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St Paul's Cathedral - Canon Chancellor's PA and Office Manager

Vacancy Reference cofe/TP/153/1820

This Vacancy has been closed.

Number of Positions:
1
Contract Type:
Office Holder
Contract Details:
Part-time; 21 hours per week, Mondays to Wednesdays
Salary/Stipend:
£22,655 per annum pro rata (£37,759 per annum FTE)
Working Hours:
Part-time; 21 hours per week, Mondays to Wednesdays
Location:
London
Closing Date:
07/07/2019
Vacancy Category:
London
Business Unit:
Supported Housing
Organizational Unit:
Cathedrals

Overview

St Paul’s draws together a very diverse set of activities, projections and aspirations.  It is the Cathedral of the Diocese of London and the seat of its Bishop, a national church and an international spiritual focus, a space for worship and holiness, a place of debate and challenge, an icon of resilience in the face of adversity, an architectural heritage centre, a partner in the City of London, and a commercial enterprise.  In addition to holding four services every day (five on Sundays), St Paul’s is open for sight-seeing six days a week, and in 2018 welcomed over 850,000 paying visitors.

Introduction

The role of Canon Chancellor’s PA and Office Manager is to provide executive support to our Canon Chancellor, Dr Paula Gooder, and run the Canon Chancellor’s office with maximum efficiency and effectiveness so the volume and breadth of activities can be delivered at pace. The role is extremely busy with significant pressure points at certain times.  The post holder will, as directed by the Canon Chancellor, also provide some defined administrative support to enable the work undertaken by colleagues under her oversight.

The Canon Chancellor is one of the four Residentiary Canons and member of Chapter, and is fully involved in the spiritual life, outreach and governance of the Cathedral, with particular responsibility for the theological and learning work of St Paul’s. The Canon Chancellor holds primary responsibility for oversight of the Schools and Family Learning programme, Adult Learning programme and Collections team.

During the periods of the year when the Residentiary Canons are ‘in residence’ they act as the duty canon for the daily acts of worship and special services (including appointing preachers), and deputise for the Dean in the Dean’s absence including responding to significant queries and issues relating to the running of the Cathedral.

The post holder will be able to work with little supervision, whilst keeping good lines of communication with the Canon Chancellor. They will interact with members of the Cathedral community at all levels, including members of Chapter and the Registrar and will frequently be the first or main point of contact with external bodies, again at all levels.

The successful candidate will have an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the life of the Cathedral by providing diverse, complex and confidential administrative support to the Canon Chancellor and those working alongside her. The successful candidate is very much expected to be part of the team.

Main Responsibilities

  1. Act as a first point of contact for Canon Chancellor and deal with a very wide variety of enquiries (written, electronic and telephone) ensuring a professional and compassionate manner at all times, in keeping with the hospitality and values of the Cathedral.
  1. Provide full administrative and secretarial support, including the drafting of correspondence.  Maintain accurate and comprehensive records and efficient office systems.
  1. Complex diary management, including the organisation of regular and irregular internal and external meetings and coordination with internal colleagues and external stakeholders at all levels.
  1. Prioritise and manage multiple projects and requests simultaneously ensuring your own and the Canon Chancellor’s deadlines are met.
  1. Preparation for forthcoming events, commitments or tasks involving the Canon Chancellor creating and updating an annual planner.
  1. Co-ordinate arrangements for the Canon Chancellor’s periods in residence when they are the first point of contact for significant queries and issues relating to the running of the Cathedral.
  1. Effective travel management including arranging tickets, itineraries and preparation documents and reclaiming expenses.
  1. Support the preparation and planning for a range of meetings, including calling for agenda items, preparing briefing, and setting procedures to ensure meeting actions are followed up.
  1. Minute-taking for senior committees in the Cathedral’s governance structure.
  1. Management of actions - following up actions, bringing forward issues, conducting research and progressing projects ensuring efficient responses, particularly in the absence of the Canon Chancellor.
  1. Support the Canon Chancellor and assist in the delivery of special visits, receptions, events and activities, including booking venues, coordinating invitations, replies, catering and hospitality.
  1. Assist the Canon Chancellor in budget preparation and submissions to the yearly budget process and monitoring spending through the year.
  1. Any other appropriate duties that the line manager, senior management or Chapter may request from time-to-time.

The Ideal Candidate

It is essential that the person who is appointed is strongly sympathetic to the life and work of the Cathedral and is entirely discreet and trustworthy in all matters.

 

Knowledge and Experience

  • Well established and proven experience of providing high level PA/EA support to a senior manager/chief executive in a comparable context.
  • Experience of dealing with confidential information with complete discretion.
  • Experience in dealing with other high profile offices is desirable.

 

Demonstrable Skills and Abilities

  • Excellent skills in MS Word and electronic diary management using MS Outlook; good MS Excel, MS Publisher and PowerPoint skills would be a bonus.
  • Honed organisational and planning skills and be able to use these to develop and maintain efficient and effective processes.
  • Proven ability to move from one task to another quickly, prioritising and communicating multiple demands, delivering to tight deadlines.
  • Good research skills with the ability to assimilate and summarise information.
  • A fast learner with the ability to grasp new concepts quickly and efficiently.
  • Work to high levels of accuracy and exemplary attention to detail.
  • Be able to deal appropriately with people from a diverse range of backgrounds and contexts.
  • Excellent written and spoken communication skills.
  • Be able to analyse tasks and challenges and to solve problems effectively.

Personal attributes

The ideal candidate will

  • Possess integrity and excellent interpersonal skills, with tact and diplomacy. 
  • Have an awareness of the sensitivities that will surround some telephone calls and correspondence.
  • Be a good team worker but also self-motivated and happy to spend periods of time working alone.
  • Have confidence which will allow them to use initiative and work without close supervision.
  • Bring a positive and flexible approach with the willingness to get involved and be prepared to tackle a variety of practical tasks.
  • Be calm, resilient, responding positively to change, patient and good-humoured.
  • Be committed to promoting a culture of open and effective communication within the cathedral and with external partners.

Other desirable qualities

  • General knowledge of the Church of England, its structure and its practices and a general appreciation of its theological basis and its liturgical practices.
  • Some familiarity with the City of London, its livery companies and leading institutions.
  • Awareness of and commitment to engage with the cultural and ethical issues that Cathedral and wider Church seek to address.

The successful candidate will be in sympathy with, and in their work support, the Christian aims and mission of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

About us

Our Mission Statement

St Paul’s Cathedral seeks to enable people in all their diversity to encounter the transforming presence of God in Jesus Christ.

Our Vision

  • St Paul’s is seen primarily as a living Christian Church
  • We will be a centre for welcome, worship and learning, and though our care and imagination, will inspire successive generations to engage with the richness of the Christian faith and its heritage.
  • Working with the Bishop and Diocese of London and the wider Church, we will be a spiritual focus for people across London, the nation and a broader international audience.
  • Our work will promote dignity and justice for everyone.

Our Values

Welcome – we all offer a warm inclusive welcome to everyone: our colleagues, volunteers and each and every visitor

Responsible – we are all responsible for each other and for part of the whole of the Cathedral’s work, not the whole of a part

Effective – we are professional and do what we say we are going to do

Nourish – we have a learning culture, not a blame culture

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