24 March 2014
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for your interest in the post of Database Membership Manager at Essex Wildlife Trust.
Please find enclosed with this letter a copy of the following information about the post and the Essex Wildlife Trust:
- A Job Description for the post of Database Membership Manager
- Terms and Conditions of Employment
- Our current staff structure
- An application form for the post
Essex Wildlife Trust was founded as a Charity and Limited Company in 1959 by Essex people who were determined to protect interesting wildlife and important habitats and countryside. Essex Wildlife Trust is a registered charity, protecting wildlife for the future and for the people of Essex. The Trust has 87 nature reserves, 9 Visitor Centres, over 32,000 members, around 100 staff and over 2,000 volunteers.
The role of Database Membership Manager, based at our Headquarters at Abbotts Hall Farm near Colchester, will be a busy and challenging positionand involves the postholder being responsible for all aspects of running our busy Membership Office. You will line manage a small number of staff and 11 part time volunteers.You will manage and develop the contact database to meet the Trust’s strategic aims and will be involved in all levels of membership recruitment, retention and development. The membership department provides vital core income for Essex Wildlife Trust.
To apply for the post please return the application form together with your full CV and a covering letter explaining why you think you are suited to the job. Your application must reach the above address by 5.00pm on Thursday, 10th April 2014.
Interviews will be held onThursday 17th April 2014.
We will acknowledge safe receipt of your application, however, due to the high number of applicants we are not able to respond further unless you are selected for interview. If you are selected for interview, we will phone and confirm in writing. If you have not heard from us by the interview date you have not been successful in getting an interview.
Thank you for your interest in the work of the Trust and I look forward to receiving your application.
Yours faithfully
Michele Kench
Fundraising & Marketing Manager
JOB DESCRIPTION
Database Membership Manager
Essex Wildlife Trust aims to protect wildlife for the future and for the people of Essex. It is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. It is one of 47 Wildlife Trusts which form the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. The staff of Essex Wildlife Trust and its subsidiaries Essex Wildlife Sales, Essex Ecology Services, Chafford Gorges and Thameside Nautre Park, work alongside large numbers of volunteers and work within the policies and budgets agreed by the Board of Trustees as set out in the strategic plan. We are a dynamic and fast growing organisation with many opportunities, both to maintain our existing activities and to take on important new initiatives.
Title of Post: Database Membership Manager
Responsible to: Fundraising and Marketing Manager
Line managing the following Posts: Assistant Membership Officer and Head Recruiter Door to door Membership team, currently 11 part-time volunteers.
Main Aim of the Job: To be responsible for all aspects of running the Membership Office. To manage and develop the contact database to meet the Trust’s strategic aims. To be involved in high level of membership recruitment, retention and development, providing core income for EWT.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
- To manage the work of staff and volunteers in the Membership Office and to encourage a culture of membership recruitment and retention. Ensuring accurate maintenance, collection and recording of all membership income and activities.
- To process all membership subscriptions and donations (Direct Debits, BACS, cheque, PAYE). To process donations for appeals via debit card.
- To oversee inputting and claim Gift Aid payments from HM Revenue and Customs and deal with any audit visitors from HM Revenue and Customs. To ensure that EWT complies with gift aid procedures.
- Ensure the smooth running of the database (Subscriber) and programme additional functioning where required – to use the database to produce regular reports for analysis.
- To work with the local Trust Groups and mail house distribution in organising the distribution of the magazine three times a year including coordination of dates. To work with the magazine editorial team to ensure the Trust magazine is the right style and quality for members.
- To be responsible for income and expenditure budget linked to membership and recruitment of members and produce accurate, comprehensive monthly reports and provide these reports to Trustees, senior staff, local groups and other key contacts. Produce up to date, regular and accurate success measures for membership income and recruitment.
- To manage the Head Recruiter of the door to door team. To calculate commission and refunds and to keep records of areas of work.
- To maintain a good working relationship with the face to face agency (Wildlife Fundraising Central Ltd) and oversee prompt payments to the company and calculate any refunds.
- To assist the Fundraising and Marketing Manager with planning, implementing and analysing membership recruitment, retention and other fundraising activities.
- To ensure that procedures used to access the database are met in compliance with EWT’s policies and procedures and within the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
- To take responsibility for the delivery of excellent customer service
- To provide data for appeals and marketing initiatives as and when required.
