Job Title: Administration Apprentice
Location: F4 Trentham Business Quarter
Hours: Monday to Friday – 35 hours per week
Salary: Apprenticeship rate £8.00 per hour year 1, increasing year 2
Qualification: Level 2 or 3 Business Administration
About the Role
Working within a vibrant and busy team, this is an excellent opportunity to begin your career as an Administration Apprentice in a varied role covering contracts, purchasing, sales administration and customer service. You will join a friendly team who are committed to providing excellent support to customers and colleagues.
This role is ideal for someone who is organised, energetic, keen to learn new systems and comfortable working with both people and information. You will be trained from the ground up, with full support throughout your apprenticeship to help you build confidence, accuracy and a strong understanding of the business.
How Your Training Will Begin
Your initial training will focus on contracts and purchasing support, giving you a clear understanding of how products, supplier terms, pricing and customer agreements fit together. With training and support, you will learn how to:
· Maintain customer contracts, including pricing, product coding, discontinued products and contract cleansing.
· Run and review reports to identify actions, maintain accurate records and support decision-making.
· Understand VOW deals, supplier pricing and how these affect customer and contract pricing.
· Provide basic administrative support for Account Managers and sales representatives, including finding codes for products and maintaining information.
· Set up online users, delivery addresses and login details, and amend existing user access when required.
· Support product rationalisation by reviewing similar products and helping to reduce unnecessary duplication - for example, moving from five similar products to one preferred product.
· Completing CO2 data for customers
As your knowledge and confidence develop, you will progress into wider administration and customer support responsibilities.
What You Will Be Doing
With training and support, you will learn how to:
· Process customer sales orders accurately, send confirmations and respond to telephone and email enquiries about sales, service, quotes and orders.
· Prepare non-core quotations for customer follow-up and add agreed products to customer contracts when required.
· Maintain accurate information on Horizon, including customer contacts, delivery addresses and data cleansing.
· Set up and manage customer requirements on the external workwear management system.
· Monitor back-orders and long lead times, contact customers to agree next steps, source alternatives and maintain a bank of approved alternative products.
· Send back-order notifications, track deliveries, organise returns and complete follow-up actions.
· Help resolve low-level customer complaints and service issues, escalating to Account Managers after reasonable resolution attempts when required.
· Support key and critical-care customers in line with Account Manager instructions.
· Support the manager with pricing, matrix management and contract maintenance.
· Assist with credit scoring, customer CO2 reporting and relevant product suggestions.
What We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who is keen to learn and develop. In this role, you will be supported to:
· Build strong verbal and written communication skills.
· A good basic understanding of Excel to learn how to manipulate data
· Develop accuracy and confidence when working with pricing, product codes, contracts and business systems.
· Learn how to manage a busy workload and prioritise tasks.
· Develop active listening and problem-solving skills to understand and resolve queries.
· Gain confidence in handling customer concerns calmly and professionally.
· Take ownership of your work and see tasks through to completion.
· Work flexibly and positively as part of a team.
· Show curiosity about how purchasing, pricing, contracts, sales administration and customer service work together.
An interest in products such as office supplies, workwear/PPE, office furniture, janitorial products, print or business gifts would be helpful, but is not essential. Full training will be provided.
Entry Requirements
· GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and Maths are desirable but not essential.
· You must be eligible to work in the UK.
· You must be willing to complete the apprenticeship qualification alongside the role.
What We Offer
· A structured apprenticeship with training from the ground up and a recognised qualification.
· Support from experienced colleagues and a dedicated mentor.
· A friendly, supportive and collaborative working environment.
· Opportunities for progression and the potential for a permanent role following successful completion of the apprenticeship.
· Holiday entitlement and company benefits.
Pay: From £8.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Store discount
Application question(s):
- How would you rate your Excel skills, and which functions or features are you confident using?
- This is an apprenticeship, initially on an apprentice wage of £8.00 per hour, please confirm that you are aware of this.
Education:
- A-Level or equivalent (preferred)
Work Location: In person
