Remuneration:          £25,696 pa. 25 days holiday, pension contribution up to 5%

Hours of work:          Full-time: 35hrs/week. Some evening and early morning working will be required.

Location:                    Better Bankside, Bankside Space, 18 Great Guildford Street, London SE1 0FD

Reporting to:             Office Manager

  Job Overview

Better Bankside is seeking a proactive and self-motivated individual to become our Business Support Officer to provide a vital support service for our members and team.

The Business Support Officer will act as an ambassador for BB, providing a professional and friendly welcome as the first point of contact for members and the public. An essential member of the team, the postholder will ensure the smooth running of the office through efficient administrative, technical and digital support.

The Business Support Officer will have responsibility for administering our Better Bankside community spaces including our arch venue on the Low Line. The postholder will enjoy a varied workload, working closely with the BB team to assist with the delivery of our diverse portfolio of projects, services and events. The role provides the postholder with opportunity to work across a wide range of projects and programmes, gaining experience of administration and project delivery experience in a dynamic central London neighbourhood.

BB will support the right person to develop their skills, which could include pursuing relevant  professional qualifications.

Responsibilities

Front of house

• Handling phone enquiries, acting as the first point of contact, taking a proactive role in prioritising, responding and/or passing on to colleagues.

• Monitor email enquiries via the info inbox, efficiently supporting members, referring enquiries and identifying opportunities to maximise contact with new and existing members.

• Assist with in-person and virtual Better Bankside events, managing Eventbrite RSVPs, vetting members, sending reminder emails, tracking sign ups and attendance, and dealing with waitlist and cancellations.

• Provide operational support for in-person events including preparing name badges, ordering catering, managing sign ins and supporting trainers with technical and practical questions.

• Facilitate requests for BB employee services such as the Buzz local discount card, Brompton bike hire and our Bankside Secure Cycle Park.

• Help coordinate monthly ‘Dr Bike’ cycle servicing sessions for members.

• Administer BB’s arch spaces on the Low Line.

• Ensure all new members receive welcome communication on moving to the neighbourhood.

Better Bankside community spaces

• Managing all aspects of Better Bankside community spaces including responding to enquiries, ordering catering, handling feedback and the entire booking process.

• Liaising with team members to prepare Bankside spaces for hirers and internal meetings and ensuring the space and amenities are clean and tidy.

• Assisting in the marketing of Bankside community spaces to potential hirers.

• Ownership of the Better Bankside office ‘shop window’, ensuring collateral is up to date and the frontage is neat and tidy at all times.

Office coordination

• General office support including data entry, mail-outs, ordering stationery, taking deliveries, greeting visitors, inventory of supplies and ensuring the office is efficiently supported.

• Managing sign ups for newsletters and member opportunities.

• Maintain and update member data from levy reports and other sources, using the organisation’s SugarCRM database. Actively address and maintain data quality.

• Supporting the team in compiling data reports for internal and external reporting.

• Supporting the team in promoting our services through phone and face to face interaction.

• Supporting team in uploading content to Better Bankside’s websites.

• Participate in creating approaches to promoting our offers and events.

• Coordinate Better Bankside’s internal calendar of events.

• Coordination of Senior Management Team diaries as and when required.

• Deputise for the Office Manager when required, ensuring the organisation’s phone, IT and internet facilities are functioning at all times and troubleshooting if issues occur.

• Other organisational support tasks as required.

Governance and team meetings

• Supporting BB’s governance including circulating papers, taking minutes, setting up scrutiny panels and supporting the Office Manager to organise the company AGM.

• Providing support for staff team meetings: set up room, organise catering, circulate papers, take and produce meeting minutes.

• Scheduling and coordinating team social events.

Person specification

This position is a great opportunity for someone who is proactive, pragmatic, organised and tech savvy. The ideal candidate is an independent and confident people-person who will enjoy undertaking their role with minimal supervision and take satisfaction from supporting Better Bankside’s friendly and professional team. The role requires a positive attitude and a flexible approach: to be willing and able to take on a wide range of tasks.

Skills and experience

• Excellent organisational and administrative skills, with experience of working in an administrative, office support or venue coordination function

• Confident, friendly and professional communication skills

• Excellent written and spoken English

• Reliable, with patience and professionalism

• Able to confidently develop positive and productive working relationships

• The ability to work well under pressure

• Able to work independently under own initiative

• Thorough and accurate approach, with excellent attention to detail

• A strong team player who will embody the BB culture

• Confident user of MS Office software packages: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook

• Knowledge of using websites including social media platforms (Desirable)

• Demonstrate an understanding of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) (Desirable)

• Experience of providing administrative support to meetings (including preparing agendas, taking minutes) (Desirable)

• Events coordination (Desirable)

• Data entry and database management (Desirable)

• Experience of working within a membership organisation (Desirable)

About Better Bankside

Vision Powered by the people of Bankside, Better Bankside will be an agent of change, leading innovative economic, environmental and social action to advance one of the world’s great neighbourhoods, bringing benefits to business and Banksiders.

Mission We will improve everyone’s experience of the neighbourhood by co-creating our programme with Banksiders, responding inventively to urban challenges, and celebrating the differences that define Bankside as London’s Other Side.

Better Bankside was one of the first Business Improvement Districts (BID) in the UK and was formally established in 2005. We are a partnership of local businesses, working closely with other community stakeholders to co-create a programme of projects and services that benefits the whole Bankside neighbourhood. Our core purpose is to support local businesses and make a positive impact in our community.

As a BID, we are funded by a mandatory levy on businesses within a defined boundary. BIDs are established through a ballot process, and every five years must return to their members to secure a majority vote in favour of their continuation. Our last ballot took place in November 2019, achieving overwhelming support from the business community, with 92% voting for another five years of Better Bankside.

Better Bankside is an organisation where you can make a real impact; and where you can expect to get involved in a wide-ranging programme of work. We are a small team of fifteen in the Bankside office, plus our wardens and street cleaning teams. The way we work with our members through our governance structure provides an extended network of regular collaborators and contributors.

Working arrangements

Better Bankside offers a flexible working policy. Mandatory core hours are 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday, with the ability to flex two hours to suit personal needs. Some evening and weekend work may be required in accordance with the needs of the post. Due to the nature of the role, it is expected the post holder will be based in the office for the majority of the time, however there may be flexibility to work from home for certain tasks.