APPOINTMENT OF ALMSHOUSE CLERK TO ROSEMARY ALMSHOUSE CHARITY, STANWAY, COLCHESTER

The Trustees of Rosemary Almshouse Charity are looking to appoint a new Clerk to administer the Charity.  The Charity currently provide 5 Almshouses and there are advanced plans to develop an additional 26 new almshouses.

The new Clerk will be expected to administer the existing properties but also to co-ordinate the work of providing the new almshouses, their building and appointment of beneficiaries.

Expressions of interest in this post should be sent to the current Clerk @ michael.siggs@ascensionalmshousemgmt.co.uk and include contact details and an up-to-date CV including experience and qualifications for this position.

Closing date 1^st August 2022

1. Job Purpose
   
   The Scheme Manager is responsible for the efficient day to day management of the accommodation that makes up the St Mary’s Hospital almshouse portfolio, for enabling its residents to live independently, for managing budgets and for reporting to and liaising closely with Trustees, either directly or through the Clerk to the Trustees.
   

2. Principal Accountabilities
Supporting residents across all sites:

• to maintain regular and appropriate contact with residents, with their agreement;
• to enable residents to live independently, combining an understanding of the benefits and social care system with the ability to engage with residents, understand their financial situation and options, and signpost them towards seeking financial support and care, interceding if necessary / possible to enable access to benefits or support;
• to ensure that St Mary’s Hospital (including the Dears Almshouses site) is a safe place for residents, staff and visitors, delivering secure safeguarding policy and practice working with third-party advice, and escalating and managing concerns promptly and appropriately;
• to consult with residents about any issues that might affect them or their residence at St Mary’s and to encourage their participation in the almshouses’ spiritual and social life;
• to respond to emergency calls from residents during working hours, contacting medical help and friends and relations where appropriate, and providing first aid as appropriate (subject to training);
• maintaining and updating all appropriate resident policy and guidance (the constituent parts of a residents’ handbook) in liaison with Trustees, re-issuing policies to residents as necessary;
• manage events for residents, including off-site events, Christmas carols and lunch, Summer Festival etc;
• Liaise closely with the Custos and Deputy Custos regarding the residents’ welfare and in particular their spiritual welfare and pastoral care;
• noting resident property issues, refurbishments etc and liaising closely with the almshouses’ Maintenance Officer and the Cathedral’s Head of Estates as required;
• briefing residents regularly on the Trustees’ behalf regarding almshouse matters and liaising with residents regarding their views and concerns, reporting to the Trustees and providing recommended actions where appropriate;
• to facilitate communal activities (social, leisure, recreational, therapeutic, and educational) for the involvement of residents across all sites;

Management of resident appointments:

• to manage the process for prospective residents’ applications from end to end including initial advice and arranging visits, reporting, shortlisting, interview arrangements, briefings and communications with Trustees, liaison with third party organisations including local

• authority housing teams, and liaising with applicants and their families in order to provide an efficient service to applicants, advise Trustees in their decision making with reference to the charity’s objects, and to minimise the time that properties remain empty;
• to ensure that new residents have an appropriate induction to enable them to understand their rights and responsibilities including those outlined in the terms and conditions of appointment, and are issues with up-to-date policies;
• to respond to any queries and complaints from residents and to manage and take an active role in any formal complaints in line with the complaints process, including any necessary escalation to Trustees;
• to manage the process for the end of resident appointments, for whatever reason, communicating with Trustees, relatives, and external agencies as appropriate;
• promoting the almshouses in suitable settings in order to increase the number of suitable applicants and build a healthy waiting-list for accommodation, and maintaining data on residents’ demographics including how they hear about St Mary’s, reasons for leaving etc;

Trustees, Staff, Management and systems:

