Leadership & Governance Assistant

Salary: £32,829 - £35,856 Including London weighting

Contract: FTC (6 Months) 35 hours per week - immediate start

Location: Romero House, London (Hybrid)

Job Profile

The L&G Assistant provides high-quality administrative support to the Leadership & Governance roles across CAFOD, including the Executive Director and other Directors. The post reports to the Leadership & Governance Officer but works closely with the Executive Director. The post holder will work closely with the Leadership & Governance Officer, following the details of everyday tasks and thinking and planning ahead for the Executive Director and the Leadership Team. The post holder will also act as an important point of contact for staff, volunteers and external stakeholders in contacting the Director. 

Key Responsibilities

• Under the guidance of the L&G Officer, this postholder ensures that Executive meetings are well coordinated, with all papers provided and minutes taken
• This involves supporting the L&G Officer in scheduling meetings, drafting agendas in line with governance and reporting cycles, and ensuring minutes and follow-up actions are monitored.
• Cover minuting for other corporate meetings when capacity in other teams requires support.
• To ensure internal and external working relationships, speaking events and meetings involving the Executive Director are well planned and coordinated.
• To organise and maintain the Director’s diary and meeting arrangements, to ensure the Director is well briefed by providing appropriate papers and information for both internal and external meetings managing the input from the appropriate specialists within CAFOD.
• To support the Exec Director in managing her e-mail inbox and ensure timely response to all internal and external correspondence, and other enquiries which come to her, either dealing with these personally, or liaising with other members of staff as appropriate, progressing and tracking work as necessary.
• To support the management of the flow of papers and documents through the Exec Director’s office; ensuring the effective management of actions and distribution of Directorate post.
• To facilitate good communication between the Directors, staff and volunteers, face-to-face and via CAFOD’s intranet. Providing support in preparing blogs, articles and other corporate messages.
• To provide practical support for any Board or Executive events, booking venues, hosting and coordinating, and drawing on volunteers from across the organisation for internal events when necessary.
• In collaboration with the Leadership and Governance Officer, develop and maintain the Leadership and Governance, Trustee Extranet and Leadership and Governance SharePoint sites, ensuring that documentation and performance information is easily accessible. Provide guidance and coaching in the use of on-line tools as necessary.
• Ensuring communications and Annual and Diocesan reports are sent to the Bishops of England and Wales during key moments throughout the year.
• Support on the logistics for Trustee and Executive Director travel in both the UK and internationally when required.
• Support the L&G Officer on various Governance responsibilities including Due diligence requests for other teams.
• Provide hospitality for the Director’s external meetings, and key visitors.
• Coordinating the CAFOD Policies Sharepoint site, liaising with Policy holders to ensure corporate policies are up to date and available to staff where appropriate, including the Modern Slavery Statement.
• Covering the L&G Officer during any absence, this may include attending and minuting Trustee Board and Committee meetings.  

Safeguarding

All CAFOD staff share the responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities. 

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Working together

• Managing ourselves: Can organise self, processes and people, especially when under pressure
• Managing ourselves: Recognise what needs to be done and takes action to deal with it.
• Working with others: Supports others to make decisions and achieve results across different departments and management levels.
• Communicating: Can succinctly and accurately summarise discussions both verbally and in writing

Making change happen

• Managing Resources: Looks out for the cost-effective options seeking the best value for CAFOD.
• Achieving results: Has a clear sense of purpose and priorities and can focus on achieving agreed outcomes
• Managing our performance: Is able to ask for help and seek support for their own development.

Understanding CAFOD

• Understanding Catholic identity: Demonstrating an understanding how our work with the Catholic Community enables us to further our Vision and Mission
• Understanding CAFOD: Can describe and communicate what is distinctive about CAFOD as a Catholic development agency and how this supports us to achieve our Vision and Mission

Job-specific competencies

• Excellent written communication skills, with an eye for detail and proven ability to write clearly, and concisely online and offline.
• Ability to build rapport, in order to deal amicably with people at all levels both inside and outside CAFOD
• Thinks ahead and plans work to avoid pile-ups during the busiest times.
• Displays sound judgement and decision-making and handles confidential matters appropriately
• Capacity to grasp and maintain an overview of a complex range of tasks, issues and working relationships and be able to take necessary initiative.

Come and join us and help make a real difference in the lives of the world’s poorest communities.

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults

CAFOD recognises the personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect.  CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse.  CAFOD is committed to acting at all times in the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount.  Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhere to CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code of Behaviour as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of, and consent to, these recruitment procedures.

Please click here for a full list of CAFOD’s Staff Benefits