- To work with the fundraising team on any other relevant fundraising projects and to be proactive in the use of the database to support such appeals and projects.
- To work closely with the Trust finance team to ensure that financial information is in a form that can be collated in to Trust accounts and that the audit trail is clear.
- To undertake other comparable duties under the direction of your line manger which are bound to occur in a busy organisation.
Essential Skills
Experience and knowledge of administering a large database such as a membership/charity database.
An understanding of data selection processes.
Proven accuracy with data and financial management.
Experience of producing financial and statistical information to inform membership management and marketing.
Advanced knowledge of Excel and Word
Experience of secure handling of personal details.
Experience of collection of money via a database including cash, cheques, direct debits and standing orders and processing DD’s via BACS IP.
Experience or ability to line manage a small number of staff and a large number of volunteers and allocate work appropriately.
Aptitude to deal with Gift Aid claims and work with HMRC.
A high standard of customer service skills with the ability to deal promptly and courteously with all queries/complaints.
A willingness and aptitude to work on new initiatives which involves increase in membership, reduction in lapsed rates, improved donations, increase activity of members and donors.
Excellent time management skills and a willingness to work at evenings or weekends to meet the needs of the organisation.
Evidence of effective working with other teams across an organisation to meet its strategic objectives.
An interest in the environment.
A clean driving licence.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
Name of Employer: Essex Wildlife Trust
Title of Post: Database Membership Manager
A detailed job description is available but this does not form part of the terms of employment.
Responsible to: Fundraising and Marketing Manager who is Line Manager for this post.
Place of Work: Main place of work Abbotts Hall Farm, although on occasion there will be the need to travel elsewhere in Essex.
Hours of Work: 37.5 hours per week, normally 7.5 per day excluding lunch breaks and other breaks. Normal office hours are 9 am to 5 pm, however, work will be required outside these hours, including some work at evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays for which time may be taken off in lieu. Guidance and procedures on claiming time off in lieu are included in the Staff Handbook, located on SharePoint.
Itinerary: You must complete a staff itinerary in advance for each week for your Line Manager to read, this must show the days you are working, the hours you intend to work and indicate key jobs you are undertaking. This is held on Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Instructions are in the Staff Handbook.
Salary: Starting at a salary of up to £28,000 per annum depending on experience and qualifications and subject to review with your Line Manager. Salary is paid monthly in arrears. If for some reason it is clear that the Trust has over paid or under paid on one month it will adjust this by deduction or addition on the next month. Rates of pay are reviewed in November each year. Details of salary during Probationary period will be set out in your letter of appointment.
Travelling: The post holder must hold a valid driving licence. When using your own vehicle on Trust business (excluding ordinary commuting) a mileage allowance may be payable (full details and current rates are available in the Staff Handbook). When you make a travel claim you will be asked to confirm that your private vehicle is appropriately insured, taxed and has an MOT (where applicable).
Travel at the beginning or end of the working day to/from your normal place of work is within your own time. It is not classed as working time and you are therefore not entitled to record time off in lieu for these journeys. If an employee travels from their place of work to another work related location or temporary place of work, this is normally in work time. If an employee’s role requires them to travel from home to a temporary place of work at the start of the day it would be reasonable for an employee to spend the first 30 minutes of the journey in their own time. The same would apply at the end of the day if an employee travels from a temporary place of work to home in that it would be reasonable for 30 minutes of that journey to be in their own time. Full guidance can be found in the Staff Handbook on SharePoint. Specific exceptions to this can be agreed by your Line Manager for going on a particular visit or training outside of Essex, where the length of the journey is more than a normal journey time you would do within Essex.
Annual Leave: Our holiday year runs from 1st January to 31st December. For a complete holiday year full-time staff are entitled to 23 working days in addition to days in lieu of statutory bank holidays rising to 25 days after 5 years’ service.
Holidays must be taken in consultation with other staff and with the agreement of your Line Manager. If you commence work part way through the holiday year, you need to base your entitlement on the remaining complete months in that holiday year.
You will not normally be able to take more than 3 consecutive weeks as holiday and at least three working days must be taken between November 1st and March 1st. Annual leave must normally be taken in the calendar year it is due, but some days can be carried over with agreement of the Line Manager providing they are taken by 31st March of the following year.
