Administrative Assistant (Fundraising and Team Support)

1st September 2015

Administrative Assistant (fundraising and team support)

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for expressing an interest in the Administrative Assistant role here at Sported.

Sported is a free membership organisation that offers organisational development and support to groups and organisations in the community and voluntary sport sectors in the UK. We recognise that many of the organisations that are great at delivering sport to young people would benefit from support on the business side of their activity, and we want to provide that, to ensure they are operating to the maximum of their potential and to enable them to do what they do best – change the lives of young people.

We are also working to demonstrate the value of ‘sport for development’ and its ability to change young people’s lives. Our work moving forward will focus on demonstrating impact as well as on continuing to deliver our services, which range from online resources, bespoke capacity-building support and linking members to grant funding.

For more information about Sported and our programmes please see We have also included a case study within this job pack.

We are currently seeking to appoint an Administrative Assistant who will provide a range of support to the Senior Leadership Team. The principal focus of the role will be on fundraising support and administration, including managing our fundraising database and liaising with donors as appropriate. The role will also provide broader support across the Sported team, focusing on central administrative processes including HR and finance.

We are looking for a motivated individual who can take on the challenge of a busy and varied role. This is a great opportunity to make a move into, or develop your career in, the charity sector and join a small, forward-thinking charity with a UK-wide presence. .

Yours faithfully

Chris Grant

Sported CEO

Background Information

Sported was established by Sir Keith Mills, who was inspired by the commitment made in Britain’s Olympic bid to use the London 2012 Olympic Games to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK.

Sported supports community and voluntary sector organisations that use sport as a vehicle for personal and community development, rather than those which promote particular sports or look for elite players. These projects do not form part of the school or club structure and range from third sector organisations to community based groups and inspirational individuals.

Sported aims to bring together as many members as possible under the ‘sport for development’ umbrella, giving community sports organisations the opportunity to be part of something national, recognisable and credible.

Through capacity building services, a volunteer mentor programme, project funding and other be-spoke member services, Sported provides operational and financial resources to their members, helping them to build their business expertise and sustainability. Sported has 12 offices around the UK’s nations and regions, and is a UK registered charity governed by a Board of 9Trustees.

Overview of Role

• Head of Partnerships and Revenue
• CEO
• Strategic Leadership Team
• Broader Sported Team
• Finance Officer

• Donors and supporters
• Trustees
• External HR consultancy

Main Duties

Communications and diary management

• Be the first port of call for all enquiries (except those from Sported members and volunteers), including responding to phone and e-mails and forwarding enquiries internally in an appropriate and timely manner
• Liaise with supporters and donors by phone and e-mail as directed by the Head of Partnerships and Revenue, including arranging meetings
• Providing diary support for the CEO
• Assist with collating information for funding applications and pitches
• To write compelling copy and ensure all supporter communications are of a high quality and demonstrate to donors the impact of their support on our work
• To prepare and send mail merged letters and / or emails to supporters
• To prepare and send out packs and materials to fundraisers and donors as required
• Ensure all donors are thanked in an appropriate and timely manner

Database and Data Inputting

• Keep Sported’seTapestry CRM system up-to-date and record correspondence from supporters onto the database accurately
• Input donations received onto the database, including pledges and instalments
• Input donor data from third party fundraising suppliers (for example Just Giving, VirginGiving) and ensure this information reconciles with banked income on a regular basis.

• Reconcile donations with banked income and identify donations paid directlyinto Sported’s bank account
• Produce regular reports as required by the Head of Partnerships and Revenue

Financial Administration

• Co-ordinate/assist with staff expenses as required
• Bank donations as required by the Finance Officer
• Support the Finance Officer in raising and processing invoices and entering data ontothe finance system
• Co-ordinate Gift Aid claims

HR support

• Keep a record of all of Sported’s internal policies (i.e. health and safety), when they are due to be updated, by whom and whether these need approval from the Board of Trustees
• Keep the Sported Folder up to date for day-to-day use by staff and by managers
• Co-ordinate Sported’s PDP (Performance Development Process)
• Support Senior Leadership Team in the recruitment of staff including advertising roles, collatingapplicant details, scheduling interviews, sending out contracts
• Co-ordinate induction for all new staff
• Keep a record of all staff and volunteer absences (holidays, sick leave and TOIL)
• Keep up to date records of staff contacts and emergency contact details.
• Ensure file naming conventions and shared folders are kept in good order.

