Hours - 40 hours per week (Monday - Sunday on a rota basis)
Reports to - Events Manager
Based - Calderstones
Contract - Fixed Term (Maternity Cover)
Salary - £27,590.46 per annum
Closing date - 9am, 28th July 2026
About the Role and Key Responsibilities
This is an exciting opportunity for a positive and practically minded individual with an aptitude for maintaining high standards to join our Events team at Calderstones. The Reader’s Calderstones site is a large multi-purpose community setting for our Shared Reading mission, with a focus on social enterprise activity to support the charities wider work across the UK. As an assistant event manager, you will also have the responsibility of overseeing the successful delivery of a number of our internal programmed events and private hire events here at Calderstones Mansion House. This role will cover 7 days and most of your hours will be delivering the events, mostly evenings and weekends.
Knowledge and Skills
- Support and assist clients in running their event effectively on the lead up to the event date and during the event, ensuring that they are delivered to a high standard.
- Key Holder experience is essential for this role, with the responsibility for opening and closing buildings on site, ensuring all areas are safe and secure using locking and alarm systems.
Leadership and People Management
- Ability to supervise the shifts on site in the absence of the scheduled staff member/volunteer.
- To be a first responder for Health & Safety incidents and emergencies whilst on duty.
- To lead events shifts, where you will supervise a front of house team to set up and deliver events to a high standard.
Communication
- Have strong interpersonal skills and has the ability to communicate effectively with clients, guests, staff, volunteers, and members of the public.
- To effectively deal with visitor complaints/queries and aim to reduce or eliminate escalation of complaints. Provide feedback to the appropriate Manager/Head of Department
Liaison and Networking
- Work collaboratively across the organisation to develop strong relationships for site activity.
- Build relationships with external event suppliers.
Planning and Organising
- Use of our online room booking system to organise structured weekly plans of events taking place across site.
- Supporting our operations team ensure the building is safe and secure-preparing rooms for scheduled activities and events.
- Organising event room booking enquires (using Outlook inbox, phone and in person) by replying to enquiries, and following up enquiries.
- Organising the show round schedule and meeting calendar for Events Manager/Head of Events
- Supporting the Events Manager with the development of the CRM system
- Manage bar stock levels, rotation of stock and responsible logging monthly stock takes
Initiative and Problem Solving
- To assist the front of house team to cover breaks, sickness, staff shortages.
- To ensure that all public areas including the toilets, reception foyer, corridors, period room etc. are presentable and always welcoming.
- To identify and report any maintenance or HSE issues to our Facilities team.
- To effectively deal with visitor complaints/queries and aim to reduce or eliminate escalation of complaints. Provide feedback to the Events Manager.
Decision Making and Freedom to Act
- Ability to oversee safe running of events across a busy site, taking a lead role in the managing of incidents and emergencies whilst on duty.
Team working and Collaboration
- Work across several departments in The Reader to ensure smooth running site activity.
- To be an active member of the events team, undertake training, contribute to team meetings and take responsibility for personal development.
Person Specification
Essential
- Demonstrate excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise their workload and remain calm under pressure.
- Leading and supervising our event assistant team
- Experience of Key Holder responsibilities, demonstrating an ability to confidently open and close a large site and maintain alarm systems.
- Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with colleagues within the Events department and across all departments at The Reader’s Headquarters and build relationships at all levels.
- Highly motivated with the ability to use own initiative to resolve problems with minimal supervision
- Able to demonstrate an understanding of the wider work of The Reader, and its social values and that these values are represented at the site.
- Experience liaising with both private and corporate client bases, managing expectations to the highest level whilst respecting and adhering to the limitations of working in a public setting.
- Demonstrate a meticulous attention to detail in the daily planning and delivery of events
- Confidence in liaising with external public emergency services and ability to respond to incidents.
- Proficient with IT systems, including use of Office 365 programs
- Need to be fully flexibly over a 7-day week, on a rota basis which will include unsociable hours, weekends and bank holidays.
If you are interested and would like to find out more about The Reader or how to apply for this role, please visit https://www.thereader.org.uk/job/assistant-events-manager-maternity-cover/
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 12 months
Pay: £27,590.46 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Casual dress
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Work Location: In person
