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OFFICE MANAGER AND EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE BISHOP IN EUROPE
Job Description and Person Specification
JOB TITLE: Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Bishop in Europe
GRADE: Higher Executive Officer
LOCATION: Brussels
ACCOUNTABLE TO: The Bishop in Europe
KEY RELATIONSHIPS: The Bishop in Europe, the Bishop’s Chaplain, the Bishop’s Administrative Secretary, the Chaplains in Europe, the Archdeacons, the Diocesan Secretary and staff in the Diocesan office.
BACKGROUND: The Diocese in Europe is one of 42 dioceses of the Church of England. It provides ministry in the Anglican tradition to communities across the continent of Europe and beyond. The Bishop is the chief pastor of the diocese. To support his ministry across a far flung diocese he needs a secure, efficient and well-run office base.
Whilst the Bishop lives within his diocese, in Brussels, many of the support functions for the diocese are based at the diocesan office in London. Maintaining strong communication with people and churches in many different countries and with staff in London is essential.
JOB SUMMARY: To manage the systems, environment and day to day running of the Bishop’s office and to provide first class personal support to his ministry.
The OM/EA is responsible for the administration of the Bishop’s work and the efficient running of his office. As the normal first point of contact with the Bishop, s/he has a key diplomatic role in projecting and sustaining a professional and caring approach both within the church and ecumenically.
The role has great responsibility, much variety and intense demands. It requires someone who enjoys engaging with people of all sorts, has patience and calm and a thick skin as well as high level administrative and organisational skills.
Staff in the diocese are frequently in isolated and demanding situations, and it is especially important that they are profoundly valued and cared for pastorally, spiritually and personally. The OM/EA is crucial in making this a reality. 11/06/2014
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This is a new post in Belgium and the post-holder will have the challenge of setting up and shaping a new office environment.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. PROVIDING AN EFFICIENT SECRETARIAL SERVICE TO THE BISHOP IN EUROPE Advanced planning and management of the Bishop's diary Organising all appointments and providing practical briefings about the arrangements made for all visits and meetings Preparing weekly then daily sheets of the Bishop’s engagements and maintaining an efficient system for tracking papers Dealing promptly with all incoming correspondence and drafting replies Receiving and dealing efficiently with all incoming emails, forward as appropriate to the Bishop for his information, drafting replies, filing for future reference. Handling a wide range of telephone enquiries with confidence, diplomacy and tact - answering queries directly or passing them on to the Bishop or other appropriate source of information Developing an effective network of contacts with relevant people in equivalent positions to this post, regionally, nationally and internationally. Ensuring the maintenance of clergy blue files Ensuring Safeguarding and Data protection are being handled to the highest possible standards.
2. GENERAL OVERSEEING AND RUNNING OF THE BISHOP’S OFFICE AND MINISTRY (in this and all categories the task is to do or ensure, by delegation, that something is done to the highest professional standards) Offering a warm and generous welcome to all visitors and arranging catering as necessary. Keeping the Bishop’s spouse informed of events and offering support to the Bishop and his family in all ways that are proper and appropriate Efficient and timely management of appointments Managing office cleaning and ensuring general tidiness Purchasing and maintaining office equipment and supplies Managing paper and computerised filing systems Organising the archiving of papers as appropriate Ensuring that the office database is kept up to date Delegating work to the Administrative Secretary Dealing with enquiries and overseeing long term diary planning
3. SERVICES OF WORSHIP Liaising with the local organisers of a service Ensuring that a draft order of service is available in good time for the Bishop’s agreement Ensuring that there is someone appointed to act as Chaplain at the service
4. CONFIRMATIONS Preparing lists of requests for Confirmations Liaising with Suffragan and Honorary Bishops regarding dates Preparing final lists of Confirmations offered Maintaining an up to date list of Confirmations during the year
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Preparing the necessary letters and documents for the local church Finalising arrangements and liaising with the local church as necessary.