Office Management

• Book travel for the Senior Leadership Team as required
• Order stationery as needed
• Assist with sourcing and producing fundraising materials
• Organise internal and take minutes of internal meetings as appropriate

Governance

• Co-ordinate quarterly trustee meetings
• Ensure charity returns, for example, Charity Commission and Scottish Charity Regulator are submitted in a timely fashion

Other

• Create and maintain a filing system for all fundraising activity
• Support the development of procedures relating to finance, HR, Office Management and Fundraising, as guided by the Senior Leadership Team
• Provide support for the development of new initiatives as required. Such activities will be commensurate with the role.

Person Specification:

Part 1: Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Solid experience of providing excellent supporter or customer care, including telephone experience
• Proven practical experience of administration in an office environment, for example in fundraising, office management or customer service
• Provenexperience of managing a variety of tasks in an effective and timely manner

Desirable

• Experience of working with databases (we are using specialist fundraising database eTapestry) including data entry
• Knowledge of basic information relating to health & safety, data protection, financial and office procedures, including HR

Part 2: Skills and Attributes

Essential

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including copywriting
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and confidently with a diverse range of people
• Highly organised with an ability to toplan ahead and prioritise workload with minimal supervision
• Adaptable, able to manage multiple tasks at once
• Computer literate with strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Efficient administrative skills
• Excellent numeracy skills
• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and discretion at all times

Desirable

• A willingness to learn and make a positive contribution to a forward-thinking organisation
• Ability to interpret data and present clearly in report format

Part 3: Key Competencies

• Initiating action – taking prompt action to accomplish objectives; taking action to achieve goals beyond what is required; being proactive
• Communication - clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the message; checks understanding and presents message in different ways to enhance understanding; attends to messages from others; correctly interprets messages and responds appropriately.
• Customer focus - making ‘customers’ and their needs a primary focus of one’s actions; developing and sustaining productive relationships.
• Planning and organising - establishing courses of action for self and others to ensure that work is completed efficiently; identifies more critical and less critical activities and assignments; adjusts priorities when appropriate;allocates appropriate amounts of time for completing own and others’ work; avoids scheduling conflicts; develops timelines and milestones.
• Information monitoring - setting up/maintaining procedures to collect and review information; identifies what information needs to be obtained
• Contributing to team success - actively participating as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of goals;provides necessary resources or helps to remove obstacles to help the team accomplish its goals; shares important or relevant information with the team;adheres to the team’s expectations and guidelines.

Part 4: Personal Circumstances

• Commitment to the mission of Sported
• Able and willing to work outside of office hours on occasion, as required.
• Willing to travel to national meetings.

Recruitment Timetable

If you have any questions about the role please contactLiz Brinsdon, Head of Partnerships and Revenue

To apply for this role please complete the application form and send it to

Please note:

Only successful applicants invited to interview will be contacted. Please assume therefore that if you have not heard from us by22ndSeptemberyou have not been successful for interview.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Mentor Supported project case study - The Running Charity

The Running Charity is a unique new charity that provides running and fitness-based initiatives to homeless and disadvantaged young people aged 16-24, using the great value of sport as a catalyst for proactive and productive social change.

Sported mentors:Anas Hassan and Jessica Anstee

Professional expertise: Strategy consulting, business planning and marketing

Sported mentor period: September 2013 – April 2014

Mentor investment: One day’s consultancy a month per mentor

Then…

When Sported mentors Anas Hassan and Jessica Anstee first started working with The Running Charity (formerly known as SPAT), they were immediately impressed by the organisation’s innovative concept and the enthusiasm and drive of the founders - James Gilley, James Butler and Alex Eagle. All that was missing was some business experience and a roadmap to guide the organisation’s plans and priorities.

Using their collective strategic and marketing expertise, Anas and Jess helped the founders channel their obvious energy and creativity into developing a sustainable business plan, laying the foundations for The Running Charity’s future growth.

And now…

The Running Charity has become a registered charity with the infrastructure and resources in place to support many more young people. What started as a small group of runners in North London is on the verge of turning into a national movement, helping young people all over the UK.

“The Sported team in London and our mentors started helping us at the perfect time, we had to establish an organisational structure and a programme structure quickly and make sure both were flexible when we would finally become a charity. Sported were essential for building the correct foundations for us to flourish on.” James Gilley, Founder of The Running Charity

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