Office Manager

Switchback is a small, innovative charity that works in a completely different way to provide an intensive programme to 18-30 year old offenders who want to make a real, long lasting change after release from prison. Our mission is to change the way that our Trainees think about and participate in society.

We are looking for a brilliant person to join us as Office Manager. We had to pick a job title so that’s what we went for but really it’s a mixed bag. It will involve a wide range of things from fielding general enquiries to making sure the petty cash is balanced, from organising Trustee meetings to looking after the office pot plants. We realise this is a broad-based role and will be supporting the successful candidate to build the skills they need in some areas.

This is a full-time role on a fixed term, one year contract with a view to renewing on a permanent basis pending team structure approval. Depending on the person, the salary will be between £20,000 and £25,000.

We are a team of eight people based in a bright, colourful office near Spitalfields Market - just opposite the café where all of our Trainees work after they are released from prison.

The Office Manager will take pride in ensuring that details are correct and the quality of appearances is high (from how the office looks to the formatting of a document). They will express themselves in an engaging way and relish looking after the team.

As ever with Switchback, the most important thing is that they care about and understand Switchback’s work with young adult offenders and are a good fit with our tiny, dedicated and very busy team.

If you’re excited by the idea of working at Switchback and you’d like to apply for this role please send us the following two documents by 10am on Monday 3rd August.

1. Completed application form. CVs will not be considered. 2. Brief covering letter outlining why this role appeals to you. This should not be longer than one side of A4.

Please send by email to [email protected]

If you have any queries, please contact Hayley Topley on 020 7650 8989.

Application deadline: 10am Monday 3rd August Provisional interview date: Friday 14th August

www.switchback.org.uk Person Specification

1. Professional skills and qualities  a real self-starter who is comfortable with responsibility  highly organised with an eye for detail  able to use own initiative and creatively solve problems as they arise 2. Flexibility and energy  show positive energy and a sense of humour  able to prioritise a busy and varied workload, including less interesting tasks  able to effectively deal with changing priorities 3. Able to be a “linchpin” in a small organisation  understanding of how to be an effective central point for coordination and support for staff  alert to dynamics and details, noticing and taking action  able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people from different backgrounds

4. Knowledge and experience

 Confident and competent use of Microsoft Excel or databases

5. Desirable (not essential) experience  Financial admin in some form  Managing IT systems/solving minor IT problems  Account management and negotiation with suppliers Job Description

Office resources The Office Manager needs to ensure that our space is bright, professional, clean and safe.

 Maintain the office premises and resources  Keep stocks of stationery, stamps etc  Work with IT Support Company to ensure smooth running of computers and network  Act as main contact for all suppliers (water, cleaner, phone etc), insurers and managing agents for Norvin House  Act as main contact for Crisis UK  Manage facilities

Financial Admin The Office Manager is responsible for ensuring our financial records are 100% accurate and managed in a timely fashion.

 Work with Switchback’s Bookkeeper and Treasurer on financial admin  Liaise with staff to process their weekly expenses  Process weekly petty cash– balance tin and update spreadsheet  Process incoming invoices  Keep accurate files of petty cash receipts, invoices and evidence of income/gifts in kind  Negotiate charity rates / reduced payment for Switchback expenditure  Act as main contact with Bookkeeper for payroll

Internal support Although sitting with the Development Team, this role is central to the whole of the Switchback team and will look after several aspects that affect everyone.

 Present a consistent presence to Trainees and visitors  Coordinate staff queries within the team  Help manage the diaries of the leadership team  Field emails coming in to [email protected]  Answer office phone  Some diary management for the two Founding Directors  Enter new contacts into Contacts Database and keep mailing list up to date  Maintain a useable electronic library of photos for use by the rest of the team  Coordinate staff social events  Field and distribute relevant press stories to members of the team  Assist staff with document preparation (formatting, printing, laminating etc)  Fine-tuning and adding to Switchback Mentor printed and electronic resources  Desk research for pilot projects  Capturing records of meetings and discussions

Trainee support The Office Manager helps the Switchback Mentors to work with Trainees by ensuring the practical side of the support they provide is efficient and appropriate.

 Support the Switchback Mentor team to manage records on the Trainee database  Support the leadership team in generating information from the Trainee database  Coordinate the printing of photos for Trainees  Researching and ordering items on behalf of Trainees and staff (e.g. branded T-shirts, celebration gifts etc)  Keep stocks of Trainee expenses vouchers

HR We look after HR ourselves in-house, and the Office Manager takes the lead on the admin around this.

 Admin for recruitment and advertising  Process applications for job vacancies  Lead on logistics for job interviews  Field and respond to unsolicited approaches from potential volunteers and staff  Managing holiday/sick timesheet for all staff  Maintain record of staff training and notify staff of new training opportunities

Other  Support the running of annual events aimed at raising profile  Liaise with website designers to make necessary updates to website  Help create and develop promotional materials  Lead on Trustee admin  Arrange Trustee meetings and circulate papers  Take minutes at Trustee meetings  Carry out other duties as required