Job Description
Clerk for Surveyor to the Fabric.
Background
St Paul’s Cathedral has been at the centre of the City of London for more than a
thousand years. The present Cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710 by Sir
Christopher Wren and is the mother church of the Diocese of London; it also has a
national and international role as the cathedral church of the capital city. The Cathedral
is first and foremost a place of worship, welcoming around 1.5 million visitors each year
and is the venue for major national and state services, events and concerts.
The Surveyor works to the instructions of Chapter, communicated via the Canon
Treasurer and Registrar. The Role of Surveyor to the Fabric is as ancient as the present
Cathedral itself, and there is a continuous line of Surveyors from Inigo Jones in the 1620s
to the present day, including of course the celebrated Sir Christopher Wren.
Oliver Caroe was appointed the Surveyor to the Fabric and took up this role on 26
December 2011. The surveyor has overall charge and oversight of all works of repair and
alteration to this historic Cathedral, as well as a wider role to assist in the busy life of the
cathedral and engagement with the outside world and the City of London.
The Clerk to the Surveyor will be employed directly by Caroe Architecture Ltd and will
be expected to work closely and collaboratively with members of St Paul’s Cathedral
staff.
The Clerk to the Surveyor will work in a flexible (and sometimes peripatetic) way
generally within the Cathedral estate in London. The Clerk will be based in the surveyor’s
office within the South Transept at Triforium level. For a maximum of two days in any
month, the Clerk will travel to the Surveyor’s offices in Cambridge for planning meetings.
In conjunction with Oliver Caroe, the Surveyor’s Clerk will liaise with the Registrar,
Department Heads, Clerk of Works and with the administrative staff of the Cathedral.
The office is extremely busy, with significant pressure points at certain times.
One aspect of the Clerk’s role is to ensure the seamless, efficient and well-planned
execution of instructions issued to the Surveyor by Chapter and key officers of the
Cathedral, supporting all aspects of the Surveyor’s role. The Clerk will undertake
historical research, analysis and recording, and provide assistance and support in the
execution of architectural, conservation and repair projects.
It is important that the person who is appointed is: sympathetic to the life and work of
the Cathedral and the heritage of this internationally renowned building; is entirely
discreet and trustworthy in all matters; and is able to work alone.
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Main Duties
The Clerk to the Surveyor’s role will divide between some general administrative duties
and a more specific role supporting the effective delivery of architectural projects. The
Clerk will have experience in the built-heritage sector. The successful candidate is likely
to have some aptitude and experience in architectural, archaeological, technical
conservation and/or historical training and expertise.
The Clerk needs to demonstrate effective and efficient administration and will be
responsible for oversight, coordination and management of the Surveyor’s office.
However, the role is not to DO all the administration: the Clerk will be supported by the
Practice Manager.
Administrative Duties:
 Planning and project management:
Looking ahead for meetings and committees; ensuring that agenda are agreed in
advance and that the Surveyor and his other staff are fully prepared with the reports
or information to be delivered (and have completed actions agreed at previous
meetings); assembly of committee papers.
 In conjunction with others, to manage the electronic diary of the Surveyor’s office and
coordinate with the Cathedral diary.
 To oversee the production of minutes, correspondence and reports. (Typing skills will
be expected; however, audio-typing is outsourced.)
 Monitor the Surveyor’s e-mails to ensure that actions are followed up, including filing
the e-mails electronically on a weekly basis.
 Arrange meetings and make any necessary bookings for rooms.
 Receive and field telephone calls as appropriate.
 Work with the Surveyor and other key members of Caroe Architecture Ltd staff to
plan and monitor workload and project delivery.
 Liaise with Cathedral staff (Registrar, Canon Treasurer, Clerk of Works and other
heads of Department).
 Work with the Office Manager, to assist with and ensure the smooth running of the
office – particularly the oversight of and organisation of record-keeping and the
Quality Management System.
 Help with official entertainment, sending out invitations and collating replies.
 Other tasks as required from time to time by the Surveyor.
Project Duties:
 Co-ordinate arrangements and planning for individual Cathedral Projects, under the
direction of the Surveyor; assist with programming workload and coordinating the
input of other design team members and consultants.