If you leave your employment your holiday entitlement will need to be recalculated for the completed months that you have worked in that holiday year. Discuss any over taken holidays with your Line Manager.
Probationary Period: 6 months during which time the employer or the employee may terminate the employment upon one week's notice.
Length of Contract: Permanent contract
Other Expenses: Other legitimate claims for expenses on Trust business can be made on the appropriate claim form providing these have been agreed in advance by the appropriate Budget Head.
Pension: The Trust or its subsidiaries will offer a pension contribution of 4% to a pension scheme approved by Essex Wildlife Trust and which meets the criteria for auto-enrolment, providing that the member of staff has passed probation and also contributes 3% into that same pension scheme.
Notice: After the probationary period, one month's notice of termination of employment is required by either side. The Employer is required to give one additional week of notice for each completed year of continuous employment exceeding 4 completed years to a maximum of 12 weeks’ notice. The Trust may direct a staff member to take any outstanding holiday during the period of notice.
Disciplinary, Grievance and Appeals Procedures: Clear procedures for dealing with any Disciplinary matter or Grievance or Appeal are set out in a separate document as part of the Staff Handbook that may need to be updated from time to time and does not, therefore, form part of these terms of employment.
An employee should take any Grievance or Appeal in the first instance to the Line Manager to whom he/she is responsible. Any Disciplinary matter will, in the first instance, be raised by an Employee's Line Manager.
Retirement Age: The Trust does not operate a compulsory retirement age for its employees.
Sickness and Sick Pay:
A member of staff who is not able to attend work must notify their Line Manager as soon as possible on the first day of the absence. This notification should be before 10.00 a.m. except in exceptional circumstances.
A friend or relative may make contact on behalf of the member of staff, but the member of staff retains responsibility and must personally make contact with her/his Line Manager as soon as s/he is able.
The Line Manager must be informed of the reason for absence, the possible length and likely return date and any medical advice that has been given which relates to the return to work.
If it is not possible to give a return date, the member of staff should make contact at least every three days and must submit any relevant documentation as soon as possible.
Failure to follow the notification procedure given above may result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised.
On return to work the individual should participate with the Line Manager in a conversation to discuss the absence and the reason for it. One of the purposes of this conversation will be to establish whether the Line Manager can provide any support to the employee which could facilitate attendance at work in the future.
The individual should agree on request to be interviewed and/or examined by an occupational doctor nominated by the Trust, and the Trust will meet all related expenses.
If a member of staff is absent for 1 – 3 calendar days inclusive they should complete Part A of the Appendix 2 Form Statement of Sick Absence and forward this to their Line Manager and the CEO’s PA for confidential filing. Appendix 2 Statement of Sick Absence Form is available from Trust Main Offices, from the Computer U Drive under Staff Information – Forms, or Sharepoint.
If a member of staff is absent for 4 - 7 calendar days inclusive, they should complete and submit both part A and part B of Appendix 2 Form Statement of Sick Absence as a self-certification form to their Line Manager on return to work. The form will then be forwarded to the CEO’s PA for confidential filing.
If a member of staff is absent for 8 or more calendar days, a Statement of Fitness for Work (provided by the GP) is required covering them from the 8th day of absence and should be sent promptly to the Line Managerwho will pass it to the CEO’s PA for confidential filing. If the absence continues beyond the period covered further statements are required until a return to work.
Sick pay entitlements increase in relation to the time that a member of staff has been in continuous employment with the Trust or its subsidiaries. The following are the total amounts of sick pay that a member of staff is entitled to receive during any 12 month period as a result of sick absence which has been properly notified to the Trust. (For these purposes the 12 month period is a rolling period of 12 consecutive months calculated from the first day of absence).
Up to one year of continuous service
Two weeks’ full pay, two weeks’ half pay
After one year of continuous service
One month’s full pay, one month’s half pay
After three years’ of continuous service
Two months’ full pay, two months’ half pay
After five years’ continuous service
Three months’ full pay, three months’ half pay
It should be noted that Company Sick Pay is discretionary and each situation will be subject to review and dealt with on an individual basis.
If statutory sick pay (SSP) is for a longer period than any of the above then SSP will be paid to the end of that longer statutory period. In order to qualify for sick pay then staff must follow the procedure set out in their contract and in this policy. If there are exceptional circumstances then the Trust will use discretion and this would involve the Line Manager discussing the circumstances with the CEO who would come to a decision.