ST JOHN’S COLLEGE
CAMBRIDGE
______
Further particulars for the position of
Summer 2015 Conference Assistant
(29 June-30 September 2015)
Full-time, 36.25 hours p/w
Requirement
St John’s College is seeking to appoint a Summer Conference Assistant to work in the Catering and Conference Department over the summer of 2015 to assist in the day-to-day administration of residential conferences and day events in the College.
St John’s College
St. John’sCollege was founded in 1511 by Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII. It is one of the oldest of the University Colleges and is the largest College in terms of grounds and third in size, having some 530 undergraduate and 300 post-graduate students and around 135 Fellows covering the complete range of academic disciplines. The charitable purposes of the College are the advancement of education, religion, learning and research. The College is currently able to accommodate all its students in College and nearby hostels and houses. All Fellows have a study in College and some 30 are fully resident in College. Additionally, the College employs some 250 Assistant Staff. The College is a very diverse community with 16% of its undergraduates and 54% of its graduates coming from overseas.
College Aims: The College’s statutory aims are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research.
Department Aims: The Domestic Bursar’s Department is a very busy environment, dealing with the general day-to-day administration of the College and provision of support services covering a wide spectrum of issues including overseeing catering and conference aspects.
Sub-Department Aims: The primary aim of the Catering and Conference department is to provide for all customers, a high standard of food and customer service that in turn exceeds their expectations through a highly-trained, well-motivated professional team of dedicated staff.
To promote the College and department at all times and to promote our brand for St John’s College.
Further information on the College can be found on the College website
Job Title: Summer Conference Assistant
Department: Catering and Conference Department
Responsible to: Assistant Manager (Hospitality)
Job Purpose:The post holder will be responsible to the Assistant Manager (Hospitality).
In the summer, the College caters for a wide range of residential and day events, including College, academic, corporate business, bed and breakfast, as well as private dining, which includes weddings. The postholder will be required to assist in the day-to-day administration of these events, in particular the residential and day conferences.
Principal Responsibilities and Duties
Working under the direction of the Assistant Manager (Hospitality) the postholder will:
- Liaise between the Catering and Conference Office and Conference Organisers to ensure that the requirements for the event are met, dealing with any requests or queries arise. Informing the Catering Department of any last-minute changes to refreshment requirements/timings or special dietary requirements
- Ensure that venues for conferences/meetings are set up as required and in good time so that events run smoothly
- Ensure that all room keys for conference delegates, are in order and ready for issue; help to issue to the keys and checking that all keys are returned at the end of a conference
- Welcoming delegates and other guests and providing them with directions to their rooms and venues and providing them with information on the facilities available to them during their stay
- Answering guests’ queries and resolving any problems
Person Specification
At St. John’s College we look for and value people who understand the needs of the College and put those needs first when they are at work. Because of this we believe that the attitude our staff bring to work and the way they choose to behave is even more important than their skills or experience.
- Excellent customer service skills
- The ability to project a helpful, friendly and professional image whatever the circumstances
- The ability to get on well with a wide variety of people who have many different needs
- The ability to use own initiative to solve problems
- Good computer skills
- Previous experience of hosting events would be desirable
- Attention to detail
- Smart and presentable
- An additional language would be useful
Recruitment Process
Terms and conditions
Length of appointment:This is a fixed term appointment for the period 29 June to 30 September 2015
Salary:£15,445.05 per annum pro rata (£8.15 per hour)
Hours of work:36.25 per week . Exact hours by arrangement with the Assistant Manager (Hospitality) but to include weekend working.
Probation period:4 weeks
Other benefits (not all contractual) include:
- Free meal in the College’s Buttery Dining Room on working days (subject to a monetary limit)
- 8 days holiday for the contract period (inclusive of bank holidays and College closure days). Payment in lieu would be made at the end of the contract for any remaining balance
- Single College accommodation will be available to rent for the duration of the contract if required at a cost of £93 per week.
Recruitment Process
Please include in your application:
- Covering letter – it is essential that you include a covering letter telling us why you want this
job. This is your opportunity to show us that you understand what we are looking for
- A completed application form
- A brief cv
Applications should be sent:
by email to:
or by post to: The HR Department, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP
to arrive no later than 9.00 am on Monday 25 May 2015.
Interviews will be held during the week commencing 1 June 2015.
We will contact you if you are selected to attend an interview. For those not selected may we take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in this post.
Information provided will be treated as confidential and processed in accordance with the College’s Data Protection Policy a copy of which may be obtained from the Domestic Bursar’s Office, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP
Registered charity no. 1137428