Administration Support Officer

The Church of England; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowances

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

The Church of England in Liverpool seeks a proactive PA/Secretary to support the Archdeacons and Appointments Secretary, with a strong emphasis on accurate information flow and discreet handling of sensitive matters.

Working as part of a collaborative team, you will manage administrative duties, grant programmes, and varied diary tasks within a hybrid working environment, contributing to excellent parish support and diocesan administration.

Qualifications

• Proven PA/secretarial experience.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality administrative support to Archdeacons and Appointments Secretary.
• Coordinate grant programmes, expenses, and seasonal projects.
• Manage visits, clergy cover, and events for the Archdeacons.
• Liaise with Parishes during vacancies and prepare Statements of Particulars.
• Update the People System and Payroll interfaces.
• Note-taking for meetings and handle sensitive calls.

Skills

PA/Secretary experience

Microsoft Office

Excel

Time management

Discretion/confidentiality

Team player

Flexibility

Interpersonal skills

Education

PA/Secretarial qualification

A-level

GCSE Maths & English

Tools

People System

Payroll system

Job description

This is an excellent opportunity to use your skills to support the work of the Church of England in Liverpool. This role involve a mixture of supporting projects, working with the Appointments Secretary on vacancy work, being a key support in the use of the People System, with the equally important work of supporting the Archdeacons, making sure that the right information is available to the right person at the right time, as well as handling the unique and unusual requests that come our way on a daily basis. You will find a real variety in the role, where no two days are the same.

You will provide project management and administrative support to the Archdeacons. This is very much a team-player role, and the successful candidate will be required to work collaboratively and flexibly alongside the Senior PA to the Archdeacons, the Appointments Secretary and the Archdeacons.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Working closely with the Senior PA to the Archdeacons and Appointments Secretary to provide high-quality administrative support, enabling the Archdeacons to fulfil their ministry effectively. Collaborating as part of a team to provide cover during busy periods and annual leave.
• Support the delivery of the Archdeacons’ administrative functions in collaboration with the Senior PA, including coordinating and managing grant programmes (tracking and distributing funds), processing and submitting monthly expenses, and overseeing a range of seasonal projects throughout the calendar year.
• Leading on areas of work which fall within the scope of the Archdeacons such as Visitations, helping to manage clergy cover and being responsible for any events organised by the Archdeacons.
• Working alongside the Appointments Secretary in ensuring the smooth running of all appointments which are made in the Diocese of Liverpool. This may include, but is not exclusive to:
• Arranging exit interviews for the Archdeacon with the departing incumbent and the end of tenure interviews with the PCC Standing Committee
• Coordinating pre-section 11 and section 12 meetings and ensuring all subsequent paperwork is in order.
• Be a point of contact to advise and support Parishes during a vacancy.
• Preparing Statements Of Particulars.
• People System – be a key Diocesan Operational User for the National Register of Clergy for the Diocese of Liverpool. The role would include updating the People System following the making of new appointments. This connects into the Payroll system and requires skill and attention to detail.
• Working in collaboration with HR, to oversee the reporting and administration relating to the management of Clergy sickness through the People System.
• To be able to note take as and when required for meetings.
• To be able to deal sensitively, responsibly and discreetly with some stressful and difficult phone calls and approaches.
• Meet and greet visitors at all levels of seniority both within and outside the church and liaise with senior clergy, colleagues, departments within SJH and external suppliers as and when required.
• To make arrangements for any hospitality offered by the Archdeacons and to assist with it

The post holder will undertake other relevant duties as may be requested from time to time and commensurate with the role.

About The Diocese Of Liverpool

The Diocese of Liverpool is the Church of England in a corner of the north west with churches from Southport to Widnes; Wigan to Warrington and throughout the city of Liverpool all working their hardest to fulfil our vision of asking God for a bigger church making a bigger difference with more people knowing Jesus and more justice in the world.

