Civil Service Administrative Officer

Typical Salary

£18,000 To £24,500

Typical Hours

37 to 40 a week

between 8am and 6pm

How To Become a Civil Service Administrative Officer

You can get into this job through:

an apprenticeship
working towards this role
applying directly

College / University

Apprenticeship

You could do an intermediate apprenticeship to become a business administrator.

some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

You could join the Civil Service as an administrative assistant. You'll usually need at least 2 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C).

You could then apply for a post as an administrative officer when vacancies become available.

You could apply directly to join the Civil Service as an administrative officer. You'll usually need at least 5 GCSEs. You may need A levels, or equivalent qualifications, for some administrative jobs.

You may also find it useful to have experience in related work like office administration or customer service.

As part of the application process, you'll be tested on your ability to:

work well in a team
communicate with others
work with numbers

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

administration skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
the ability to work well with others
the ability to work on your own
sensitivity and understanding
to be flexible and open to change
excellent verbal communication skills
customer service skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

Your day-to-day duties will depend on the department you work for but you may:

handle enquiries from the public in person, by telephone or online
research information
contact customers to follow up enquiries
deal with complaints
process benefit payments
update computerised and paper-based records
file, photocopy and other administrative tasks
refer complex queries or cases to an executive officer

Working Environment

You could work in an office.

Career Path & Progression

With experience, you'll deal with more complex enquiries, or take on more specialist work related to your department.

With further training, you could apply to become a Civil Service executive officer.

Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteering Opportunities are not listed for this job.

Tips & Information

Career tips

Movement to Work offers work experience opportunities in the Civil Service for unemployed young people.

Further information

You can find out more about working as an administrative officer from Civil Service Careers.

Restrictions & Requirements

You'll need to:

pass enhanced background checks
meet the Civil Service nationality requirements