5. BUILDINGS AND IT Liaison with Freeholder and Church Commissioners’ Agent concerning all upkeep and repairs Making arrangements for convenient appointments for servicing and any work required Managing contractors Managing IT equipment and relations with IT Consultancy Maintaining the inventory
6. HOSPITALITY Planning and organising catering for a range of social events each year, some of which may involve acts of worship.
7. THE DIOCESAN OFFICE Maintaining good relationships and communication with Diocesan officers.
8. NATIONAL CHURCH Collating all papers and making the logistical arrangements for the Bishop's work relating to General Synod, the House of Bishops, College of Bishops and any other national and regional meetings.
9. MEETINGS Ensuring that the Bishop has adequate briefings for all meeting Ensuring that all relevant agenda, papers, directions to venues are available and presented in an accessible way. Liaising with meeting organisers regarding the Bishop’s requirements re IT support, refreshments etc.
10. BISHOP’S STAFF AND OTHER MEETINGS Act as Secretary to Staff meetings, by collating business, preparing agendas, taking and circulating minutes.
11. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Overall responsibility for the Bishop’s budget.
The main duties and responsibilities of your post are outlined in your job description. This list is not exhaustive and is intended to reflect your main tasks and areas of work. Changes may occur over time and you will be expected to agree any reasonable changes to your job description that are commensurate with your grading and in line with the general nature of your post. You will be consulted about any changes to your job description before these are implemented.
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PERSON SPECIFICATION
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Education: Educated to degree standard or equivalent together with proven ability to carry out administrative/secretarial work.
Skills/Aptitudes: Fluent spoken and written English language communication skills (EU level C2) Strong spoken and written French language communication skills (EU level C1 or above) Proven ability to report to & do secretarial and administrative work for a senior manager The ability to deal with people at all levels
Knowledge and Attributes: The ability to understand and apply the priorities of the Bishop's ministry when allocating diary appointments Well presented work with a meticulous eye for detail Competent and friendly telephone manner in both English and French Ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality and handle sensitive issues with discretion Ability to work calmly under pressure and meet deadlines Competent in use of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and Power Point Working knowledge of Microsoft Access with evidence of previous experience of maintaining a data base within an office environment Excellent word processing skills from manuscript and audio Willingness to travel to the UK for occasional meetings
Personal Attributes: Ability to show initiative and work with minimal or no supervision Well organised, methodical and the ability to manage competing priorities Ability to work independently and as a member of a team and the wider diocese Competent and friendly telephone manner in both English and French Good interpersonal and diplomatic skills and to enjoy dealing with people from all walks of life with courtesy and on occasion appropriate firmness Willingness to deal with a wide range of people of different faiths or no faith and to treat them equally. Willingness to be involved in continuing personal and professional development.
DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS:
Skills and Aptitudes: Competence in other European languages Experience of a complex organisation at a high level.
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Knowledge and Attributes: Knowledge of safeguarding and Data Protection principles Knowledge of Belgian HR/mutual assurance/payroll processes
Personal Attributes: Sympathy with the Christian faith and an ability to share in the ethos of the Bishop’s office. An interest in the work of the Church of England and in the Diocese in Europe.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Starting Salary: The starting salary for this post is €2,184.41 gross amount per month.
Hours of Duty : Your hours of work will be 80% of a full week per week hours exclusive of a one-hour lunch break, to be taken at a time agreed with the Bishop.
Annual Leave: You are entitled to annual leave according to Belgian legislation; this is the part-time equivalent of 20 days per year. This is exclusive of public and additional holidays. The leave year runs from 1st January to 31st December.
Contract: The post is offered on a permanent contract.
Closing date for receipt of applications: 1700 hours on 10 July 2014 Interview Date: 18 July 2014.
Following interview you will be informed of the outcome within three days and feed-back will be offered to unsuccessful candidates, if requested.
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