Administration Assistant to the Parish Office at St Mary’s, Princes Risborough
‘Sharing the love of Christ with all’
Hours, entitlements and pay
Permanent position of 6-8 hours per week, including school holidays. The
Parish Secretary works during term time only and it is essential that the
applicant can provide cover during the school holiday periods.
Statutory holiday entitlements apply.
Wednesday 2-4pm, Thursday 2-4pm, Friday 10am to 12 noon
(However, there is flexibility on timings which can be discussed at interview –
ideally hours will overlap with those of the Parish Secretary to ensure smooth
handover of on-going tasks).
Pay is £7.85 per hour.
Background
St Mary’s is an active Parish church sharing the love of Christ with all, both within the church and the
community. In addition to the range of Sunday services and activities, there are many mid-week
courses, events, worship and community-based gatherings. The Rector is the Rev. David Williams,
and a new curate will begin their term with us in the summer. A team of associate clergy are also
engaged in leading worship and providing services such as weddings and baptisms. The Chapter
House is a meeting place much used by local groups and charities and the church may also be hired
for concerts and church-related activities. The Parish Office provides a central hub of information,
administrative support and acts as a communication enabler.
The Parish Office at St Mary’s is open three mornings a week, Tuesday to Thursday from 9.30am to
1.30pm. In order to continue our current work, and to further the mission of the Church, we are
seeking an Administration Assistant to work with the Parish Secretary. It is envisaged that the new
post of Admin. Assistant will enable the Parish Office to open for longer hours, carry on with existing
administrative tasks and take on new tasks to support the clergy and lay management of St Mary’s.
Would Suit:
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A Christian who can fully engage with the Vision and Values of St Mary’s Church (NB: there is
a Genuine Occupational Requirement for the job holder to be a Christian);
A reliable person who is comfortable with flexible working hours;
A self-starter who can manage their own time;
A person who enjoys working on their own, but contributing to a wider team.
Duties:
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Create the weekly printed newsletter.
Create the weekly e-newsletter.
Paperwork and invoicing for Chapter House and Church Bookings.
Updating the Parish Database.
Administering the payroll for 3 people.
Filing, photocopying, updating church noticeboards.
Replying to emails and phone messages.
Creating occasional service sheets / PowerPoint presentations.
Helping the Parish Secretary with general admin. tasks as required.
Must Have:
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Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including: Outlook, Word, Excel, Publisher and
Powerpoint.
Comfortable working with databases (new Membership software has just been introduced
to record contact details & affiliations of church members and this needs to be populated
and updated on an on-going basis).
Good grasp of English spelling & grammar to enable accurate inputting to printed materials.
Desirable:
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Knowledge of operating a simple payroll system.
Knowledge of social media including Facebook and Twitter and a good understanding of
web-based software. If you can demonstrate skills in this area, then there will be the
opportunity to be involved in St Mary’s online communications and expand your role
accordingly.
Personal Qualities:
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Warm and welcoming communication skills to be able to interact with personal and
telephone callers to the Parish Office.
Sensitivity and integrity with regard to confidential messages.
Confidence to deal with queries yourself, or to know the appropriate way to re-direct
queries to ensure they are dealt with in an accurate and timely fashion.
A thorough approach to admin., which ensures that the job always gets finished, and to a
high standard.
Flexibility; resourcefulness; ‘unflappabilty’; sense of humour.
Must enjoy getting alongside people to help them.
Ability to get on well with the Rector, Parish Secretary and Churchwardens who make up the
small team behind the scenes at St Mary’s. You will work for, and report directly to, the
Parish Secretary, who is responsible to the Churchwardens and Rector.
Next Steps
If you are interested in this position, please apply in writing with your CV and a covering letter
explaining why you would like the position of Administration Assistant at St Mary’s to Mrs Kathryn
Trout. Please also supply contact details for your reference, which can be professional or personal.
References will be taken up for the shortlisted candidates prior to interview.
For an informal chat about the role, please speak to the Parish Secretary, Kathryn Trout, on 01844
273746. Kathryn will not be in the office between 30th March and 13th April inclusive, but please
send an email to: parishoffice@stmarysrisborough.org.uk, which I will reply to on my return. To find
out more about St Mary’s, take a look at our website: stmarysrisborough.org.uk.
Parish Secretary
St Mary’s Parish Office
C/O The Rectory
Church Lane
Princes Risborough
HP27 9AW
Interviews and Start Date
The deadline for applications is: 30th April 2015
Applicants will be short-listed for interview by: 7th May 2015
Interviews will take place during the week commencing: 11th May
It is envisaged that the start date will be: Tuesday 18th May
There will be an initial training period on the job, when you will work with the Parish Secretary to
learn the systems, procedures and ways of working currently in place in the Parish Office.
Kathryn Trout, Parish Secretary
24th March 2015