The Clergy Wellness Commission

Position Description
Operations Secretary

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Galilee Episcopal Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia

August 1993

Objective

To support the Rector, Staff and Congregation by coordinating and performing clerical, administrative and other office functions, so that Galilee Church fulfills its mission and reaches its program goals.

Dimensions

• Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 1 hour daily for lunch.
• Flex time (day-to-day adjustments in reporting and dismissal times) may be granted by supervision for personal reasons, and may be required by supervision as a result of workload demands.
• Two weeks vacation annually, after one year in service.
• Continuing education seminars which enhance the employee's skills are encouraged and available under the Rector's direction. Costs are borne by the parish for approved courses which benefit office efficiency.
• Hospital & Health Insurance for the employee; employee's family may be added at the employee's expense.
• Pension Plan

Nature & Scope

The Operations Secretary is appointed by and accountable to the Rector, serving at the Rector's pleasure, and is a member of Galilee's support staff, whose mission is to support the ministries of Galilee's professional ministry team and lay leaders. The support staff at present includes the Parish Secretary, Accountant, Sexton, and Housekeeper, and occasional office volunteers.

The Operations Secretary has the office equipment at his/her disposal for the discharge of official functions, and oversees equipment maintenance and the inventory of office supplies. S/he coordinates equipment use by other staff members and volunteers. S/he has lead responsibility for assembling, editing and producing the weekly worship bulletin and the monthly parish newsletter. S/he works directly with volunteers, supervising and coordinating their activities in assembling and posting mailings.

The Operations Secretary has daily contact with other staff members, parishioners, and others having business with the congregation, including officials of the diocese and of other churches.

The Operations Secretary must be qualified to perform all the usual professional tasks generally required of office workers and administrative assistant. Specific skills include typing, computer word processing, note taking, and filing. Office machines to be operated and managed include computer, typewriter, photocopier, Risograph, fax machine, postage machine, and telephone equipment. The Operations Secretary must be proficient in spelling, punctuation and grammar, and should be able to compose correspondence and newsletter articles as requested.

The Operations Secretary is a "front-line" representative of the church, and must therefore be able to deal pleasantly, efficiently, and effectively with a wide range of tasks and people, often meeting several needs at once. The Operations Secretary must be able to set goals and priorities that reflect program and administrative deadlines, but remain flexible and sensitive to shifting demands upon the professional ministry team this position exists to support. The need to maintain strict confidentiality is paramount, whether privileged information comes directly as a result of discharge of official functions, or indirectly through informal channels. When in doubt whether information is privileged, s/he must treat it as if it were.

Beyond formal and informal training and experience, the Operations Secretary meets the challenges of this position through participation in weekly staff meetings, collaboration with other members of the support staff, supervisory guidance, and in-service training.

Accountabilities

To achieve the objective of this position, the Operations Secretary must:

1. Support the professional staff's ministry through service as a personal secretary, and through administrative and pastoral support tasks, so that the professional staff may be freed from desk-bound duties.

2. Support staff and volunteer church workers with regard to secretarial tasks, so they may more readily perform their ministries.

3. Communicate the master calendar of parish activities (which is maintained by Parish Secretary), so that the staff and congregation are informed of all parish activities and commitments.

4. Assemble, produce and mail parish publications and occasionally write original articles, so that the parish may be kept informed of significant events.

5. Supervise the work of volunteer publication production crews, so that the office functions cordially and efficiently.

6. With the Parish Secretary, coordinate scheduling and paper work for public worship, Vestry and Committee activities, so that all members and groups in the parish may readily perform their ministries.

7. With the Parish Secretary and Accountant, maintain accurate official parish records and membership lists, so that a reliable record of the present state of the parish is always available.

8. Oversee maintenance of office equipment and inventory of office supplies, so that administrative tasks may be done without unnecessary delay.

August 2, 1993

Prepared by Interim Rector, Operations Secretary, Parish Secretary and Assistant Rector.

This position description follows the form and models contained in Called To Work Together, a handbook available from the National Church.

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