Role Overview: The Senior Administrator is responsible for the smooth day-to-day operation of the Centre, ensuring a safe, welcoming, and well-maintained environment for staff, hirers, volunteers, and visitors. The role combines administrative and people management, facilities oversight, financial coordination, and team support, with a strong focus on communication, compliance, and community engagement.
Key Responsibilities: Operational Management:
Act as keyholder, responsible for opening and closing the premises as required. This includes fulfilling reasonable keyholder responsibilities outside office hours (Monday to Saturday) when such duties cannot be undertaken by other staff or hirers.
Coordinate and delegate keyholding duties when necessary. This includes being responsible for arranging and monitoring keyholder duties outside working hours for the entire seven-day week.
Maintain a visible and approachable presence within the Centre, acting as a first point of contact for visitors and hirers. This involves office-based working Wednesday to Friday 09.30 to 15.00 hours (5 hours per day with an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes), equating to 15 working hours per week. Working from home during this period is only permitted subject to prior approval by the postholder’s line manager and should never be used to manage ill-health (which should instead always be taken as reported sick leave).
Act as the immediate line manager for the salaried office administrative assistant, undertaking all the responsibilities associated with this role, including arranging annual leave and sickness cover.
Liaise with the Centre’s designated cleaner to ensure that the building is consistently clean, safe, and well-presented.
Identify and address maintenance needs, including obtaining quotes and liaising with relevant parties.
Ensure furniture and equipment are in good working order.
Administration & Communication:
- Manage incoming and outgoing communications (by email, phone, SMS, WhatsApp, in-person enquiries, and through the online booking system) in a timely and responsive way.
- Ensure they remain contactable via telephone and electronic media during all of their annualised 18 working hours per week.
- Liaise effectively with staff, trustees, hirers, and external stakeholders.
- Handle incoming post and distribute this material appropriately.
- Maintain organised, clean, and efficient office systems.
- Respond to feedback and manage complaints in a professional manner.
- Conduct tours for prospective hirers and complete hirer inductions.
- Attend and contribute to meetings as required.
- Manage and update social media platforms.
- Contribute to both maintaining and developing the Charity’s income from room hire by promoting its services and supporting existing hirers
Financial & Record Keeping:
- Raise and issue invoices, monitor payments, and follow up on outstanding balances.
- Advise the treasurer of invoices received by Citizens House that require payment.
- Maintain accurate financial records of all transactions.
- Towards the end of each calendar month, seek, collate, review, and authorise timesheets of other salaried employees for submission to the accountant and treasurer.
- Manage petty cash and track expenses.
- Support financial reporting requirements as needed.
- Maintain a record, submitted to their line manager on a monthly basis, regarding use of the remaining 3 hours of their annualised 18 working hours per week. These 3 hours are primarily assigned for:
➢ fulfilling reasonable keyholder responsibilities outside office hours.
➢ work associated with the line management of the salaried office administrative assistant which cannot be undertaken during your normal office-based working hours.
➢ supporting Centre volunteers when essential input cannot be undertaken during your normal office-based working hours.
➢ responding to phone calls/messages received outside office hours, normally within the following 24-hour period.
➢ occasional ad hoc purchasing of equipment and supplies via in-person shopping, normally when these are not already contractually provided by an agreed supplier.
Compliance & Governance:
- Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, including GDPR, Health & Safety, Fire Safety, and CCTV policies.
- Contribute to the updating and development of organisational policies and procedures.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date records for insurance and regulatory requirements.
- Ensure all mandatory staff training is current and recorded.
- Hold or maintain appropriate First Aid training.
Team & Volunteer Coordination
- Support staff wellbeing, ensuring team members have the resources they need and escalating any identified problems to their line manager.
- Participate in salaried staff recruitment and selection processes.
- Manage the volunteer programme, including recruitment, onboarding, and training.
- Effectively delegate tasks to staff and volunteers, where appropriate.
Facilities & Centre Upkeep:
- Oversee cleanliness and hygiene standards across all areas of the Centre and its immediate external environment.
- Ensure cleaning supplies and consumables are fully stocked.
- Monitor waste management, including regular bin disposal.
- Coordinate and delegate cleaning and maintenance tasks, as required
Additional Duties:
- Respond to reasonable requests from trustees, hirers, other staff, and third parties providing goods and/or services to Citizens House, in a timely and professional manner.
- Carry out any other duties appropriate to the role, as required.
Key Skills & Attributes:
- Strong organisational, time, and people management skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
- Ability to multitask and prioritise effectively in a busy environment.
- Able to demonstrate a proactive, reliable, and adaptable approach to work.
- Confidence in handling responsibility and working independently.
- High level of attention to detail, particularly in compliance and record-keeping.
Other relevant information:
- Given that rooms in the Centre may be booked on any day throughout the year, public holidays are regarded as normal working days for the postholder.
- It is recognised that the 3 weekly working hours assigned to non-office-based activities (Monday to Saturday) may not all be required during some weeks and may be exceeded during others. It is for this reason that:
➢ the 18 working hours per week is an average annualised figure (since some weeks may involve slightly less work than this allocation and others slightly more)
➢ the postholder needs to keep a record of their use to help ensure the appropriateness of this time allocation.
- The postholder has an entitlement to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday each year. Requests for planned annual leave should normally be submitted to their line manager for consideration at least four weeks in advance and approval will be based on the needs of the charity and whether adequate alternative cover could be arranged at the requested times.
- Overtime is not payable and you are responsible for your time management.
- The post comes with eligibility for inclusion in a workplace pension scheme, although the postholder has the right to opt out of this scheme.
- Working from home is only permitted subject to prior approval by the postholder’s line manager.
- All absences due to ill-health or other factors should be reported to the postholder’s line manager at the earliest opportunity
Summary:
This is a varied and hands-on post suited to someone who thrives in a community-focused environment, balancing administrative responsibilities with the operational management of people and resources.
Pay: From £13,281.84 per year
Work Location: In person