• take significant responsibility for the support of Trustees and the management and support of Trustee meetings, including writing papers and minuting; 
• to play an active role in Trustees meetings, reporting regularly on financial, employee and resident issues, helping to shape the agenda and ensuring follow up actions are completed;
• budget management, liaising with outsourced finance support and the Clerk to set, monitor and report to Trustees on budgets in liaison with finance support;
• initiate and deliver projects, independently or in response to Trustee decisions, to support the consistent improvement in St Mary’s Hospital policy and practice, and monitor evolving compliance requirements in the almshouse sector.
• to manage the Assistant Scheme Manager within a defined PDR system to enable them to provide appropriate support;
• manage the booking, payment and use of guest rooms;
• to ensure that there is appropriate site presence, managing the rota and any planed absences and seeking alternative support as necessary;
• to ensure that any payroll matters are dealt with promptly in discussion with the Cathedral’s Head of HR and the external Finance team;
• to ensure that there are appropriate employment policies and procedures in place supported by the Cathedral’s Head of HR;
• to ensure that the third-party call system is operational and effective, liaising with providers, colleagues, residents and Head of Estates;
• to evolve and manage the on-site IT systems, supported by Cathedral estates staff and an IT support provider – to be selected and managed by Scheme Manager – as appropriate, including the establishment of a new system for storing data shared with the Cathedral;
• manage and maintain resident data appropriately, including setting and monitoring policy to ensure GDPR compliance and appropriate Privacy Policy for the Almshouses;
• monitoring, updating and publishing content of St Mary’s Hospital website using content Management System, and liaising with third party provider / Cathedral’s Communications Team where necessary;
• to ensure that all compliance policies, including fire and health and safety, are in place and reviewed regularly, and that procedures are followed, and that the estate and common parts are in safe working order, liaising regularly with the Cathedral’s Estates team and Head of Estates;
• to oversee resident payments in liaison with the outsourced Finance team;
• to oversee the payment of pensions in liaison with the outsourced Finance team and manage St Mary’s pensions in consultation with the Trustees;
• other administrative tasks as required to ensure compliance and the smooth running of the almshouses.

3. Level of Responsibility
a. People

The Scheme Manager and Deputy Clerk to the Trustees is responsible for a part time Assistant Scheme Manager and may also have responsibility for volunteers as appropriate. There is also a matrix reporting line for the Maintenance Officer & Gardener who reports to the Head of Estates.

b. Financial Management

To manage a budget with access to pre-paid chargecard.

To understand:

• St Mary’s budget and to be able to take an active role in budget setting and to report regularly to Trustees on financial matters [with support and input from the external finance team as appropriate];
• financial matters within the context of the social-care and benefits systems in order to enable residents to obtain the benefits they are entitled to;
• the financial implications of staffing resource decisions

4. Contacts

The post-holder will have contact with:

• residents and their families / support structures;
• the Clerk to the Trustees (Communar) and members of the Board of Trustees to provide information, to seek guidance and for ongoing support, mentoring and oversight;
• the Cathedral’s Head of Estates to liaise with regards to health &safety responsibilities and major estates issues;
• the Maintenance Officer & Gardener regarding ongoing maintenance and estates issues;
• the Cathedral’s Head of HR with regards to employment / payroll matters;
• the Custos / Deputy Custos in relation to the pastoral care of residents and Chapel use and services;
• an outsourced finance team supporting the charity in relation to financial matters, policies, budgets etc;
• remote care technology provider and call centre support, and IT support provider;
• dedicated safeguarding support provided through a services agreement with the Diocese of Chichester;
• external colleagues working in other almshouses and independent living organisations to share best practice, seek advice and network;
• local agencies in the statutory sector (housing, health, social care) and outside it, in order to facilitate appropriate resident pathways into and out of the almshouses, and to ensure that residents are able to access maximum benefits (financial or otherwise) for their support;
• the local community in order to foster links and encourage mutually beneficial arrangements.

5. Special Requirements

The post-holder will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check and mandatory safeguarding training will be provided.
Close sympathy with the Christian Ethos of St Mary’s Hospital is essential.

6. Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Essential requirements

• a good general level of education and evidence of a commitment to continuing professional development;
• a proficient Microsoft Office user;
• an understanding of the support landscape for the elderly including the benefits system and housing support and the ability to signpost residents to the support available to them;
• previous experience of working with the elderly and an understanding of the challenges that they might face;
• an experienced manager who is able to take responsibility for issues and also able to identify when a matter should be escalated for further advice and support;
• a high level of emotional intelligence with the ability to understand and work effectively with people undergoing challenging periods in their lives including applicants, residents and family members;
• an interest in national policy, law and best practice in areas including almshouses, supported housing, older people and benefits;
• the ability to plan and manage own workload often juggling conflicting priorities;
• an excellent communicator with the ability to communicate effectively to different audiences and to produce clear, compelling and concise reports, correspondence etc.

Desirable requirements

• a relevant management qualification;
• previous experience of enabling elderly residents to live independently in a similar environment.

Support in professional development and mentoring will be provided to the successful candidate.

Please view the charities website for details on how to apply https://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/about-us/our-team/job-vacancies

Job or Trustee – Trustee             Job type – Voluntary

Salary – Nil                                       Hours – Up to 4 Board meetings per year plus development days

Closing date – 12 noon on the 2^nd of August 2022

The St. Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trust is an Almshouse Charity and provides low cost, community housing for local people in housing need. The Trust has a long history stretching back several hundred years.

