The Bishop of Exeter is seeking an administrator with excellent organisational and interpersonal skills. The person who is appointed will be able to deliver outstanding ‘customer service’ to all those making contact with the Bishop’s office and work as an effective team member with the Bishop’s Chaplain and the Bishop’s PA. This role is to provide a wide spectrum of administrative support to the Bishop’s office including the Bishop’s Chaplain, with a focus on coordinating the hospitality programme.

Administration

• Respond proactively to communications coming into and going out of the office and ensure that appropriate action is taken.
• Type, edit and redraft letters, maintain records, ensuring that correspondence is saved, stored and filed appropriately.
• Handle a wide range of telephone enquires with confidence, warmth and diplomacy, answering queries directly or passing them on to the appropriate person.
• Collate papers for Bishop’s and diocesan meetings as required.
• Provide administrative for the Bishop of as and when requested.
• Provide administrative support such as formatting, printing and filing to the Bishop’s Chaplain.
• Provide part cover for the Bishop’s PA and Bishop’s Chaplain where applicable in their absence.

Hospitality

• Draw up the annual hospitality programme in consultation with the Bishop and the Office Team, including the detailed work on guest lists and invitations.
• Manage the Hospitality Budget in consultation with the Bishop’s PA
• Liaise with caterers and make arrangements for the official hospitality offered by the Bishop.
• Ensure that the venue is set up and staffed appropriately and attend the functions as part of the hospitality team (as required by the Bishop) to ensure the event runs smoothly.
• Oversee the arrangements for social functions, receptions and dinners and other hospitality events, including attending some events with the Chaplain and the Bishop’s PA to ensure they run smoothly, including those which are outside normal working hours.
• Make all necessary arrangements for meetings, seminars, conferences, interviews and social events held at the Palace including providing refreshments and serving meals.

Information and Office Management

• Share with the Bishop’s PA and the Bishop’s Chaplain responsibility for the maintenance of electronic and paper filing systems, ensuring continuity and standardisation.
• Ensure that information is made available in a timely way for the Bishop, his Senior Staff, the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel and other bodies.
• Ensure information management systems and policies are adhered to, including Social Media, GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

Key Tasks

• Bishops’ Christmas Cards: Sharing responsibility with the Bishop and the Chaplain, arrange for the production and distribution of the three Bishops’ Christmas Card.
• Clergy Files: In conjunction with the Bishop’s Chaplain maintain the content of the confidential clergy files, ensuring that best practice and guidance from the House of Bishops and PCR2 report are adhered to. Ensure that the main list of files held is kept up-to-date and accessible. Enable and oversee the movement of files in and out of the diocese.
• Clergy Grants: Maintain records of grants made to members of the clergy.
• Clergy Moves, Appointments and Retirements: Deal with all correspondence and notify relevant diocesan and national agencies of changes.
• Rural Dean and Lay Chair Meetings: In conjunction with the Bishop’s Chaplain, agree the hospitality plans and prepare all administrative arrangements for the Rural Dean and Lay Chair meetings and assist with any other administrative requirements.
• Stationery Management: Manage and order adequate stocks of stationery, postage, office equipment and hospitality supplies on behalf of the Bishop’s Office.
• Bishop’s car: manage the maintenance of the Bishop’s car in liaison with the Bishop’s Driver.

General Responsibilities

• Embody the Bishop’s ministry of welcome by responding to callers, visitors and guests with generosity and warmth.
• Liaising promptly and efficiently with staff in the Old Deanery, the Cathedral and the Diocesan Director of Communications and Engagement.
• Undertake any other administrative and hospitality duties that are commensurate with the role and as needed to assist in the efficient running of the Bishop’s Office.

Teamwork

• Build understanding and effective relationships with clergy, parochial officers, the Bishop’s Staff and Diocesan Staff.
• Build and maintain a close working relationship with the Bishop’s office team.
• Participate in planning and delivering the operational plan for the Bishop’s Office.
• Alert the Bishop’s Chaplain of any emerging issues and work collaboratively in resolving them.
• Work collaboratively with Suffragan Bishops’ PAs and Archdeacon Assistants.

Safeguarding

• Ensure Safeguarding training and awareness completed to required level Foundation (C1).
• Work with Safeguarding Team to keep up to date with safeguarding issues that affect own area of work.
• Operate in accordance with all Diocesan Safeguarding Policy and practices.

Equality and Diversity

• Work in accordance with diocesan policies of equal opportunity.

Experience, Knowledge, Training and Qualifications

• Professional experience and relevant qualifications and/or education to ‘A’ level.
• High level of literacy.
• Good secretarial and typing skills including dictation and transcription.
• First Aid at work qualification (desirable).
• Experience of providing administrative support within a diverse working environment.
• Experience of working as a key member of a team demonstrating good interpersonal skills and a collaborative style of working.
• Experience of managing budgets and third party vendor management.
• Experience of establishing and maintaining systems- setting up paper based and electronic filing.
• Experience of working in a charitable or similar organisation (desirable).

Technical and Applied Skills

• IT Skills: Advanced IT skills, including Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
• Numeracy:Numerate with financial knowledge and related skills.
• Oral Communication Skills: Excellent oral communication skills and a professional telephone manner with the ability to articulate messages clearly.
• Organisational Skills: Proven organisational skills with an eye for detail, accuracy and quality, using initiative to plan and prioritise workload and respond flexibly to circumstances.
• Safeguarding: Willingness to engaging in safeguarding training and a strong commitment to the promotion of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Written Communication Skills: Good written communication skills including grammar, spelling and punctuation. Able to articulate concepts accurately and succinctly.

Aptitude and Abilities

• Able to identify problems and opportunities, shape solutions and successfully implement them with colleagues and key stakeholders.
• Socially confident in liaising with a variety of people.
• Able to be adaptable and prioritise in the face of a shifting set of demands and deadlines.
• Able to challenge within the context of collegiate relationships.
• Able to maintain absolute confidentiality, to not pass on to unauthorised persons any information obtained whilst working, without the permission of the Bishop, to be courteous, friendly and discreet.
• Flexible approach to duties and working hours, including assisting at and attending occasional evening/weekend functions.
• As part of the Bishop’s Personal Staff to take a turn in doing routine tasks: welcoming visitors, answering phone calls, photocopying, making tea etc.
• Open to feedback and be able to admit mistakes and learn from them.
• Personal investment and commitment to development of self-awareness.
• Able to work on own initiative as well as part of a team when required.
• Supportive of the aims and ethos of the work of the Church of England.
• Professional personal appearance and to present a professional image at all times.
• Reliable attendance and punctuality record.
• Car driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving) who holds a full current driving license and access to own transport (desirable, not essential).

General Requirements

• Welcome visitors and receive incoming enquiries and telephone calls, dealing promptly and courteously with enquires.
• Ensure all health and safety instructions are followed and that care is taken to ensure safety for self and colleagues, reporting concerns immediately.
• Has a robust attitude towards criticism from the public, is able to stay calm under pressure and diffuse the occasional difficult phone call.
• Understands the Church of England, its parochial system and the wider organisation of the diocese (desirable).
• An understanding or willingness to learn the systems, structures and terminology of the Church of England.
• Sympathy with the Christian faith, supportive of the work of the Church of England and committed to the ethos of the Bishop’s Office.

Seeing the Big Picture:

• Understand how own work supports the work of the Bishop’s Office Team and Diocese of Exeter.
• Understand the roles and responsibilities of all other team members and of key personnel across the Diocese of Exeter and external to the organisation.
• Keep up to date with issues that affect own work area.
• Show professional curiosity and interest in expanding knowledge in areas related to own work.

Changing and Improving:

• Respond positively to new situations and ideas and adopt a proactive and entrepreneurial approach to implementing change, encouraging others to do the same.
• Give and receive feedback and regularly review own work to learn from experience and improve personal contribution to the Bishop’s Office Team.
• Take the initiative to suggest new ways of working to improve and develop the delivery of the work of the Bishop’s Office.
• Adopt a flexible and adaptable approach to ways of working to aid collaboration and cooperation within the Bishop’s Office Team and wider Diocese of Exeter.

Making Effective Decisions:

• Gather, verify and assess all relevant and available information to gain accurate understanding of situations; seek advice and further information when unsure how to proceed.
• Clarify own understanding and needs and expectations of team and others before making decisions.
• Take responsibility for making effective and fair decisions in a timely manner and know the limits of own authority within the role.
• Explain how decisions have been reached concisely both verbally and in writing.
• Able to spot and deal with issues as they occur, demonstrating consideration of all options, costs, risks and wider implications.

Leadership:

• Learn to anticipate the needs of the Bishop and members of the Bishop’s Office Team, showing enthusiasm for own work and work of the team.
• Act in a manner consistent with the values of the organisation and proactively role model and promote an inclusive workplace.
• Report to the Bishop any concerns or issues which arise during the course of employment, especially relating to any inappropriate/unacceptable behaviours or conduct of colleagues or external contacts.

Communicating and Influencing:

• Engage with colleagues and actively participate in team meetings.
• Communicate with others in a clear, honest and positive way to build trust and manage challenging conversations with confidence and sensitivity.
• Able to listen and value different ideas and ways of working and able to express concepts accurately and succinctly both verbally and on paper.

Developing Self and Others:

• Able to identify gaps in own and team’s skills and knowledge and help develop relevant training and support for self and others.
• Seek learning and training opportunities and agree a personal development training plan and support the development plans of team members.
• Delegate work as appropriate to aid learning and development of others, giving support and oversight when needed.
• Able to recognise signs of stress in oneself and in others, offer help and support to others and seek the Bishop’s support for self.

Delivering a quality service at pace:

• Maintain a ‘can do’ and organised approach to own work, prioritise workload, exercise initiative and work independently as required.
• Follow relevant policies, procedures and legislation to complete own work
• Regularly review success of activities against own goals and identify barriers to progress and delivery of project support.
• Remain focused on delivery and ensure correct tools and resources are available to do the job.
• Able to work and remain calm under pressure when addressing conflicting priorities and deadlines; keep all (the Bishop and Bishop’s Team members) updated on how work is progressing.