Business Support (Technology & Workplace) Officer

About Outward

For 50 years, Outward has been providing high-quality support and care services to vulnerable people across London, predominantly in North East London. Established by families seeking alternatives to institutional care, we’ve grown into a respected provider of person-centred support for adults with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs, and complex needs. We support over 1,000 people across nine boroughs, guided by our core values: engage, enable, and empower.

Outward is proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer. This means we are committed to paying the Real Living Wage – not just the government minimum or national living wage – to our frontline Support Workers and other eligible staff. We recognise the value of the work our teams do, and we are committed to ensuring fair pay that reflects the true cost of living. The Real Living Wage is updated annually by the Living Wage Foundation, and Outward remains committed to aligning our pay accordingly.

About the Role

We are looking for a practical, organised and proactive Business Support (Technology and Workplace) Officer to provide essential facilities, workplace and business support across Outward. The role sits within Business Support and Digital Technology, but it is not a specialist IT post. We are looking for someone with strong facilities, office support and coordination experience who is also confident using everyday technology and supporting colleagues with basic equipment and system queries.

A large part of the role will involve keeping core workplace processes running smoothly, especially confidential waste, shredding and records archiving, Amazon Business account administration, the main office telephone system, mobile phone administration, supplies, post and deliveries, and accurate record keeping. As this is a standalone officer role, the postholder must be able to work independently, use initiative, prioritise competing requests and follow issues through to completion.

Facilities, workplace and business support: Coordinating practical office support processes, with particular focus on confidential waste, shredding and records archiving, Amazon Business account administration, the main office telephone system, mobile phones, post, supplies, equipment, supplier queries and facilities liaison.

Technology equipment and basic IT support: Issuing and tracking laptops, mobile phones and other equipment, maintaining accurate asset records, helping colleagues with basic setup and straightforward troubleshooting, and escalating more complex technical issues to IT, which is outsourced to a team outside Outward but within the Trust.

This role would suit someone with hands-on facilities, workplace or business support experience who enjoys taking ownership of practical tasks, keeping records accurate, dealing with suppliers and service providers, and using initiative to resolve day-to-day office and equipment issues.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate confidential waste, shredding and records archiving processes, including arranging collections, ordering archive boxes and labels, maintaining records, handling requests and supporting secure storage, retrieval and disposal.
• Administer the Amazon Business account, including user access, purchasing controls, account administration and supporting compliant purchasing processes.
• Administer the main office telephone system, including call routing, voicemail arrangements and liaison with providers so calls are directed and responded to appropriately.
• Administer staff mobile phones and service phone contracts, maintain user records, review usage and invoices, and raise queries where needed.
• Issue and track laptops, mobile phones and other equipment, maintain accurate IT asset records, and support colleagues with basic setup, connectivity and troubleshooting queries.
• Coordinate office supplies, operational equipment, post and deliveries, ensuring stock levels and records are kept up to date.
• Liaise with facilities providers, including the Newlon Facilities Team, on office issues, service requests and facilities-related SLAs, following up until matters are resolved.
• Support safe working practices and emergency procedures within office environments.

Full JD is available on request.

Requirements

Essential

• Hands-on experience in a facilities, workplace, office support or business support role.
• Experience coordinating practical office processes such as confidential waste, shredding, archiving, post, office supplies, equipment or supplier queries.
• Confidence administering business accounts, systems, logs or records accurately, with strong attention to detail.
• Experience providing basic first-line IT or digital support, including issuing equipment and helping colleagues with setup or straightforward troubleshooting.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel for tracking, record keeping, assets registers, logs or reconciliations.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks, work independently and follow issues through to completion.
• A proactive, solution-focused approach and the confidence to use initiative in a standalone officer role.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain practical or technical issues clearly to colleagues.
• Understanding of confidentiality, GDPR and data protection principles.
• Staff must have access to a smartphone capable of receiving SMS messages and installing authentication apps for secure systems access.
• Right to Work in the UK. Please note: Outward will not provide visa sponsorship.

Desirable

• IT or digital support-related qualification.
• Health and Safety awareness training or qualification.
• Experience working with suppliers, telecommunications providers or facilities providers.

How to Apply

The above is not an exhaustive list of requirements for the role.

If you think you are who we are looking for, please submit a CV and statement detailing how you feel your experiences meets the requirements of the role by referring to the Job Responsibilities and the Person Specification. Full JD is available on request

There is no specific closing date for this advert. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a sufficient number of suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. It would be great to hear from you.

Outward is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults at risk and expects all staff to share this commitment. If the post you apply for involves working with or having access to adults at risk and/or their records, we will require a DBS for successful candidates.

Benefits

We value everything our staff do for the people we support, so we provide a great benefits package

• 25 days Annual Leave excluding Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time)
• Comprehensive Learning & Development Programme
• Cycle-to-Work Scheme
• Death in Service Benefit
• Health Assured – Employee Assistance Programme
• Eye care Vouchers
• Flu Jab Reimbursement
• Pension Scheme
• Purchase Additional Annual Leave
• Refer-a-Friend Scheme

Diversity and Safeguarding at Outward

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Outward applies its Equal Opportunities Policy at all stages of recruitment and selection. Shortlisting, interviewing and selection is carried out without regard to gender, sexual orientation, marital status, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, age or trade union membership.

As an employer, who aspire to become Disability Confident Committed, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. Please indicate clearly at the beginning of your supporting statement if you have a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010), and you wish to be considered for an Offer Of an Interview (OOI) Please note that the OOI is available to disabled candidates only. Regrettably, any false declaration of disability in order to secure an interview will impact on your overall application.