 Set up, assemble and maintain project files; ensure that fee agreements are clear and
are in place prior to commencement; ensure that all projects are allocated unique
project reference numbers in accordance with the client’s policies.
 Preparation of invoices in conjunction with the Office Manager and Surveyor.
 Project management duties under the Surveyor’s instruction, including document
control.
 The Clerk will undertake research (with the Cathedral archivist) to assemble
necessary data for the design team from the extensive records of the Cathedral and
ensure that they are available to the design team.
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The clerk will from time to time be involved in coordinating, editing and assembling
formal Conservation Management Plans (CMPs), Statements of Significance and
Heritage Impact Statements for projects when consents are required.
Working with the Surveyor, the Clerk will be involved in ensuring that project
briefing is clear and communicated to design team members.
Quality Assurance arrangements and requirements should follow the overall practice
Quality Management System. The Clerk may expect to assist in QA procedures,
including arrangements for design review.
The job description is an operational document that does not form part of your contract of
employment. It may be that from time to time you are expected to perform tasks that may not be
expressly in the job description but are nonetheless necessary in the day-to-day performance of
your duties. Caroe Architecture Ltd reserves the right to amend the job description as may be
necessary from time to time to meet the changing needs of the organisation.
The Clerk to the Surveyor will be employed by Caroe Architecture Ltd and subject to the terms and
conditions of a contract with CAL. However, the working environment will be St Paul’s Cathedral,
and the Clerk will therefore be subject to the polices and responsibilities of the Cathedral
organisation, including the Staff Handbook, H&S and Child Protection policies (which will be
supplied).
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Person Specification
(a)
Essential Requirements
The successful candidate will:
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(b)
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be a graduate in a relevant subject related to the heritage sector;
have an excellent command of English, both written and spoken;
have solid experience of project administration work and working with demanding,
busy individuals;
be flexible;
have good word-processing skills and an eye for detail and good layout of documents;
have a good appreciation of financial management and the need to deliver value to the
Cathedral as client;
be self-motivated and willing to take responsibility;
be a good team worker but happy to spend periods of time working alone;
have good IT skills (training can be provided) and to be interested in innovating with
IT to achieve efficiency – for example, identifying Aps that might facilitate the Clerk’s
and Surveyor’s roles; use of Indesign for report writing.
think quickly and move as required from one task to another;
have an excellent telephone manner;
be able to relate easily to people at all levels;
be able to remain calm under pressure;
show commitment, patience and good humour.
Desirable Qualities
Having worked within an architectural office
An ability to undertake research (architectural and historical)
Reporting and presentation skills (Powerpoint; Indesign) – training will be provided
Project Management, Programming, workload management
Experience of/training in architectural and historic building conservation
Familiarity with architectural drafting tools (i.e. being able to open, plot and file
drawings from CAD)
Main Terms and Conditions of Employment
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Subject to satisfactory references and a medical.
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23-month contract with initial probationary period.
(This contract linked to Surveyor’s own term of appointment by St Paul’s Cathedral:
there is a reasonable expectation that the contract would be renewed and therefore
extended.)
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Salary TO BE AGREED and subject to experience; reviewed annually.
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Hours; flexible and subject to candidate’s wishes or other commitments. As a
minimum, 30 hours per week; full-time would be desirable. Hours may vary by
agreement to address particular workload pressures.
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Working days: by agreement/negotiable:
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Initially 20 days’ holiday per year (FTE) plus statutory bank and public holidays.
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Staff discount in the Cathedral’s shop and café.
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Expenses paid for travel from London to Cambridge.
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Subject to circumstances of the successful candidate, assistance with Season Ticket
expenses (as a benefit) will be negotiable.
Method of Application
Completed letter of application, CV, a single relevant example of related work (for
instance, an example of a report you have written or presented, not more than 12 pages
of A4) to be sent by post to:
Lesley Ellis, Head of Human Resources:
Office 5, Unit 8; 23–25 Gwydir Street, Cambridge CB1 2LG
By e-mail to lesley.ellis@caroe.biz
Closing date 24 December 2013. Interviews will be held in London on 9 January 2014.
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