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Job Description

Job Title: / Bookings Assistant
Department: / People Engagement
Responsible to: / Senior Learning Officer
Pay Band: / Assistant - £17,107.50
Hours: / 35 hours per week
Location: / The Wolseley Centre with frequent travel to Westport Lake
Background Information:
Our mission statement is:
“Staffordshire Wildlife Trust protects and enhances the wildlife and wild places of Staffordshire and promotes understanding, enjoyment and involvement in the natural world.”
A registered charity established in 1969, we are one of 47 county Wildlife Trusts throughout the UK and are supported by over 15,000 members.
The Trust owns or manages 27 nature reserves covering an area of over 3,600 acres. Our 60 staff are based in six locations around the county including our Headquarters at Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, with our work divided up into five departments: Resources;People Engagement; Conservation Delivery; Fundraising, Communication and Membership;and Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership. The Trust has a diverse workforce including site wardens, wildlife surveyors, community and education officers, as well as catering and administration staff.
In addition, we have a trading company looking after the commercial side of our business including a café at Westport Lake Visitor Centre and charity shops in Leek and Rugeley.
The People Engagement Team at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust delivers a wide range of activity across the county, engaging with audiences young and old. Our aim is to provide exciting, inspirational opportunities for people of all ages to connect with us, to promote the conservation work that we do and to inspire people to take action to support wildlife.
Job Purpose:
To assist in the smooth running of our varied engagement activities, from birthday parties, school groups and Wildplay sessions to our accredited Forest Schools training and busy events programme. This role will be crucial in ensuring the services we offer are promoted online,that bookings are processed efficiently, and information is communicated effectively. This is a central role to the whole team and will involve developing good working relationships with delivery staff as well as members of the public and customers.
Responsibilities:

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a)To be the main point of contact for telephone, email and social media enquiries for events, bookings and activities run by the People Engagement Team; this includes school visits, birthday parties, family events, training courses and toddler sessions.
b)Coordinate and process booking paperwork, ensuring information gathered is available for lead staff and accessible for monitoring purposes.
c)Entering bookings onto electronic calendars and diaries and ensuring online event details are correct.
d)Coordinate staff cover amongst sessional (casual) staff and manage the staff rota.
e)Using finance system to generate invoice requests and process payments for online bookings.
f)Working with other staff, oversee the team’s social media and online presence, ensuring events in particular are published online in advance and we are promoting these events effectively.
g)Some occasional admin support for the education centres to include some photocopying, printing and learning resource production.
h)In order for the organisation to work effectively, you may be required to assist with other areas of work and therefore you should be prepared to undertake other duties, appropriate to the post, as delegated by your line manager.
i)Raise awareness of the work of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and be an ambassador for the Charity.
j) All staff should recognise the contribution that membership makes towards the running of the organisation. The postholder is therefore expected to understand the need for high standards of service to existing members and recognise their role in contributing towards ongoing membership recruitment.
k) In order for the organisation to work effectively you may be required to assist with other areas of work and therefore you should be prepared to undertake other duties, appropriate to the post, as delegated by your line manager.
l) All staff are required to abide by organisational policies and procedures.

Person Specification

Job Title: Bookings Assistant

Criteria / Essential / Desirable / Assessment Method *
Qualifications
A level or equivalent Level 4 in Business/Advertising/ Marketing/IT / x / AF, I, P, QC
GCSE Grade C or above in English & Maths / x / AF, I, QC
Full Driving Licence / x / AF, QC
Experience
Experience in an administrative role dealing with booking processes / x / AF, P, I
Working in a customer-focussed role, responding to enquiries and seeking information on behalf of customers / x / AF, P, I
Experience working in a charitable organisation and an understanding of the drivers behind business needs / x / AF, P, I
Direct interaction with visitors, including dealing with complaints and issues / x / AF, I

Proven experience managing busy workload, multiple priorities and time pressures

/ x / AF, I
Experience of managing social media accounts on behalf of groups or organisations / x / AF, I, QC
Managing sessional staff (zero hours) and volunteers / x / AF, I
Skills/knowledge
Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to motivate and encourage themselves and others, working effectively with people of all ages, gender, ethnic origin, background and level of responsibility / x / AF, I, P
Good planning and organisational ability / x / AF, I, P
Ability to work within a busy team / x / AF, I
An ability to work accurately within limited timeframes / x / AF, I
Excellent telephone manner and communication skills / x / AF, I
Familiarity with the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite / x / AF, I
Excellent IT skills i.e. Microsoft Office package: Word, PowerPoint and Excel / x / AF, I, T
Abilities
Job involves
  • Working to deadlines and targets without close supervision
  • Working at satellite offices on occasion across Staffordshire, therefore we would prefer applicants to have a full current driving licence (and access to a vehicle) or at the very least a commitment to be at the required location on time.
a DBS check may be undertaken depending on the particular duties required / AF, I
Job may involve infrequent manual handling such as:
  • Carrying equipment to and from vehicle to site
  • Erecting various sizes of tents for events
Loading/unloading tools and equipment on behalf of sessional staff / AF, I

* I = interview QC = qualification certificate AF = application form T = test or assessment P = presentation

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