It is an exciting time for the Trust, with around £11m of investment being made in its residential assets and sites over the next 5 years. The Trust is also developing a longer-term business plan to help ensure that it continues to deliver maximum benefit from its assets and resources.

We require a Co-opted Director to sit on the Board of the Trust’s corporate trustee, which is the St Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trustee Limited. The new Director will join an established Board consisting of a Chair, 2 other Co-opted Directors, 3 Directors nominated by the Freemen of Newcastle upon Tyne, 3 Directors nominated by Newcastle City Council and 1 Director nominated by the Bishop of Newcastle.

We are particularly, although not exclusively, looking for candidates who have experience in either charity law, information technology, property management or quality assurance.

Further information about the role is available from Jon Mitford, Chief Executive, St Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trust, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4NN.

Jon Mitford, Chief Executive

St Mary Magdalene & Holy Jesus Trust, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4NN

E-mail@ jmitford.mmhj@btconnect.com Tel: 0191 269 7920

We are looking to recruit a motivated, enthusiastic, and talented individual to lead the training and development programme for The Almshouse Association.  The post holder will report directly to the CEO, in collaboration with the Head of Member Services.

This is a very exciting opportunity to help produce a training programme to deliver to charity trustees and clerks throughout the UK.

We expect the successful candidate will take a role in supporting trustees delivering their leadership to 1,600 charities.

You will be a strong engaging presenter with a passion for customer service, a natural team player with good attention to detail and above all a commitment to the charity.

You will be strategic, but also proactive, practical, and personable, be results-driven to establish, evolve and deliver a successful training offer in a planned and phased way.

Key responsibilities include:

In line with our current strategy, to assist in the development, management and administration of the training function and delivery of CPD accredited programmes leading trustees and clerks to: 

• Understand almshouses and their role in the almshouse movement/charity.
• Motivate trustees to carry out their role with pride.
• To help trustees understand and access the services provided by The Almshouse Association.

Training programmes to include but not exhaustive.

• Understanding almshouses.
• Being the best Trustee.
• Recruiting Trustees.
• Basic IT and web access.

To evaluate and continuously improve the training function and to work in collaboration with the team to build effective support to members to attract new trustees.

Hours of work:  9am to 5.30pm

Job Type: Full-Time

Salary: £36,000 pa

Pension:  Immediate entry.  Employers’ Pension contribution 10%

Holiday Allowance:  28 days.

Working week:  Hybrid model, 2 days working out of the Wokingham office and 3 days from home.    

A full, clean driving license is an essential pre-requisite for this role.

Please send CV and covering letter to karenmcadam@almshouses.org

Please note we will be actively interviewing for this role so the role may close before the date advertised.

We have a fantastic opportunity to work for The Almshouse Association which nationally supports, promotes, and represents over 1,600 independent almshouse charities. It guides on all aspects of almshouse management, supports member charities with the provision of up-to-date policies and governance advice, seminars and training, grants and loans and representation, as well as offering a single point of contact helpline.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a small friendly team.

General Description of Responsibilities:

To provide administrative and direct support to delivering the fundraising strategy. Co-ordinating fundraising events, establishing and maintaining key individual contacts and helping the Almshouse Association to continue supporting its members by raising funds for the charity.

You will be:

• able to demonstrate experience of generating income
• experienced in making both small and large trust applications
• demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication skills
• a confident communicator and an excellent ambassador for the charity
• self-motivated.
• able to contact potential donors directly and establish good relations
• someone who has a natural attention to detail
• used to undertaking detailed research, to make a tailored fundraising pitch
• effective at building relationships with people
•  a natural team player
• able to show initiative
• passionate about customer service

  Tasks:

• Oversee delivery of the fundraising plan
• Co-ordinate with fundraising consultant
• Manage and co-ordinate donor events
• Establish and maintain donor relations
• Establish a legacy campaign and maintain legacy relations
• Arrange CEO meetings with high-net-worth individuals
• Maintain a fundraising database of existing and potential donors
• Seek and manage sponsorship opportunities
• Establish and maintain warm contacts with potential donors
• Research and approach new donors
• Co-ordinate events looking to build relationships with donors
• Write and maintain records of contacts to funders

The nature of the role

The Almshouse Association is run and managed by a small team and therefore their roles are flexible. At times the job holder will be asked to take on or assist with additional duties such as providing holiday cover for taking minutes and printing and binding papers for Board meetings. Other administrative duties may arise at times.

Previous fundraising experience is essential for this role. 

• Hours of work are 9.00am to 5.30pm (5 days per week)
• Salary £30,000  
• Employers pension contribution of 10%
• 28 days holiday
• Office location Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
• Job Type: Full-time

To apply please email you CV with a covering letter to karenmcadam@almshouses.org