As we work towards that vision we have four priorities

• Introducing people to Jesus
• Deepening discipleship
• Developing Christian leaders
• Working for justice

The diocesan offices provide essential support services to our parishes with many specialist staff offering expert support to our frontline parishes. We have a reputation for being a creative organisation securing national church backing for a range of innovative projects.

We are a small, supportive team offering a flexible approach. We have adopted a hybrid model balancing office based with home-based working. We are serious about the work life balance with generous holiday allowances and access to an Employee Assistance Programme. Diocesan staff have a strong working relationship with Liverpool Cathedral and our offices sit in the shadow of this magnificent iconic building.

• generous holiday allowances
• access to an Employee Assistance Programme

For more information visit our website www.liverpoolcofe.org

Liverpool Diocese Values

Dynamic: This means we are creative, open minded and willing to adapt for the good of the organisation. We make things happen, embrace and drive change and do great things with enthusiasm, passion and enjoyment.

Respectful: This means we respect and value the contribution of all colleagues and treat each other and those we serve with respect, courtesy and warmth. We try to respond promptly and appropriately to requests from others

Professional: This means what we do, we do well and perform to the best of our ability, ensuring our knowledge is kept up to date. We demonstrate a ‘can-do’ attitude and take ownership of issues, aiming to exceed expectations

Collaborative: This means we willingly share ideas, knowledge, expertise and experience and seek to understand and work with other teams. We help, support and guide each other, believing we do it better together.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Liverpool Diocese is committed to treating our whole community with dignity and respect. We desire to represent diverse identities within our community whether this be by race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability or social background of each person to ensure they fulfil their potential within a proactive, loving and caring environment.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential

• Proven experience of working as a PA / Secretary
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to engage with people effectively at all levels
• Extensive knowledge of the Diocese of Liverpool would be an advantage for this role so that work can be handled proactively and efficiently in the absence of the Archdeacons.
• Operational ability to use Microsoft Office packages and in particular in using complex Excel spreadsheets and other databases
• Excellent time-management skills, and the ability to prioritise workload according to changing deadlines
• Demonstrates excellent presentation, layout and accuracy in text production
• Competence in maintaining good and efficient filing systems
• Have an ability to handle a range of diverse tasks and prioritise according to demands
• Logical thinker with an ability to connect dots and to see the ‘bigger picture’
• Has an eye for detail and the ability to work through a process
• Ability to deal with personal information maintaining strict confidentiality and integrity
• Works well within a team environment
• Ability to work flexibly according to the demands of the role
• Demonstrates a friendly, sensitive, co-operative and diplomatic manner
• Ability to remain calm under pressure

Experience

Proven experience of working as a PA / Secretary

Knowledge & Skills

• Excellent communication skills with an ability to engage with people effectively at all levels
• Extensive knowledge of the Diocese of Liverpool would be an advantage for this role so that work can be handled proactively and efficiently in the absence of the Archdeacons.
• Operational ability to use Microsoft Office packages and in particular in using complex Excel spreadsheets and other databases
• Excellent time-management skills, and the ability to prioritise workload according to changing deadlines
• Demonstrates excellent presentation, layout and accuracy in text production
• Competence in maintaining good and efficient filing systems

Personal Qualities

• Have an ability to handle a range of diverse tasks and prioritise according to demands
• Logical thinker with an ability to connect dots and to see the ‘bigger picture’
• Has an eye for detail and the ability to work through a process
• Ability to deal with personal information maintaining strict confidentiality and integrity
• Works well within a team environment
• Ability to work flexibly according to the demands of the role
• Demonstrates a friendly, sensitive, co-operative and diplomatic manner
• Ability to remain calm under pressure

Qualifications

• Good numeracy and literacy skills (GCSE Maths and English grade C or above or an equivalent)
• PA / Secretarial qualification
• Educated to A-level standard

Work Related Circumstances

Demonstrates a working knowledge of the structures, faith, worship and mission of the Church of England