Lead Administrator-DEF Academy Services Full Time

Location: Defence Academy, Shrivenham (Swindon), SN68LA

Salary: £26,109.58 plus excellent benefits

Schedule: 37 hours per week- Monday- Friday 8am- 4pm (Hybrid 3 days in office)

Ready to impact a better future?

As a Lead Administrator in our Defence team, you’ll play an important role in ensuring the smooth, efficient running of our Course Administration department. You’ll support colleagues, customers and visiting stakeholders through reliable administration, confident communication and proactive organisation.

Your work will help create impactful solutions that support learning delivery, strengthen operational consistency and ensure our Defence customers receive high‑quality administrative support. You’ll also contribute to a positive, collaborative workplace where colleagues can learn, grow and deliver services that make a real difference to wider Defence capability.

What You’ll Do As a Lead Administrator

You’ll be entrusted to:

• Engage proactively with induction processes to support successful probation for yourself and colleagues, contributing to ongoing development.
• Assist fellow Lead Administrators, Specialist Coordinators, Team Leaders and departmental colleagues with a wide range of administrative tasks to deliver service excellence.
• Manage your workload proactively, maintain strong communication with Serco, military and customer contacts, and remain fully aware of team priorities.
• Carry out general administrative duties, including creating, updating and managing spreadsheets, databases and SharePoint/virtual learning environments.
• Arrange meetings — including drafting agendas, coordinating attendance, chairing when required and producing action notes.
• Support visitors by arranging transport, accommodation, AV needs, catering and arrival support.
• Liaise closely with internal departments and external agencies on and off site.
• Manage stationery levels, maintain effective electronic filing systems and support GDPR‑compliant archiving.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to assigned colleagues, including delegating tasks, offering guidance and reviewing completed work.
• Adhere to all mandatory Serco policies, including SMS, Code of Conduct, Think Privacy and SyOps, and ensure correct use of Information Privacy Classifications.
• Provide cover, support and shadowing for other posts when required, maintaining Health and Safety responsibilities at all times.

Does this sound like you?

You’ll be a great fit for this role if you have:

• A good level of general education, ideally including GCSEs (A–C or equivalent) in English and Maths.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage confidently at all levels.
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a busy team environment.
• Confidence coping with pressure and managing competing demands from customers and colleagues.
• Excellent organisational skills, including proactive workload management and attention to detail.
• Previous administration experience, with proficiency in MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel essential; PowerPoint desirable).
• Experience managing electronic calendars, manipulating data and supporting others through mentoring or coaching.

Interviews will be held week commencing 11th May

Vetting And Checks

This role requires Security Clearance (such as CTC or SC), which includes more detailed background checks on employment, criminal record, and financial history to ensure suitability for working in secure environments. Please note that UK residency requirements may apply for certain levels of clearance. You will also complete an Occupational Health Questionnaire so we can identify and provide any support you may need to undertake the role effectively.

Discover all you need to keep growing

We’re one of the top 1% of international employers, so you can have confidence you’ll be part of a highly supportive culture with leaders you can count on to help you achieve your goals. From mentoring and training to our focus on internal progression, we’re proud to offer clear development opportunities – and the support and tools to help you seize them.

What We Offer

• Holidays: 25 days plus bank holidays (and the option to buy up to five additional leave days each year)
• Pension: Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Training and development: Over 1,100 internal courses available, funding for qualifications and apprenticeships (including L3 Team Leader and L5 Operations Manager apprenticeships), mentoring opportunities, and a focus on internal progression
• Health and wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme, Bupa Anytime HealthLine, wellbeing app, 30% off at Serco‑managed leisure centres, and 24/7 access to a virtual GP service
• Discounts: Discounts across around 1,000 retailers, from food and clothing to days out, entertainment and travel
• Charity: Paid volunteering day, tax‑free charitable giving through Payroll Giving Scheme, donate your pennies from your monthly pay to the Serco People Fund Charity
• Employee networks: Our networks support inclusion and connection by providing spaces for collaboration, learning and belonging. They represent and empower all our colleagues including LGBTQIA+ employees, women, parents and carers, people with disabilities, veterans and people from all cultural backgrounds.

Let’s impact a better future, together. Apply today.

About Serco

At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Apply

Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.