Receptionist and administrative assistant jobs in hoddesdon, hertfordshire

Students’ Union UCL is an organisation that exists to make more happen. We are the representative body for University College London’s (UCL) students, one of the most diverse student communities in the world. UCL students have the potential to do anything, and the Union plays an essential role in helping them to achieve things they may have never thought possible. As a charity we employ over 130 career staff and over 250 part-time student staff, and deliver a wide range of services and representative functions for students. We work in partnership with UCL towards a fantastic experience for all of our 48,000 students and to ensure that university life enables them to develop the skills, experience and confidence to become the leaders of the future.

Our vision is of an outstanding experience for all UCL students and to be one of the best students’ unions in the UK and the world.

It's an exciting time to join our growing organisation as we lead the delivery of UCL’s groundbreaking Student Life Strategy. This is enabling us to build more programmes to improve students’ mental and physical wellbeing, promote genuine equity for all, build students’ skills and confidence, develop their international connections and intercultural skills, and make a real contribution to our local community.

We support hybrid working. Excellent benefits including defined benefit pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement. We are proud of high levels of staff engagement and pride ourselves on being a great place to work.

The role is a full time and permanent contract. This role is based at our UCL East campus with flexibility to work from home on a 40/60 basis (40% working from the office). We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible, and job share basis wherever possible. 

The post-holder will support the day-to-day operations of activity at the UCL East Campus, help other Union departments in the activity they run at UCL East and support our team with social media, events and student engagement initiatives on the campus 

Do you have experience in event and social media support? Do you enjoy working with students and creating an exceptional experience for them? If the answer is yes, then we want to hear from you!

Our ideal candidate will have some basic event and social media knowledge, excellent administrative capabilities and should be comfortable supporting student staff.

Ashinaga UK is seeking a driven, proactive and detailed-oriented Operations Manager to join our team. This part-time role (4 days per week) is an excellent opportunity for a professional who thrives in a dynamic, mission-driven environment. The Operations Manager will play a key role in ensuring the smooth running of Ashinaga UK, supporting internal administrative, financial, compliance, student recruitment and programming functions as we aim to empower future Young Leaders for Africa through the Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI). The Operations Manager will work closely with the Managing Director, Programme Manager and Partnerships Manager to ensure the organisation runs effectively and efficiently. The Ashinaga UK team is small but motivated to see orphaned youth empowered.

We welcome applicants with experience in Executive Assistant, Office or Administrative Manager and/or admin-related roles.

About Ashinaga:

The Ashinaga movement was founded in Japan in the 1960s and has since expanded across the globe, empowering over 110,000 orphaned youth with access to education and support to achieve their full potential. The Ashinaga Africa Initiative was launched 10 years ago with the aim of equipping future leaders for Africa through undergraduate scholarships and leadership development opportunities. Ashinaga UK is proud to be part of this global movement, contributing to the mission of transforming lives and communities through education. Our work is primarily in the UK through collaboration with key university partners and donors. 

• Pension: Ashinaga UK will match pension contributions up to 8% of the basic salary
• Holiday Allowance: Pro rata (based on full-time equivalent of 28 days per year, in addition to public holidays)
• Start Date: July or August 2025
• Working Pattern: Hybrid approach, with 2-days in the office per week

Key Responsibilities 

• Work closely with the Managing Director to ensure efficient operations and resource management.
• Support the team in executing strategy, scholarship programmes, and fundraising initiatives.
• Develop and optimise operational processes for efficiency and compliance.
• Lead on financial administration, including processing invoices, expense tracking, liaising with accountants and budget forecasting.
• Coordinate outsourced support including Bookkeeping & Accounting, Audit, IT, and act as organisation’s key point of contact.
• Programme operations related to scholarship events, such as logistical support, coordinating travel and accommodation for Scholars and staff, administrative tasks, and summer internship grant approvals.
• Support scholarship recruitment, including application assessment, interviews, and liaising with university partners.
• Manage digital systems (CRM, project management tools) and data for both internal and Scholar use.
• Lead data management and support various reporting requirements (Trustees, Donors, Charity Commission).
• Support the Director to ensure compliance with charity regulations, health and safety standards, GDPR, and risk management.

Essential Criteria 

• Right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are not able to sponsor visas.
• Role is based in London, however applicants throughout the UK are encouraged to apply. The role requires travelling to London or elsewhere in the UK from time to time. 
• Availability to work weekends on the rare occasion, such as for our annual student leadership events.
• Strong administrative and strategic experience.

Desired Criteria 

• Previous EA, Office Manager, Admin Manager, and/or Operations experienece
• Knowledge of charity law and regulations. 
• Bookkeeping and financial reporting experience.
• Experience coordinating or supporting with events, such as charity programmes, donor receptions, corporate sponsor events, and webinars. 
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with organisational objectives. 
• Able to efficiently use a wide range of online tools, including spreadsheets, databases, and cloud-based applications. 
• Experience using CRM systems to manage and analyse data and produce reports. 
• Fundraising or programme management experience is a plus.

