Senior Administrator - Orkney Native Wildlife Project (Fixed Term)

Job Description

The Orkney Native Wildlife Project is looking for a motivated senior administrator who can support a busy team to facilitate delivery of the work programme and ensure an effective office working environment. The Orkney Native Wildlife Project started in 2018 and is a partnership between RSPB Scotland, Nature Scot and Orkney Islands Council. Its purpose is to work with local communities and landowners to undertake the world’s largest stoat eradication operation and safeguard the unique and internationally important native wildlife of Orkney. This is an exciting and varied role that presents a fantastic opportunity to support a large team in making a real difference for nature!

To make a success of this opportunity, you will be a capable senior administrator with the ability to work well with a broad range of people, whilst having strong office administration skills to ensure the smooth running of the team.

What's the role about?

Stoats were first reported in Orkney in 2010 and their presence threatens a variety of species including the unique Orkney vole, hen harriers, short-eared owls, red-throated divers, waders and seabirds which attract wildlife enthusiasts all year round making a significant contribution to the local economy

Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and EU LIFE alongside partner contributions the project is now in a key implementation stage and we are looking for a strong administrator who can support the busy team. As the Senior Administrator, you will be expected to:

• Provide comprehensive business administrative support to the project team, including financial processes, travel and accommodation, events, organising and maintaining materials and equipment, diary bookings and maintaining SharePoint websites.
• Provide a dedicated administrative support service to the steering group, project board and Technical advisory group, including diary management, drafting letters and other communications, organising travel, accommodation and meetings
• Oversee the day-to-day management of the office environment to ensure the office is an efficient, effective and safe place to work.
• Provide comprehensive support to recruiting managers where required for all aspects of the recruitment and induction processes

As the Senior Administrator for a large multidisciplinary team, timely and efficient office management is essential to meet multiple, sometimes competing deadlines. Experience is required in Microsoft Office applications, document management and team collaboration tools with internal and external partners. An ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences is essential. Other duties will include organising meetings, taking minutes, organising small and large-scale events, as well as supporting the day-to-day running of the office. Effective teamwork and the ability to work on your own initiative will be vital in this role and you will be expected to continually look at ways of improving office procedures.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

1. Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (especially Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, MS Teams, SharePoint), plus the ability to impart this knowledge on to others.
2. Knowledge of document management and team collaboration tools.
3. Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences whether by phone, email or in person.
4. Able to organise meetings and events, from small up to very large (hundreds of attendees), and coordinate all aspects of the meeting or event logistics.
5. Able to make the best use of time particularly when under pressure from competing priorities.
6. Able to identify and act on opportunities for continually improving ways of working.
7. Able to deal with confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
8. Able to take meeting notes and minutes clearly and concisely.
9. Experience of providing administrative support within a large and complex organisation.
10. Experience of office management and maintaining a safe working environment.

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

1. Experience of managing and reporting financial information.
2. Knowledge of budget management terminology and processes.

This is a Fixed-Term role until December 2024, for 37.5 hours per week. The RSPB reserves the right to extend or make this role permanent without further advertising dependent on business needs at the end of the contract term.

We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 29 April 2024. For further information please contact vicky.grant@rspb.org.uk.

As part of this application process you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.