Living Paintings is an award-winning national charity producing and publishing unique Touch to See books that bring the visual world to life for blind and partially sighted people. Our audio tactile books help children learn to read, support students in schools, inspire interests and enable lifelong learning for adults. Our purpose is to end the social and educational isolation suffered by blind and partially sighted people at every stage of their lives. We reach both children and adults delivering our library resources for FREE into a variety of environments including home and school. There are currently approx. 1,400 library members reaching approximately 5,200 visually impaired beneficiaries located across the UK.
We are looking for an experienced senior administrator/office manager, with the ability to develop great relationships at all levels, and support our busy, happy team of staff and volunteers. Working to the CEO, you will be someone who has excellent organisational skills, a keen eye for detail and is highly proficient in Microsoft Office. You will be able to work quickly and efficiently to achieve management of your workload which will include acting as confidential PA to the Board of Trustees whilst being responsible for overseeing the steady running of the day-to-day operations within the office.
This is a Part time role for 28 hours per week (of a 35-hour week) and some work from home may be negotiated. However, to fulfil the job description, much of the time you will need to be in the office in Kingsclere, near Newbury (RG20 4SW). Salary £28,000 - £30,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) calculated pro rata for part time.
POSITION IN ORGANISATION
Reports to the Chief Executive
HR duties responsible for:
* Managing the payroll process
* Managing and recording holidays and toil, ensuring appropriate staff cover at all times
* Recording sickness absence
* Managing the annual review process
* Recruitment administration
* Processing new starters and leavers
* Arranging NSPCC on line training
* HR administration – e.g. maintaining hard copy and digital files
Finance duties include:
* Liaising with the Bookkeeper in relation to invoice approval, credit card spends and resolving any expenditure queries
* Coordinating staff expenses
* Managing petty cash
* Working with auditors resolving any queries for annual audit
IT duties include:
* Liaise with IT provider on setting up office and remote profiles for staff, and purchase of new IT equipment
* Troubleshooting IT issues and identifying resolutions to staff queries
* Liaise with database and website providers to maintain provision
* Managing a rota to ensure server backups are in place to secure data
Trustee administrative support which includes:
* Coordinating new Trustee appointments to the Board and starter packs
* Updating Trustee data held on Charity Commission and Companies House websites
* Preparing Agendas, coordinating papers, attending Trustee meetings, completing meeting and AGM minutes, following up on actions
* Proposing and arranging dates for future meetings
* Coordinating Trustee declaration forms and annual AGM waiver letters
* Submission of the Charity Annual Reports and Accounts with the Charity Commission and Companies House
Policy work involves:
* Reviewing policies annually or when legislative changes dictate to ensure a safe and compliant working environment
Facilities Management:
* Ensure annual service schedules are maintained for all building services eg air con, boilers, alarm systems etc
* Maintain utility contracts and take monthly meter readings to ensure correct billing
* Completing insurance renewals
* Arranging PAT testing
* Maintain an overview of Health and Safety and risk assessment
* Arranging first aid training
* Oversee the efficient running of the office, including generally used equipment e.g. printers, franking machine etc
Departmental support includes:
* Support teams when required, including data analysis
* Chairing Head of Department meetings, ensuring projects align with strategy and progress efficiently. Preparing strategy overview document for quarterly reporting to the Trustees.
* Coordination of department operational highlight quarterly reporting to the Trustees
General duties include:
* Managing staff events, including the Christmas party
* Maintaining the key holder list with Country Estates
* Responsible for online ordering including stationery and office supplies
* Undertake specific projects that may be additional to the tasks detailed above as agreed with the Chief Executive
* Act as a representative of Living Paintings.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
To do this job you will need to be:
· A team player with elevated levels of personal integrity
· Self-motivated, proactive and reliable
· GCSE standard in English and Maths are essential, further education preferred
· Have considerable experience of working in an office
· Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel.
· An excellent communicator with good organisational skills
· Someone who has good numeracy, an excellent eye for detail, analytical skills and the ability to understand and assimilate data effectively.
We expect you will:
· Have a can do attitude, with a friendly and approachable manner
· Enjoy dealing confidently with people at all levels and get on well with colleagues and other stakeholders
· Be able to work on own initiative, introducing new solutions and innovative ways of improving working procedures
· Ability to juggle and prioritise competing tasks in order to meet deadlines
· Have the ability to handle issues of a sensitive or confidential nature with tact and diplomacy.
Safeguarding
Child Safeguarding Training will be provided. Living Paintings is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We expect all of our employees and volunteers to fully share this commitment.
General
· Proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK
· Able to travel for work within the UK occasionally
· Able to work rarely on evenings and weekends to meet the demands of the job with compensatory time off
· It is preferred that the post holder will hold a full driving licence and have a car available and be insured for work. Living Paintings reimburses all business mileage and travel expenses.
Working Week: Hours of attendance will be 28 hours per week, between Monday to Friday, 9.00am – 5.00pm. subject to agreement. This role will be carried out in the office in Kingsclere, with some work from home arrangements available. Some weekend and evening work may be required from time to time for which time off in lieu will be given.
For more information, visit our website or check us out on Instagram @livingpaintingscharity
Application Process:
Please provide a covering letter along with your CV, outlining how you consider your skills and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role. Please note, applications will be considered as they are submitted and interviews held as required, consequently this job may be closed early if a successful candidate is appointed.
Job Types: Part-time, Permanent
Pay: £28,000.00-£30,000.00 per year
Expected hours: 28 per week
Benefits:
* Free parking
* On-site parking
Ability to commute/relocate:
* Newbury RG20 4SW: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Application question(s):
* Have you submitted your CV together with a covering letter detailing your skills and experience for this role and why you want to work for our charity? Please note, applications will be considered as they are submitted and interviews held as required, consequently this job may be closed early if a successful candidate is appointed.
Experience:
* relevant work : 3 years (required)
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 13/10/2025