International travel apprentice

Overview

Role: Apprentice International Travel Administrator

Location: Harwell Campus, OX11 0QR (Didcot)

Salary range: £15,000 - £17,000 plus benefits

Role ID: 2022-1631

About us

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions.

Energy & Environment, one of Ricardo plc’s five operating business units, is a leader in sustainability consultancy, solving complex environmental challenges through industry-leading analysis, advice and data.

About the Apprenticeship

This is an exciting opportunity to undertake an administrative apprenticeship within a small, friendly admin team. You will work as an Apprentice International Travel administrator, gaining broad experience across the administration function within the department. The successful candidate will make travel arrangements for consultants and managers who are travelling on Ricardo business. The trips range from a day trip on the Eurostar to Brussels for a client meeting to complex trips involving multiple long-haul flights and hotel stays in different countries.

As part of this role, you will undertake an Apprenticeship with Abingdon & Witney College, where you will complete a Level 3 Business Administrator apprenticeship.

What we offer

You will work at our offices on the Harwell Campus near Didcot and form part of the Operations team. As part of your apprenticeship, you will be required to attend either the Abingdon or Witney Campus for 10 days or professional training (1 day per week, over 10 weeks). In total, it will take 18 months to complete all elements of the apprenticeship, with support from us and the College throughout. Following initial training the successful candidate would have the opportunity to further develop their skills and knowledge in travel booking and administration more generally, including more advanced skills such as visa processing. There would also be the opportunity to work in other administrative support functions within Ricardo Energy & Environment or the wider Ricardo Group, or to move into team leader and management roles, with further learning and development provided as required. We have people at all levels of the business that started their careers as apprentices, including one of the Senior Leadership Team.

Key responsibilities

You will provide support to the International Travel Manager, other members of the travel team and our many international travellers in booking and recording travel including the following. Thorough training would be provided in all systems and there would be another member of the team on hand to provide support and guidance.

• Booking flights, hotels, taxis, trains and hire cars using on-line portals and by phone
• Liaising with travellers to understand their needs and preferences, by email, phone and instant message
• Processing visa applications
• General administration of travel bookings, e.g. checking invoices
• Ad hoc support to travellers and other members of the team

Key competencies and experience

• Working knowledge of Microsoft office, including Microsoft excel
• Grade 4 or above GCSEs in Mathematics and English, or equivalent qualifications demonstrating numeracy and literacy
• Experience of a customer-facing role would be desirable

Skills and behaviours

• Have strong organisational and communication skills
• Have a good ability to meet deadlines
• Have a strong can-do attitude as well as being a team player to support colleagues
• Be highly motivated and reliable

Future prospects

This is a fixed term appointment with a possible move to a permanent role upon the successful completion of the Level 3 qualification. This is a fast-paced and challenging environment offering you the opportunity to make your mark. You will have support from the wider business for your career to develop into a wide range of future opportunities within Ricardo Energy & Environment.

How to apply:

Please can you supply a covering letter with your application detailing your reasons for applying, what interests you about this opportunity and why you feel you would make a good applicant for this apprenticeship including what you can bring to the role.

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Working here

Ricardo is an exciting and rewarding place to work and you have the opportunity to make a difference. You will work with teams of talented, dedicated, and supportive individuals. Alongside having a fantastic opportunity to develop your career with us through our broad range of projects, mentoring opportunities and a personalised approach to your learning and development. We are always keen to hear from people who have driven, ambition and a flair for innovative thinking.

Wellbeing and work life balance

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that's working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential. Our People are important to us, and we take pride in our wellbeing programmes and policies that support individuals including flexible working, carers policy, mental health first aiders and readily available support through our extensive Employee Assistance programme.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and ensure a culture of inclusivity, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Benefits

Our core benefits include 25 days' annual leave, plus 8 flexible bank holidays, a competitive company pension scheme, life assurance and professional subscriptions reimbursement. We also offer a wide range of flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle.