with government agencies: Establish and maintain cordial working relationships with peers in different governmental agencies.
• Write meeting reports: Write complete reports based on minutes taken during a meeting in order to communicate the important points which were discussed, and the decisions which were made, to the appropriate people.
• Inspect government incomes: Inspect the resources available to a national or local government organisation, such as tax incomes, to ensure that the incomes are compliant with the income expectations, that no faults are being made and no suspicious activity is present in the handling of government finances.
• Fix meetings: Fix and schedule professional appointments or meetings for clients or superiors.
• Ensure compliance with policies: To ensure compliance with legislation and company procedures in respect of Health and Safety in the workplace and public areas, at all times. To ensure awareness of and compliance with all Company Policies in relation to Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities in the workplace. To carry out any other duties which may reasonably be required.
• Manage accounts: Manage the accounts and financial activities of an organisation, supervising that all the documents are correctly maintained, that all the information and calculations are correct, and that proper decisions are being made.
• Use microsoft office: Use the standard programs contained in Microsoft Office. Create a document and do basic formatting, insert page breaks, create headers or footers, and insert graphics, create automatically generated tables of contents and merge form letters from a database of addresses. Create auto-calculating spreadsheets, create images, and sort and filter data tables.
• Handle financial transactions: Administer currencies, financial exchange activities, deposits as well as company and voucher payments. Prepare and manage guest accounts and take payments by cash, credit card and debit card.

2422 – Policy administration professionals

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References

1. ESCO
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
3. Civil Service Administrator Job Profile | Prospects.ac.uk
4. Featured image: Photo by MART PRODUCTION