Senior Business Support Officer - Education Lead

• The primary work location is County Hall, Taunton, with opportunities for remote work, as per manager approval.
• Permanent Contract, 37 Hours a week.
• 30 Days Annual Leave, not including bank holidays.

We’re working to improve the lives of young people in Somerset- and you’ll be a key part of that. As a Senior Business Support Officer – Education Lead, you will provide essential governance and administrative support to key education boards and projects, ensuring meetings and statutory processes run smoothly.

This role acts as a central point of co-ordination, managing agendas, preparing reports, maintaining compliance, and facilitating stakeholder engagement. Through effective organisation, research and communication, this position strengthens collaboration across teams supporting the successful delivery of education initiatives and high-quality outcomes.

Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Supporting and facilitating The Somerset Schools Forum (LINK)
• Supporting and attending other meetings and workshops, taking minutes, capturing actions and managing any votes or elections as required.
• Working with and directly supporting Senior managers within Children’s Services and Finance.
• Developing and maintaining information systems to ensure statutory duties are met.
• Maintaining and supporting public facing web pages for the School Forum.
• Supporting all aspects of the successful delivery of projects or other time-specific work assignments to defined time, cost, and quality.

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you have:

• A strong understanding of governance processes, statutory requirements, and democratic decision-making.
• Knowledge of education sector structures and key stakeholders.
• Proficient in project management principles and administrative best practices.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities/ deadlines and strong written/verbal communication skills, including minute taking and report preparation.
• The ability to research, analyse, and interpret complex information to support decision-making.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve. 

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave.
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

The Salary for the Senior Business Support Officer is Grade 11, ranging from £32,597 to £36,363 per annum.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Andrew Hedges, Deficit Management Plan (DMP) Strategy Lead - Education at andrew.hedges@somerset.gov.uk

Interviews are planned to take place on the 10^th and 11^th February 2026.

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.

This role requires a basic check via the Disclosure procedure.