Context
The Diocese of Winchester has over 400 church buildings, and over 300 parishes, with many more worshipping communities. There are chaplaincies operating in schools, universities, hospitals, prisons and other institutions and organisations across the area of Hampshire and East Dorset which is covered by the diocese. Also included are over a hundred Church of England primary schools. Every parish in the diocese is encouraged to develop a Mission Action Plan which sets out the way in which the church in that local area will engage with and support the community in which it is situated – with parishes offering everything from parent and toddler groups and “Messy Church”, to street pastors and support for night‑shelters and refugees.
Job Description
This includes the role of the Personal Assistant to the Bishop of Basingstoke who shares responsibility for the pastoral care and oversight of the Church in the region with the Diocese of Winchester leadership team. The personal assistant will play a pivotal role in enabling the Bishop to fulfil her responsibilities by managing her time, communications, and engagements. This includes diary management, correspondence, briefing preparation, travel arrangements, financial oversight, and acting as a trusted confidant and gatekeeper.
About The Role
The Personal Assistant will also coordinate events, support diocesan communications, manage office administration, and liaise with volunteers and stakeholders. You will be expected to build a strong working relationship with the Bishop, understand her priorities, and anticipate her needs with discretion and professionalism.
Responsibilities
Executive Support
* Diary Management: Manage the Bishop’s diary, ensuring effective prioritisation and time management. Schedule meetings, appointments, and events in line with the Bishop’s personal and professional commitments, ensuring sufficient preparation time is diarised.
* Correspondence: Draft and manage correspondence on behalf of the Bishop, including calls, emails, complaints, enquiries and official documents, triaging as necessary and responding or delegating according to sensitivity.
* Briefings and Preparation: Ensure the Bishop is well‑prepared and informed for all events. Print agendas and reports for statutory meetings and create executive summaries of reports highlighting key items.
* Travel and Accommodation: Arrange travel, accommodation and logistics for the Bishop’s trips, both within the Diocese and nationally, ensuring arrangements are efficient and cost‑effective.
* Finance: Oversee and manage the finances and budget planning for the 'Local Account' related to the Bishop of Basingstoke, keeping records of expenses, invoices and mileage.
* Support & Advice: Provide appropriate support to the Bishop in the exercise of her duties as a confidant and gatekeeper, ensuring risks are discussed, mitigated or avoided.
* Relationship Management: Ensure good working relationships with the Bishop’s staff, senior diocesan staff, senior cathedral staff and all staff at Winchester diocesan offices.
Event Coordination
* Church/Diocesan Events: Assist in planning and organising diocesan events, services, conferences and gatherings hosted by the Bishop, including coordination of logistics, catering, invitations and event materials.
* External Engagements: Facilitate the Bishop’s engagement with external organisations, charities and community leaders by managing invitations, RSVPs and event details.
Office Management
* Administration: Oversee the administrative tasks related to the Bishop’s office, including filing, document management and maintaining an organised, efficient working environment.
* Warden of Readers Support: Provide administrative support for the Bishop in her role as Warden of Readers, producing licences, maintaining records and supporting the annual lay licensing service.
* Record Review: Review current records for LLM and consider improvements with others.
* Confidentiality & GDPR: Handle sensitive and confidential information with utmost discretion and integrity, ensuring privacy and security of communications and documents.
* Team Coordination: Liaise with diocesan staff, clergy and other stakeholders to ensure timely address of requests or actions requiring the Bishop’s attention.
Volunteer Coordination
* Support the Bishop’s Team of Volunteers by arranging expenses, diarising meetings and ensuring safeguarding and HR requirements are met for all volunteers.
Diocesan Communications
* Stakeholder Liaison: Serve as a professional and warm point of contact for diocesan clergy, parishes and external organisations seeking communication or co‑ordination with the Bishop’s office.
Special Projects and Initiatives
* Project Support: Assist with specific diocesan or episcopal initiatives or projects as directed by the Bishop, helping to implement and follow through on tasks.
Key Requirements
* Willingness to occasionally work evenings and weekends, with time off in lieu (TOIL) provided for any additional hours worked.
* Own transport may be necessary for meetings or events outside normal working hours or without public transport access.
Your place of work will be based at Old Alresford Place, Old Alresford, SO24 9DH.
Interviews will take place on 23 March 2026 at Old Alresford Place.
Qualifications
Personal Effectiveness
* Administratively efficient
* Able to prioritise effectively
* Pays close attention to detail
* Uses own initiative
* Has a flexible approach to work, able to adapt to changing practices and processes in an evolving organisation
* Works collaboratively
* Takes responsibility and accountability for tasks and actions
* Takes a practical approach to tasks
* Creative and solution‑orientated
* Stays calm under pressure
* Able to operate with a degree of ambiguity
* Has confidence to challenge the Bishop if necessary
* Works well in a small team
Communication
* Establishes and maintains excellent working relationships with colleagues and other contacts
* Has a polite, helpful manner
* Communicates effectively with people at all levels, both inside and outside the organisation
* Demonstrates excellent presentation, layout and accuracy in text production
* Able to draft or adapt letters as appropriate
* Maintains strict confidentiality
* Uses diplomacy and sensitivity
Administration
* Has an excellent standard of literacy
* Has a good standard of numeracy
* Takes a proactive approach to the Bishop’s time management
* Manages workflow flexibly to prioritise tasks in order to meet deadlines
* Follows office procedures
Work Management and Personal Development
* Competent in managing own workload and effectively delegating to and supporting others with their workloads
* Uses good judgment in knowing when to delegate
* Committed to the development of colleagues
* Committed to own personal development and encouraging others in their development
Knowledge
* At least 2 years of administrative work experience
* Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word and Outlook, and willing to learn Excel and other Office 365 applications
* Has experience in or is willing to learn financial record keeping and online banking
* Experienced in managing a varied workload efficiently
* Capable of undertaking internet‑based research and presenting a summary of findings
* Has some familiarity with, or willingness to learn, parliamentary processes as they relate to the diary and correspondence of a Lord Spiritual
* Has sympathy for the faith, worship and mission of the Church of England
* Has an understanding of, or willingness to learn, the systems, structures and terminology of the Church of England
About Us
The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation – a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.
We Include. You Belong.
Values
* Strive for Excellence
* Show Compassion
* Respect others
* Collaborate
* Act with Integrity
We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you.
Use of AI in your application
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