The Bishop of Ely leads the Diocese of Ely, which is the Church of England in Cambridgeshire, West Norfolk and South Peterborough. In addition to his primary role of oversight of the diocese, the Bishop has major national church responsibilities and sits in the House of Lords. To support him in his ministry, the Bishop’s office must provide an efficient and friendly administrative centre, working closely with colleagues within and beyond the Diocese, and to further the implementation of the diocesan strategy Ely2025 – People Fully Alive.

It is particularly important that all those involved in the life of the Diocese of Ely, both lay and ordained, have a sense that they are profoundly valued and cared for pastorally, spiritually, and personally. To know people and be known by them is at the heart of the Bishop’s ministry across the diocese.

The role of the Bishop’s Correspondence Secretary is varied and demanding, requiring a calm and patient approach, and a high degree of organisational and administrative skill. The post-holder will be someone who enjoys working as part of a small team, interacting with a diverse range of people and answering a variety of enquiries. They must be able to maintain strict confidentiality, be tactful and firm, to have a healthy sense of humour, and when necessary, a thick skin! Key working relationships are with the Bishop, his Senior Chaplain and the rest of the team in Bishop’s House, the PA to The Bishop of Huntingdon, The Dean, the Diocesan Secretary, the Archdeacons, and other diocesan staff.

As a Diary and Correspondence Secretary you will provide vital support to the Bishop, assisting his Senior Chaplain in processing and completing a consistently high volume of varied tasks, and ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the office. The Diary and Correspondence Secretary is managed by the Bishop of Ely’s Senior Chaplain and works closely with the Hospitality and Administration Secretary. Whilst each member of the team has specific roles and responsibilities, there is a certain amount of overlap. Consequently, efficient communication within the team is key to ensuring the successful running of the office.

Further information about the Diocese Diocese of Ely (elydiocese.org)

All applications to be received by Wednesday 12th October 2022.

Interviews to be held on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th October 2022.

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. This is a priority for the Archbishops. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we particularly welcome applicants from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities.

In return we offer a unique environment with opportunities for continuous learning, generous annual leave for work life balance, and a range of benefits including enhanced maternity and paternity leave, discounted entry to attractions and what we feel is a market leading package when it comes to our pension scheme.

The Role

The Bishop’s diary is very full and planned a long time in advance with a variety of types of commitment both within and beyond the diocese. It is essential that the dairy is kept under review and updated as necessary both to reflect changing arrangements and to ensure a degree of flexibility. The post-holder is responsible for:

• Co-ordinating and managing the Bishop’s diary, under the direction of the Senior Chaplain, including provision of accurate and realistic briefings about practical arrangements.
• Organising the Bishop’s travel arrangements in the UK and abroad, as required.
• Organising practical arrangements for visas and meetings and liaising efficiently with those organising services and events elsewhere.
• Ensuring that the Bishop (and, where appropriate, his Senior Chaplain) have the papers required for meetings, and that papers are filed or disposed of efficiently afterwards.
• Liaising with the PA to the Bishop of Huntingdon to ensure that the Bishops’ diaries synchronise, in particular with regard to episcopal availability for such services as Confirmation and Licensing.

Correspondence

The office correspondence load is diverse, involving a wide range of people. The post-holder is responsible for:

• Receiving and dealing efficiently with email correspondence and handling a wide range of telephone enquiries with confidence, diplomacy and tact.
• Opening, sorting, and logging daily postal correspondence, and ensuring that it is directed appropriately.
• Preparing routine letters and gaining signatures.
• Formulating letters from drafts provided by the Bishop or his Senior Chaplain and drafting other letters as required.
• Responding appropriately to invitations and meeting requests.
• Ensuring that letters which instigate a process are followed up.
• The preparation of occasional bulk mailings.
• Handling the arrangements for Confirmation Services including sending annual Confirmation returns.

Other

• The logging and collating of official expenses and submitting them to the Bishop of Huntingdon’s PA.
• Maintaining entries on the National Clergy Database and making sure that these are correct and up to date.
• Routine maintenance of clergy personal (blue) files; forwarding of incoming/outgoing clergy files (in consultation with the Senor Chaplain).
• Maintenance of comprehensive filing systems (electronic and paper), facilitating the efficient storage and retrieval of information.
• Taking their part in the routine work of the office such as welcoming visitors, answering the phone, photocopying, filing, preparing and delivering refreshments to meetings, tidying up etc.
• Undertaking any such similar duties as may be reasonably requested by the Bishop or his Senior Chaplain.
• Attendance at some evening/weekend events may occasionally be required (TOIL offered).

The Requirements

• Educated to A-level (or equivalent) or with comparable professional qualification or experience.
• Proven ability in managing a complex and busy diary.
• Excellent administrative skills.
• Excellent communication and literacy skills (verbal, aural, and written).
• An eye for detail, and the ability to be accurate and precise, including under time pressure.
• Good IT skills, particularly using Microsoft Office applications.
• Proven ability to manage time efficiently and to meet deadlines.
• Proven interpersonal skills required for daily complex liaison with colleagues, clergy and the public on the telephone and face-to-face.
• Demonstrable ability to work efficiently as part of a team.
• Experience of handling confidential and sensitive matters professionally and appropriately.
• Willingness to work within the ethos of a Christian organisation, and sympathy with the aims of the Church of England and Diocese of Ely.

Desirable

• Knowledge and Experience of the Church or England and its structures would be a significant advantage.

We in the National Church Institutions support the mission and ministries of the Church all over England. We work with parishes, dioceses (regional offices), schools, other ministries and our partners at a national and international level.

Excellence, Respect, Integrity

We follow these three values in everything we do, whether we are of Christian faith, another faith or no faith. To learn more about working for National Church Institutions and our benefits, please click here

As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively look to attract, recruit and retain those of you who are disabled.

As a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, we welcome applications from those of you who have served in our Armed Forces and their families.

We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer and to ensuring that everyone, job applicants, customers and other people with whom we deal, are treated fairly and not subject to discrimination. We will do whatever is necessary to provide genuine equality of opportunity. We continuously review our policies and processes to support our aim to create a workforce as diverse as the nation the Church of England serves.