Chief Operating Officer

ARCHDIOCESE OF ST ANDREWS & EDINBURGH

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

JOB OUTLINE AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

 Title:                      Chief Operating Officer

Department:          Curia of the Archdiocese

Reports to:            The Trustees of the Archdiocese. Line managed by the Moderator of the Curia. 

Hours:                   Full time, 35 hours a week

Job location:          Archdiocesan Offices, 100 Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB

Salary Level:         £68,000

People Management Responsibilities.

The Curia Team has 25 employees.  The Senior Management Team report directly to the COO and comprise:

·       Director of Finance

·       Director of Property

·       Director of Communications

·       Office Manager

·       Religious Education Advisor

·       Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor

Key Relationships

·       The Moderator of the Curia, line manager

·       The Archbishop and the Vicars General

·       The Trustees

·       The Chancellor

·       Diocesan clergy  

1.     Job Scope and Role Profile

The Chief Operating Officer is accountable to the Archdiocesan trustees for the management and delivery of a range of professional services provided by the Archdiocesan Curia for the 110 parishes of the Archdiocese. These services encompass Finance, Property, (including Mount Vernon Cemetery), Safeguarding, Health and Safety, GDPR, Education, Chancery and Communications.

The Curia also provides professional advice to enable parish clergy to perform key administrational tasks (e.g. Annual Finance Audit, preparation of budgets, property management and sales), and to ensure that effective governance, management and administrative arrangements are in place to support the work of the clergy.

The postholder works with, and supports, the Archdiocesan trustees in providing vision, leadership and direction for Archdiocesan Curia, and acts as a link and communication channel between the Curia, its staff, senior clergy and the Archdiocesan trustees. The postholder also offers effective management and co-ordination of all services offered by the Curia in accordance with the strategic objectives of Archdiocese.

The role involves ensuring that, as a Charitable Organisation, the Archdiocese has effective governance arrangements that meet all legal and compliance requirements.

The COO’s line manager is the Moderator of the Curia.    

Given the diverse range of services provided, ensuring effective co-ordination and productive team-working through positive and pro-active leadership is an essential aspect of the role.

2.     Main Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Direction

·       Co-ordination and line management of staff to support the strategic aims of the Archdiocese.

·       Ensuring that effective governance arrangements are in place to meet statutory and legal compliance requirements.

·       Managing employee performance and providing support and guidance.

·       Addressing any performance issues.

·       Identifying and resolving problems and challenges, advising the Moderator, Archbishop and Vicars General.  Special projects at their request.

Resource Management

·       Ensuring appropriate processes and procedures are in place to enable effective use of all assets and resources, particularly finance and property.

·       Ensuring that effective governance, communication, monitoring and management of financial procedures are in place.

·       Preparation of Annual Budget, Management Accounts and monitoring of income and spend.

People Management

·       Promoting collaborative and partnership working across all support functions.  Building a strong, supportive and flexible Team.

·       Developing and encouraging behaviours that foster a “one Curia” culture.

·       Managing performance, supporting development and a learning and improvement culture.  Addressing issues of poor performance.

·       Taking responsibility for all HR activity including recruitment and selection, employment policies and procedures, training and development, record keeping, health and safety and employee communications.

Organisational and Workforce Development

·       Enabling managers and teams to take responsibility for problem solving and service improvement.   Providing board direction and support and guidance.

·       Systematic and planned approach to employee development and succession planning.

·       Targeting development activity where it is most needed.

Business and Contingency Planning

·       Ensuring that the quality and effectiveness of services provided by the Curia are kept under constant review with regular reports to the Trustees.

·       Identifying key risks to the Archdiocese, maintaining and updating the risk register.

·       Ensuring appropriate business contingency plans are in place to deal with possible emergencies.

3.     Essential Qualifications and Experience

·       Experienced and results-orientated senior manager with a proven track record of achievement in a diverse organisation.

·       Track record of Team building and managing performance and inter-personal issues

·       Ability to work on one’s own initiative, sound judgment and strong problem-solving skills.

·       A strong people manager and experience of leading teams with a range of specialist skills.

·       Extensive people management and performance management experience.

·       Sound financial knowledge, competence in business management and financial reporting.

·       A good knowledge and experience of Scottish Charity legislation relevant to the Archdiocese.

·       Educated to degree level with preferably appropriate professional qualification.

4.     Particular Skills, Attributes and Competencies Required

·       Ability to drive performance through effective leadership and motivation.

·       Ability to build relationships and display strong influencing and persuading skills.

·       Excellent presentation, interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to deal sensitively and effectively with people at all levels.

·       Experience in change management with a systematic and logical approach to challenges and opportunities.

·       Persistence, resilience and the ability to see the big picture whilst understanding the importance of attention to detail.

·       An understanding of the role of the clergy and the type of professional support they require to fulfil their role.

·       An empathy for and an understanding of the work of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.