Job Description

Job Title:Secretary to the Director (Maternity Cover)

Grade:Scale 3/4 (Points 14-17, £15,882 - £16,998)

Responsible to:Director and Assistant Directors

Key internal relationships:Chair andBoard of the Joint Committee and Beamish Museum Ltd; Chair and Trustees of the Beamish Development Trust (BDT); Chair andBoard of the Friends of Beamish; Senior Management Team

Key external relationships:External public funders including HLF/ACE; The Bowes Museum/museum partners; Cultural partnerships/partners; Local Authority Partners – officers and lead members; Business partners and sponsors; Friends of Beamish

Main Duties / Purpose:

  • Secretarial and diary support to the Director and Assistant Director – Engagement including travel
  • Meeting preparation (papers/directions)
  • Research
  • Checking papers prepared by Director / Head of Engagement
  • Help maintain good relationships with partners/funders
  • General admin/management of the office and filing
  • Preparation and distribution of papers for meetings
  • Helping organise visits/meetings
  • Maintain contact databases
  • Help manage Complaints/Compliments
  • Prepare confidential reports (general issue about confidentiality of all work)

Main Duties / Responsibilities:

  1. Clerical / Administration
  • Routine tasks, including typing, generating correspondence, photocopying, filing and distribution of internal information
  • Assist in the day to day management of the Director and Assistant Director – Engagement’s appointment diary, organising and managing meetings involving internal and external participants as required.
  • Meet and greet the Director and Assistant Director – Engagement’s guests and prepare any necessary hospitality
  • Accurately type minutes and act as minute secretary, as required
  • Handle incoming calls for the Director, Assistant Director – Engagement using initiative to deal with matters where possible, taking messages and re-directing calls where necessary
  • Organise and maintain an accurate filing system in the Directors Office, both electronically and in hard copy
  • Organise travel arrangements for the Director, Assistant Director – Engagement and Senior Management Team, when required.
  • Assist the Director with research, statistics, reports and presentations, as required
  • Update and maintain the Director’s contact database
  • Assist with events/launches, and supporting important visits, when required
  • Assist Assistant Director – Resources with producing adverts, job descriptions and person specifications for Museum job roles and distribute these, as required
  • Prepare correspondence in relation to Human Resources issues, including the appointment of new staff
  • Organise and maintain an accurate filing system for records relating to Human Resources
  1. Operating the customer feedback process
  • Assist the Assistant Director – Engagement in the day to day operation of the Customer Feedback process effectively and in line with agreed targets and quality standards
  • Respond to feedback from Museum customers and stakeholders by telephone, email and post sensitively, with a focus on delivering the highest possible standard of customer care and being the best possible ambassador for the Museum at all times
  • Assist the Assistant Director – Engagement to ensure that feedback is investigated, documented and responded to as required
  • Ensure the Customer Compliments and Complaints log is kept up to date
  1. Managing relationships
  • Act as an ambassador and advocate for Beamish and help deliver the vision of Beamish’s Business Plan – ‘putting the visitor first’, creating a living, working, open-air museum that tells the story of everyday life in the North East of England
  • Support the Director to develop and foster excellent working relationships with the Museum’s Boards, including servicing meetings as required and managing enquires from Board members
  • Work with the Director to develop productive long term relationships with a broad range of key stakeholders including National Museums Directors Council, Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, Local Authorities and regional museum/cultural bodies
  • Help the director co-ordinate the support provided by Beamish to a range of external organisation and partners, including those detailed in the Arts Council Major Partner Museum programme of activity and other service level agreements
  1. General duties
  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Work with colleagues to continually strive to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the team
  • Comply with all Museum standing orders and management procedures
  • Carry out all duties in accordance with the Equal Opportunities and the Health and Safety policies in force at the Museum
  • Undertake such duties as are required from time to time as are commensurate with the grade if the post

This post is subject to the Scheme and Conditions of Service of the National Joint Council for Local Authority Services.

Author: Richard Evans

Date: April 2013

Person Specification

Department: Director’s Office

Post:Secretary to the Director (Maternity Cover)

Factor / Essential / Method of
Assessment
1. Skills &
Knowledge /
  • Ability to communicate clearly and confidently with a broad range of people
  • Ability to produce letters, reports, etc
  • Ability to organise information
  • Ability to organise filing systems for easy access
  • Good interpersonal skills
/
  • Application Form, Interview and Typing Test

2. Experience &
Qualification /
  • Good general education to GCSE C or equivalent, including English
  • Effective verbal and written
communication skills, including the
ability to draft correspondence such
as email responses
  • Proven experience in acting as Minute Secretary
  • Proven experience in customer service
  • Proven experience in word processing skills, including the ability to produce documents with appropriate formatting
  • Proven experience in database applications
  • Fluent user of email and the Internet
  • Minimum of RSA II Typing or equivalent
  • Proven administrative experience (minimum of 1 year in a similar role)
/
  • Application Form and Interview

3. Work Related
Circumstances /
  • Being flexible in approach to working hours
  • Willingness to work in locations around the Museum
/
  • Interview

4. Other
Requirements /
  • Able to meet the travel requirements of the post
  • Enthusiastic “can do” approach
/
  • Application Form

Note to applicants:

Please try to show in your application how you specifically meet these requirements.

Author: AL/AF

Date: August 2013