Operations Manager in Islington, Norfolk

Thank you for your interest in joining our team as the Operations Manager. We are the leading professional association and a Professional Standards Authority Voluntary Accredited Register for psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling practitioners in the UK. With a small team of twelve, based at our offices in North London, and with an annual turnover of c£900k we regulate the profession, adjudicate on complaints and maintain professional standards. We enjoy a reputation for high clinical and professional standards within the counselling and psychotherapy profession and, unlike other similar organisations, we are purely psychoanalytic in our focus. We accredit training programmes operated via our Member Institutions, ensuring that they meet our exacting standards. Individuals who qualify from these accredited trainings are eligible to become Registrants of the BPC and appear on our public Register. Registrants must comply with our Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics.

As well as our regulatory role, we advance the knowledge and understanding about psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically informed therapies, through working with policy makers and through conferences, publications and other activities. Having undergone a period of change and growth over the last few years, we are recruiting a new Operations Manager to help us maintain the functioning of the organisation and continue to grow. This role supports the Director of Operations across a variety of functions such as line managing the admin team, office management and events to ensure the organisation is able to thrive and meet its wider objective to protect the public. This varied role would suit someone who enjoys the combination of regular administrative tasks as well as the creativity of developing improved solutions for the organisation.

For the right candidate, this is an exciting opportunity to be part of an ambitious, friendly organisation where your voice, your ideas and your contribution will have a critical impact on our success. If you believe you have what we are looking for then we very much look forward to hearing from you.

Responsibilities

• Office management
  • Manage relationships with facilities suppliers and contractors to ensure the smooth running of the office
  • Manage the relationship with the office landlord
  • Ensure office environment is kept clean, tidy and in working order and organise any urgent repairs as needed
  • Manage stationary, cleaning, refreshments and other relevant office supplies
  • Ensure all staff have equipment they need in the office and working from home
  • Work with IT suppliers to ensure IT systems are as efficient as possible
  • Organise ongoing maintenance for facilities such as air conditioning, PAT testing etc.
  • Identify needs and organise new suppliers or contractors where necessary
  • Ensure the organisation meets Health and Safety requirements
  • Manage insurance contracts to meet the needs of the organisation
  • Manage and respond to complaints and concerns about the organisation
  • Ensure adequate staff levels to cover for absences and peaks in workload
• HR
  • Line manage the administration team, 2 x Admin Support Officers and 2 x Membership Officers
  • Support with recruitment admin for new members of staff
  • Set up new members of staff on BPC systems, working with the IT suppliers where necessary
  • Set up induction meetings and support with the induction planning of new staff members
  • Co-ordinate the implementation of annual performance development reviews across the organisation
  • Set up exit interviews, if appropriate, and offboarding processes for leavers
  • Promote staff development and training across the organisation
• Governance
  • Collate, proof and ensure consistency across all Board papers and send out at least one week in advance of meetings
  • Minute Board meetings
  • Create public summaries for each Board meeting, and once approved, upload to the BPC website
  • Organise inductions for new trustees and meetings with the staff team
  • Update relevant sites and systems with changes to Trustees (e.g. BPC website, Charity Commission, Companies House)
  • Manage logistics for in person or hybrid Board and Council meetings such as booking venue and liaising with venue’s event manager
• Events
  • Lead on the organisation of conferences, including the flagship conference Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Now (every two years)
  • Work with the Events and Admin Support Officer to plan and deliver a programme of CPD events
  • Develop events to increase membership and wider objectives of the organisation, as aligned with the business plan
  • Research relevant event venues and liaise with venues to organise bookings where necessary
• Finance
  • Ongoing payments of invoices
  • Raise invoices such as Member Institution annual membership fees, accreditation and reaccreditation visits and New Associations adverts
  • Refund membership payments where necessary
  • Set up staff payroll payments based on payroll information from the accountants
  • Ensure monthly payment to HMRC is made based on payroll information from the accountants
  • Work with the bookkeeper to correctly code income and expenditure
  • Work with the Head of Operations, bookkeeper and accountants on the annual accounts and reports
• Other
  • Support with covering of phones and emails as required
  • Report on relevant aspects of work in the quarterly CEO report and any other relevant reporting streams
  • Any other reasonable duties, as agreed with the Director of Operations, to contribute to the wider functions of the BPC

Person specification

Essential

• Strong, demonstrable experience of at least two years in a similar role.
• Experience with CRMs and databases.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work flexibly in a small, close knit, multi-tasking team; working with colleagues and on own initiative with minimal supervision.
• Ability to manage a wider ranging workload and prioritise conflicting priorities as well as tracking progress on tasks.
• Ability to see projects through from start to finish and meet deadlines.
• Experience of taking and writing accurate and timely minutes.
• Experience of using Microsoft Office packages, particularly Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Willingness and flexibility to work some evenings, and occasional Saturday, to attend meetings or conferences (time off in lieu is given)
• Commitment to BPC’s aims and objectives

Desirable

• Experience of events management
• Experience of CiviCRM
• Experience of Xero accounting software or similar
• Experience or knowledge of professional regulation and/or membership body
• Experience or knowledge of psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapies