The Clergy Wellness Commission

Position Description
Parish Secretary

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Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, North Carolina

May 1992

Objective

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

Dimensions

• $__________ per annum budget for the office which includes:
  • Office equipment & maintenance
  • Office/bulletin/copier supplies
  • Copying/printing expense
  • Church Directory
  • Postage
• Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 1 hour daily for lunch. Attend Vestry meeting one evening per month; attend annual meeting one Sunday per year.
• 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.
• The Parish Secretary attends seminars and workshops, under the direction of the Rector, for the maintenance and improvements of skills required in the position. Time for this in-service education is provided at the Rector's discretion; costs are covered as negotiated on a case-by-case basis, not to exceed $600 annually.

Nature & Scope

The Parish Secretary is appointed by and accountable to the Rector, serving at the Rector's pleasure, and supports and extends the Rector's ministry as personal and confidential secretary and as assistant for administrative tasks as assigned. The Secretary is a member of Good Shepherd's support staff, whose mission is to support the ministries of Good Shepherd's professional ministry team and lay leaders. The support staff also includes the Bookkeeper, Sexton, Assistant Sexton, and a number of office volunteers.

The Parish 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 works directly with volunteer, supervising and coordinating their activities. S/he serves as liaison between the Rector and members of the staff and congregation, and as a resource person to the Vestry and Vestry Committees, and Good Shepherd's professional ministry team.

The Parish Secretary is a key contact person in a large downtown church with a diverse constituency. There is daily contact with other staff members, parishioners, and others having business with the congregation, including officials of the diocese and of other churches.

The Parish Secretary must be qualified to perform all the usual professional tasks required of any senior level office worker 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, fax machine, recording equipment, and telephone equipment. The Parish Secretary must be proficient in spelling, punctuation and grammar, and should be able to compose correspondence and newsletter articles as requested.

The Parish Secretary is "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 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, the Secretary must treat it as if it were.

Beyond formal and informal training and experience, the 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 Parish Secretary must:

1. Support the Rector's ministry through service as a personal secretary, and through administrative and pastoral support tasks, so that the Rector 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. Supervise the work of office volunteers, including receptionists and publication production crews, so that the office functions cordially and efficiently throughout each business day.

4. Maintain and communicate the master calendar of parish activities, so that the staff and congregation are informed of all parish activities and commitments.

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

6. 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. 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.

May 20, 1992

Prepared by Interim Rector and Parish Secretary for Personnel Committee review and submission to Vestry.

This position description follows the form and models contained in Called To Work Together, a handbook available from the National Church. The first draft was composed by the incumbent Parish Secretary, and revised by the Interim Rector.

 

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