Episcopal Personal Assistant; Diary & Events

Overview

Job Description
:
This is a unique opportunity to work closely with the office of the Bishops of Liverpool and Warrington, providing strategic diary management, event coordination, and high‑level administrative support as part of the episcopal staff team. The Person al Assistant (Diary & Events) works closely with the Bishops, the Bishop’s Chaplain & Executive Assistant and the Finance & Associate PA.

This role requires a thorough knowledge of the Bishop’s roles, the workings of the Diocese of Liverpool and the Church of England. It entails excellent organisational, administrative and diary management skills, with the capacity to respond quickly, often working independently and calmly to changing circumstances and effectively manage competing demands. The role demands initiative, discretion and creativity and is suited to someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, is passionate about the Church’s mission, and is confident in managing both strategic and operational responsibilities.

The post holder should be proactive and able to anticipate issues and influence positive outcomes, and will be an excellent communicator capable of handling difficult conversations and building effective working relationships with a wide range of individuals and organisations.

The role will be based at: Bishop’s Lodge, Woolton Park, Liverpool, with occasional work from the diocesan office at St James’ House. Flexibility is required.

These relationships are vital as everyone in the bishop’s office must have a good awareness of each other’s work and be able to allocate tasks and support each other’s work streams according to demands. Holidays must be agreed to ensure the office is well staffed. The PA (Diary & Events) will not normally be away from the Office or on holiday at the same time as the Finance & Associate PA.

Any given day is varied and may include foreseen and unforeseen demands. The Person al Assistant needs flexibility and initiative to respond appropriately. The following are the focal responsibilities:

Working with the Bishop’s Chaplain & Executive Assistant, the PA will have overall responsibility to plan, organise and coordinate all elements of day‑to‑day diary management for the Bishops and the Bishop’s Chaplain. This includes but is not limited to:

• Book, manage and adjust appointments, engagements and meetings
• Organise the diary and schedule the bishops’ day to enable and sustain their ministries
• Take the lead on making travel and accommodation arrangements
• Ensure the bishops have all necessary paperwork or information in advance of meetings or engagements
• Liaise with parishes, clergy and key internal and external stakeholders as required
• Pro‑actively draft appropriate responses to requests and invitations
• Protect the bishop’s diary by setting criteria to manage diary demands and push back on requests to keep commitments sustainable

• Manage the administration for Readers in the diocese, liaising with the Diocesan Team and the Warden of Readers
• Occasional clerking of bishops’ meetings, taking notes, coordinating agendas, actions and follow‑ups
• Oversee maintenance of Clergy Personal Files ensuring up‑to‑date storage and organisation
• Collaborate with the Bishops’ Chaplain & Executive Assistant and other team members to enable smooth running of the Bishop’s Office
• Develop and maintain effective electronic and paper filing systems, data, databases and records storage in line with Safeguarding and GDPR principles
• Undertake other duties commensurate with the role as requested by the Bishop

• Lead on planning and delivery of events hosted by or involving the bishops, and welcome visitors to the Bishop’s Office
• Plan, coordinate and manage logistics, invitations, guest communications and event materials, liaising with internal and external contacts
• Ensure events reflect the bishops’ priorities and are delivered with professionalism and warmth

• Build excellent working relationships with all contacts, responding to enquiries in a warm and helpful manner
• Establish, maintain and improve ways of…