Front of house assistant jobs

The Society of Authors (SoA) is the UK's largest trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators. We’ve been advising authors and speaking out for the profession since 1884. 

We’re currently looking to welcome an Office Manager to our team.

The role

The Office Manager ensures all building facilities run smoothly on a day-to-day basis. They are responsible for the efficient daily operations of our offices and the building and that these are cost-efficient, environmentally conscious and proportionate for a small, not-for-profit organisation.

The Office Manager is an integral part of the Operations Team playing an important role in ensuring the smooth running and welcoming atmosphere of our offices, directly supporting both internal teams and tenants.

This is multifaceted role. The successful candidate will need to be able to think on their feet, have good time management skills and enjoy wearing more than one hat. 

Key responsibilities

Front of House / Event Management:

· Welcoming all visitors to the SoA building at Bedford Row.

· Managing the post/packages into and out of the building.

· Responsible for managing the Front of House/Operations Assistant and Groups Administrator, including day to day supervision, absence management and ongoing development.

· Responsible for managing the Events Space bookings calendar.

· Managing all events for tenants and external hire from inception to completion including catering as agreed with the client, cleaning team and room set-up of the Events Space.

· Working with the SoA Events Team for internal and member events ensuring that the logistics for room set up and cleaning are in place.

· Acts as a central point of contact for all staff for various Ops/logistics issues.

 Facilities Management:

· Maintain compliance with all relevant health and safety legislation and best practise, including fire safety, COSHH, RIDDOR and DSE assessments.

· Ensure all checks, risk assessments and remedial actions are implemented in a timely manner.

· Providing health and safety training to all new joiners.

· Ensure the office maintenance plan is kept up to date and all regular maintenance/services are booked and any identified issues are resolved.

· Organise the maintenance and PAT testing of all electrical equipment.

· Fire Warden/First Aider for the ground floor (training will be arranged if required).

· Proactively ensuring the office facilities remain safe, clean, fully-equipped and operational.

· Point of contact for all staff and tenants in relation to office and building issues and queries.

· Responsible for managing office contracts, negotiating the renewal of existing and new contracts.

· Obtaining quotes for any maintenance/repairs works required and carrying out due diligence checks on all new contractors.

• To have a key role in the organisation’s sustainability policy ensuring the purchase of all office provisions considers cost and any environmental and ethical impacts.

IT Coordination:

· Liaise with external IT support providers as necessary ensuring SLAs are adhered met and effectively resolve IT issues.

· Maintain a laptop register and prepare and maintain an annual rolling plan for renewal of old equipment.

· To oversee the migration of SharePoint data to the new CRM system in 2026.

· To be involved in any IT projects that need to integrate with our office systems (O365, SharePoint and One Drive).

· To be responsible for IT support for the office laptops and office systems (windows, O365, One Drive and SharePoint) ensuring that there is a maintenance contract in place and this is reviewed on a regular basis.

You will be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support business requirements as requested.

Essential skills and experience

• Proven experience in operations or office management
• Strong organisational skills
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills
• IT Literacy including Microsoft 365, One Drive and SharePoint
• Experience of organising events
• Knowledge of health and safety legislation
• Knowledge of data protection legislation
• Ability to work in a team and independently

Desirable skills and experience

• First aid qualification
• Fire Marshall training
• Experience of the not for profit or charity sector
• Experience of the publishing industry

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of our values - we endeavour to tackle structural discrimination and prejudice wherever we see it. Part of this commitment means we are looking to increase the diversity in our organisation at all levels. We strongly encourage applications from a broad range of social, cultural, educational and underrepresented backgrounds.

Financial assistance

The Book Trade Charity offers financial help to applicants (particularly those under the age of 30) looking for jobs in the book trade, including help with interview costs, affordable housing and accommodation. Find out more

What we offer

As a progressive and ethical not-for-profit organisation, we offer a range of benefits to support your physical, mental and financial wellbeing. We’re a London Living Wage and Disability Confident – Committed. Benefits include:

· Competitive salary

· Cycle to work scheme

· Death in service benefit

· Employee assistance programme

· Flexible hybrid working practices

· Family-friendly, disability-confident inclusive culture

· Generous annual leave, including bank holidays

· Salary exchange pension scheme

· Interest-free annual travel card loan

· Office closure over Christmas*

· Private healthcare

* Colleagues can work over the Christmas period, although the building is closed. For those who wish to take additional time off, this will be deducted from your annual leave allowance.

As an employer, we nurture a working environment in which staff can grow and develop and there may be opportunities to take on increased responsibility as experiences grows.  We recognise the value of flexibility in the way we work with a positive culture of hybrid working practices. We welcome questions and conversations at interview stage about how flexible working could work for you.