Operations Assistant
This is an opportunity for the postholder to play an important role at St James, Muswell Hill through the delivery of operational support to our ministries, under the supervision of the Operations Manager.
Job Title: Operations Assistant at St James Muswell Hill
Responsible for: Church database management, Safer Recruitment administration, Church and Church Hall
bookings administration, church rota management, Documentation of operational practices,
Cover for other Ops Team members
Context: Part time, 24-hours per week, to be spread across 3 or 4 days, to be discussed during the interview.
Occasional evenings or weekends by agreement with time off in lieu, or remuneratio
There will be a 3-month probation period.
Salary: £15,240 - £17,285 (£25,397 - £28,808 Full-time Equivalent)
We can only consider UK citizens or those who have the right of residence and the right to work full time in the UK. If you are in any doubt about this matter, please consult the UK Border agency website for further guidance on employment.
Our Team
You would be joining a committed staff team in an enthusiastic and Christ-honouring culture. We work hard, care for each other, have fun, and try to be straightforwardly loving and honest. You’ll have been recruited because of your gifts and character, so you won’t be micromanaged, although you’ll be clear about in doing what’s expected of you. You’ll be encouraged to rest well and take all your time off. As a team we rely on each other in doing our various ministries, and we have high standards. We dream up new ideas all the time, and if you’re coming on board, we can’t wait to hear yours.
The staff team at St James exists to equip our members to fulfil their ministries, and we encourage one another in our spiritual walk, through our team devotional time where all staff members are expected to participate.
Purpose of Job
To assist the Operations Manager in being responsible for safeguarding, rota and church booking administration, for the readiness of various church sites for events, and for maintaining the church database, in order to facilitate the mission of the church.
Reporting to: Operations Manager
Safeguarding
St James is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders are expected to share this commitment.
You will need to attend all relevant safeguarding training and work according to our safeguarding policy.
The Safeguarding Policy Statement of St James Church can be found here: https://www.st-james.org.uk/s/Parish-Safeguarding-Policy-2024.pdf
Key tasks:
1. Safer Recruitment Administration
- Guiding volunteers through obtaining required DBS check and Safeguarding training
- Liaising with our Parish Safeguarding Officer, as well as our Youth, Kids and Community Ministry Heads
- Responsible for the safe retention of safer recruitment records, both physical and digital
- Liaising with the Church of England Diocesan Safeguarding Officers and other partner organisations on matters of safer recruitment
2. Church and Church Hall Booking Administration
- Assisting the Operations Manager in managing the bookings of the Church Premises and the Birchwood Centre, including site readiness and invoicing of hirers
- Managing the Booking Diary on ChurchSuite database platform
- Undertake routine inspections of the Church Premises, making sure they are functional, secured, and well-maintained
3. Church Administration and Rotas
- Attending and minuting Service Planning Meeting and with briefing notes and follow up emails
- Overseeing some of the Sunday service rotas with responsibility for updates and reminders
- Recruiting extra volunteers during busy seasons
- Maintenance of service planning software database (Planning Center)
- Maintenance of past service records
4. Database Management
- Adding contact details to our ChurchSuite database
- General maintenance of the database (archiving old entries, deleting obsolete tags etc)
- Providing administrative support for any projects which uses the church’s database software
5. General Operations Duty
- Providing cover for other Operation Team members (general logistics and Sunday preparations)
- Checking Church Office email
- Performing routine fire safety checks
- Documenting operational practices
- Other Operations duties as required
Person Specification
Essential Criteria:
§ Good communication skills (in person, telephone and written
§ High level of personal organisation
§ Confident in dealing with suppliers, contractors, local community and other external contacts.
§ Competence in MS Word, Excel and Office
§ Good numeracy to ensure the invoices are accurate
§ Comfortable with learning new IT software
§ Be supportive of the Christian ethos at St James Muswell Hill Church
§ Ability to work alongside others demonstrating the principles and behaviours that is appropriate as a worker of a Christian church
Desirable Criteria:
§ Experience of database management
§ Experience of bookings management
§ Experience of website management
§ Experience of working in a church
§ Experience and knowledge of safeguarding at a church context
§ Experience and knowledge of ChurchSuite or other church database software
§ Experience and knowledge of Planning Center or other service planning software
§ Regular attendee at a local church
Key attributes required for success in the job:
§ Physical fitness sufficient to undertake the tasks required safely, including the use of step ladders
§ Self-motivation and ability to work unsupervised as well as part of a team
§ Honesty and integrity
§ Diligent with an eye for detail and willingness to take on a variety of tasks
§ Patience and courtesy with the church family, users of the buildings and the general public
We envisage that someone with the right willingness and sensitivities will be able to grow into the role. Applicants who feel that they do not meet any of the desirable criteria are still encouraged to apply.
We would love to see your contribution in shaping the role as well, bringing your unique gifts to the team and the church.
Summary of Benefits
Salary: The job holder will be offered a salary of £15,240 - £17,285 dependent on experience.
Pension: St James will make contributions to your pension, currently 3% of your salary.
Holiday Entitlement: Full time staff are entitled to five weeks paid annual leave each year, plus bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year when the church office is closed. Part-time staff have their entitlement to holiday leave and pay calculated as a proportion of the full-time entitlements, based on hours of work.
Training, Development and Support
The role will be demanding from time to time, but equally rewarding; and so the job holder will receive ongoing support from within the church staff team.
The job holder will be expected to undergo safeguarding training, and in discussion with the line manager, be proactive in finding appropriate training courses.
Applications
We encourage all potential applicants to get in touch with our Associate Vicar, Mark Murthen, for an informal chat, via mark.murthen@st-james.org.uk.
To apply for this role, please complete the form here or email gabrielle.moris@st-james.org.uk. Please note that applications without the form will not be considered for the role.
This post is subject to satisfactory references being received.
The closing date for applications is 15 September 2025.
Interviews will provisionally be in the week commencing 21 September 2025.
We reserve the right to interview and appoint exceptional candidates prior to the closing date, so please do not delay in submitting your application.
Safer Recruitment, Whistleblowing and Ex-Offenders policies are available for viewing.