Office Manager/Administrator

An experienced and reliable individual is sought to manage the office of our small but busy team. You will be our key administrator, using your organisational skills to keep the office functioning smoothly and efficiently.

The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA) represents more than 800 member businesses from across the home aquarium industry, from importers and wholesalers to suppliers and retailers. Our aim is to enhance the reputation of the industry by promoting the benefits derived from it, driving high welfare and biosecurity standards and sustainability in the trade, providing good education and training, and encouraging responsible ownership and enjoyment among fish keepers.

Attributes:

The post holder will need to be:

• A highly motivated self-starter. Willing to take ownership for delivery of responsibilities and take appropriate actions when needed and without direct supervision.
• Very organised with a strong administrative background. Able to balance a broad range of responsibilities, with close attention to detail, and consistently deliver on time.
• Highly flexible and versatile. Able to adapt to rapidly changing priorities and willing to assist the team in a broad range of activities from supporting delivery of policy responsibilities to ensuring cleanliness of the office.
• Experience of financial management and accounting software. Able to competently and efficiently deliver all aspects of the financial management of a small team.
• Strong customer service and communication skills. Able to deal politely and professionally with a range of queries from OATA member businesses and our Board of Directors, officials and the public by phone, email and letter.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office programmes e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (latter useful but not essential).

Other desirable attributes:

• Knowledge of the ornamental aquatics sector or fish keeping would be useful but not essential.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Financial management

o Management of accounts, including making and receiving payments, invoicing, reconciliation of accounts against bank and credit card statements.

o Bookkeeping responsibilities including, posting cost invoices, posting bank and reconciliations, preparing accounts.

o Management and on-time delivery of payroll.

o Delivery of legal responsibilities, including quarterly VAT returns and liaison with company accountants for annual audit.

o Budget preparation and oversight and quarterly reporting to the Board of Directors in liaison with CEO.

• Membership management

o Issue and manage annual subscriptions and maintain register of members.

o Process new member applications.

o Be the first point of contact and handle administrative queries from members.

o Play an active role with the rest of the team in growing OATA membership and retaining existing members.

• Administration of OATA training courses

o Liaison and point of contact for students on our training courses, administering joining and completion processes, monitoring progress and supporting City & Guilds’ annual review.

• Primary Authority (PA) Scheme management

o Manage OATA’s membership of the Government’s Primary Authority Scheme, including sourcing advice from PA partners and attending meetings.

• General duties

o First point of contact for queries from members, Directors and the public.

o Organisation and administration of quarterly Board meetings and AGM

o Management and oversight of Companies House filings, various contracts, insurances and registrations, including for IT service provision, staff contracts, office lease, office facilities and others.

o Support team members with administrative help such as organising travel.

o Reporting evidence of illegal activities to regulators.

Employment information

• Salary. £27,000 to £30,000. Salary is subject to annual review.
• Hours. Full-time, 37.5 hours/week. Whilst some flexibility is available, and subject to personal circumstances, due to the nature of the role you will usually be expected to be available during our normal office hours between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
• Annual leave. 22 days plus Bank Holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year when the office is closed.
• Working arrangements. The job is expected to be predominantly based at our office in Westbury, Wiltshire. The post-holder will be expected to be office-based during a 6-week handover period with the current postholder. Remote working can be considered once established in post and subject to certain office functions being reorganised to allow for remote delivery. However, the nature of the post will require regular, ongoing attendance in the office. Free office parking is available at our Westbury office.
• Pension. A company pension is available through the government’s NEST scheme.

Application, interview and commencement

To apply please send your CV (including references) and a covering letter to Dominic Whitmee (Chief Executive) by 5pm on Friday 24 January, 2025.

It is anticipated that interviews will be held during the week beginning 10 February. The candidate will be asked to undertake some competency-related practical exercises as part of the interview process. The successful candidate notified in the week beginning 17 February with a start date on or around 17 March. This will be followed by a 6-week handover with the current postholder. You should advise us with your application if, for any reason, you will be unavailable to start on 17 March or at any time during the following 6-week handover period.

Further information is available in the first instance from the current postholder, Ray Valovec.