Office Administrator

Office Administrator Eliot Church of Newton, UCC Newton, MA Job Details Part-time From $25 an hour 21 hours ago Benefits Paid holidays Paid time off Paid sick time Qualifications Teamwork Zoom Executive administrative support Calendar management Organizational skills Full Job Description The Office Administrator ("the OA") of the Eliot Church of Newton is a part time administrative professional who will work closely with the church's ordained and lay leadership. Reporting to the Pastor, the Office Administrator will work closely with the Pastor, the Director of Music Ministry, the Groundskeeper, and the church's volunteer officers (Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Clerk, Moderator(s)). Along with the Director of Music Ministry, the Groundskeeper, and the sextons, the OA reports to the Pastor as one of the employed staff of the church, and will participate in regular staff meetings. From time to time, as projects require or as requested by the Pastor, the Office Administrator may also work with volunteer members of church commissions and committees. The OA also frequently interacts with long-term and short-term tenants, members of the community inquiring about services or support from the church, walk-ins and callers during posted church hours. Eliot Church of Newton is a member of the UCC, United Church of Christ, an open and affirming church. Anyone is welcome to worship at Eliot, wherever they are on their personal, professional, or faith journeys. The OA, as an ambassador of Eliot to its tenants and the wider community, will be a welcoming, consistent professional presence. The Office Administrator is welcome but not required to worship with the congregation, and does not need to be a person of faith. Because the Eliot Church membership is small but growing, the OA will be a professional capable of managing deadlines, priorities, and communication in a collaborative and time-sensitive way, and will be a diplomatic problem-solver mindful of the different decision-makers in the congregation while referring questions and conflicts to the Pastor's attention for further resolution. The Office Administrator works on-site at the church's address on Centre Street in Newton Corner 4-5 days a week (per written agreement with the Pastor), working an average of 25 hours per week depending on the time of year. Summer hours tend to be shorter, and hours between September 1 and June 15 represent the regular program year during which the bulk of the liturgical and ordinary business of the church is conducted. The role of the OA specifically involves being a welcoming in-person presence, so remote work is not available as a regular part of the workload. On-site parking, an on-site staff kitchen, and separate eating/break space from the office is available. The Office Administrator earns up to two weeks' (avg. 25 hours) of vacation per year. Sick time consistent with Massachusetts Paid Sick Time is also available. Paid holidays, comp time, and flex time are not available. The starting pay is $25 per hour. The Office Administrator will be required to pass a criminal background check as part of the church's Safe Child Policy as part of the final stages of the hiring process. The duties of the Office Administrator will include, but are not limited to: Weekly creation of church bulletin, coordinating with Pastor and Director of Music Ministry for updates and changes Weekly creation of church newsletter, coordinating with Pastor and Director of Music Ministry as well as congregants making submissions for timely, complete, and accurate Maintain complete, accurate, and up-to-date calendar(s) for the church, including space use by staff, tenants, congregation members, community groups, and more Response to rental inquiries, referring to and coordinating with Facilities Commission and other staff regarding space inquries Serve as point of contact for regular tenants Suggest changes to procedures and practices to improve office and staff organization Oversee and organize electronic and paper church records, including committee minutes, annual report documents, applications for financial assistance, leases and correspondence with tenants leasing space from Eliot Work on-site during posted church hours, to provide in-person assistance to tenants, callers, walk-ins, and staff on site Answer questions from callers and walk-ins seeking information about the church, space use, financial assistance, funeral/memorial services and more Receive, sort, and redirect physical mail Review and redirect emails and voice mails to church general inboxes Assist church officers, particularly the Treasurer and Financial Secretary, with gathering and maintaining information pertinent to the execution of their duties Assist with disseminating readings and information sheets to Sunday readers Assist Clerk in the gathering and assembly of the Annual Meeting packet, including all commission reports, minutes, appendices, and related documents Assist staff with the maintenance and management of bills, quotes, contracts, and other documents related to church operations Assist volunteer leadership with flower and greenery orders for Christmas, Easter, and other church events Assist volunteer leadership with catering and supply orders Assist Pastor and church lay finance leadership regarding special collections As with regular Sunday worship, assist Pastor and others with the organization and execution of special worship services, funerals, weddings, and other occasions Coordinate printing of weekly bulletins, newsletters, and other communications Coordinate vendor visits to church, including communication to tenants, staff, and congregation as needed regarding interruptions to usual operations Create and maintain collegial and collaborative relationships with commission and committee members, particularly but not limited to Facilities, so as to facilitate safe and timely operations, and advise relevant staff or volunteers of facilities needs, from outside plantings to interior trash collection and cleaning With Clerk, members of Leadership Council, and Pastor, maintain and update church directory, including photographs of members and attenders Maintain designated church physical bulletin boards Ability to identify and escalate time-sensitive matters to the attention of the Pastor or Moderator(s) Keep self advised of and implement and enforce the church's policies and procedures, including Safe Child Policy and other policies as directed Attend regular 1:1 supervision with Pastor, seeking supervision and assistant with priorities and projects proactively Attend staff meetings regularly, providing constructive feedback and ideas to team as part of regular staff operations

PRIOR EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Seven to ten years' work experience required Five or more years' work experience in an office setting, with increasing responsibility Bachelor's degree preferred but not required Experience working in a non-profit, educational, church, or religious organization strongly preferred Experience in eliciting and providing information from a variety of people, from congregants to tenants, to walk-ins unsure of their needs Experience dealing with people in some confusion or distress, with the ability to provide a calming, welcoming environment Prior experience with commercial space rentals/leasing strongly preferred

SKILLS:

Excellent attention to detail and deadlines, with ability to prioritize workload for recurrent and one-off projects to minimize last-minute changes Proven ability to synthesize and respond to feedback Strong written and verbal communicator, with ability to confirm details and provide or request follow up in a timely way to ensure regular completion of duties requiring input from other staff and volunteers Welcoming, tactful, and helpful source of information to vendors, tenants, walk-ins, and callers Excellent proofreading skills Strong organizational skills Strong sense of teamwork Good sense of confidentiality and discretion regarding congregants' issues and needs

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Proficient in MS Office, including email, calendar, Excel, Word, and other MS Office Suite functions Familiarity with Google Suite or similar cloud-hosted office suite tools Proficient in Zoom/MS Teams web-meeting set-up, recording, and room management Experience with the preparation and finalization of regular reports Experience with mail-merge functions Experience creating and using templates in Word, Excel, and other software tools Experience with e-mail outreach tools such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or similar Ability to create and update electronic and paper document organization systems to improve accessibility of information Familiarity with and ability to do basic troubleshooting for office equipment such as printers/copiers/mail machines, etc. Prior experience using and maintaining basic social media presence on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, NextDoor and similar preferred

Job Type:

Part-time Pay:

From $25.00 per hour Expected hours: 20.0 - 30.0 per week

Benefits:

Paid time off

Experience:

office administrator: 2 years (Preferred) Ability to

Commute:

Newton, MA 02458 (Required)

Work Location:

In person