Personal Characteristics 

• Passion for Ashinaga UK's mission: A genuine commitment to empowering orphaned youth through education and supporting the Ashinaga Africa Initiative's mission. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills: Strong relationship-building abilities, with the capacity to engage and manage a variety of stakeholders, including donors and corporate partners. 
• Adaptable and resourceful: Comfortable working in a dynamic environment with some degree of ambiguity, able to create processes that may not yet exist and get involved in projects that may require learning new skills. 
• Organised and detail-oriented: High level of attention to detail in managing data, creating processes that require buy in from various stakeholders, and ensuring accuracy in communications and documentation. 
• Self-motivated: Ability to work independently, take initiative, and meet deadlines with minimal supervision. 
• Collaborative mindset: Willingness to work closely with colleagues, volunteers, and external partners to achieve shared goals. 

Other Information 

• Ashinaga UK takes a flexible approach to working, with core hours and an understanding and consideration for work-life balance and personal commitments. 
• Interviews will be conducted on an ongoing basis, so we encourage early applications. 
• Ashinaga Association in the UK is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and ensuring that all job applicants receive fair treatment, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Please note: we are not accepting applications from agencies.

Job Title: Employment Adviser

Line Reports: Client Services Manager

Location: London

Salary:  £29,000 - £32,000

Hours: Full-time 37.5 hours per week, with occasional evening or weekend work (TOIL provided)

Contract: Permanent

Overall purpose

The Employment Adviser (EA) plays a key role in supporting refugees and people from refugee backgrounds to progress towards and secure sustainable employment. The EA provides tailored employment advice and guidance, helping clients build the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to navigate the UK job market. This role will work with clients at various stages of their employment journey, with a particular focus on those in the earlier stages of understanding career options, developing employability skills, and exploring education, training, and volunteering opportunities.

The EA will deliver one-to-one and group-based employability support, collaborate with employers and volunteers to source opportunities for clients, and maintain strong relationships with referral and support partners to ensure a holistic approach to employment support.

To view the full job description and person specification, as well as details on our accessible recruitment process, please view the attached recruitment pack.

Other considerations

• As part of our safeguarding commitment to our clients, we carry out preemployment checks to ensure that successful applicants are suitable to work with adults at risk. These include basic DBS checks, obtaining references and verifying a candidate’s identity and right to work in the UK.
• Some travel between our different areas of operation (including London, Birmingham and Manchester) will be required. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required. Time off in lieu would be provided in this case.
• We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief.

How to apply

If you are looking for a role where you can make a real difference, we want to hear from you. To apply, please submit a CV and statement (up to approximately 500 words/1 A4 page) outlining:

• Why you are interested in the role
• What skills you would bring to be successful in this role
• Any experience you would like to highlight
• Any reasonable adjustments you require for the interview process
• Disclosure of disabilities if you wish to do so (as a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role)

Please note that applications without a covering letter will not be considered.

Closing date for applications is 11:30pm on Tuesday 22 July. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We belong to the Experts by Experience Employment Initiative, which advocates and supports organisations to employ more people from a refugee background. With this in mind, we particularly welcome applicants with experience of seeking asylum and/or a refugee background. 

If you are an expert by experience (a refugee or a migrant with direct, first-hand experience of issues and challenges of the UK asylum or immigration system), you can ask for an independent and confidential support for your job application from the Experts by Experience Employment Network. Please reach out to HR Manager Rebecca Hughes for further details (we are unable to include email addresses in this advert, but you can find contact details on the final page of the attached recruitment pack).

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Technical Project Lead to manage and collaborate with an external development/implementation partner and coordinate the smooth adoption of Salesforce within the Charity.  This critical role will be responsible for the full project lifecycle, from planning and requirements gathering to execution, testing, training, and post-implementation support. You will be the central point of contact for all project stakeholders, ensuring seamless communication and collaboration throughout the project.

 Main Responsibilities

• Work with the Director or Finance & Operations (DFO)  to invite tenders for and engage a development / implementation partner to support the adoption of this phase of Salesforce implementation
• Work with the development/implementation partner to develop detailed project plans, timelines, budgets, and resource allocation. Manage the execution of these plans, tracking progress, and ensuring on-time and within-budget delivery.
• Coordinate with the implementation partner to gather and document business requirements from relevant team members to translate these into technical specifications.
• Lead and motivate key stakeholders including the implementation partner and end-users. Foster a collaborative environment and ensure effective communication between team members.
• Act as the primary point of contact for all project stakeholders, providing regular updates on project status, risks, and issues. Manage stakeholder expectations and ensure their buy-in throughout the project.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate potential project risks. Develop contingency plans to address unforeseen challenges and ensure project success.
• Define and implement quality assurance processes to ensure the delivered Salesforce solution meets business requirements and is free of defects. Oversee testing activities and ensure proper documentation of test results.
• Develop and execute change management plans to ensure smooth user adoption of the new Salesforce solution. Provide training and support to end-users.
• Manage project budgets effectively, tracking expenses and ensuring cost-effectiveness.
• Maintain comprehensive project documentation, including project plans, requirements documents, technical specifications, test plans, and user manuals.
• Providing updates against outcomes / budget to the Director of Development (Grants/Major Gifts) to enable rigorous, timely feedback to the project funder.

 Person specification 

• Proven experience (three years minimum) of leading digital transformation projects, with a strong focus on Salesforce implementations and customisations and a strong record of success.
• Deep understanding of Salesforce platform capabilities.
• Excellent project management skills, including budget and stakeholder management.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and leadership skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.  
• Ability to manage, coordinate and get buy-in from technically inexperienced team members.
• Experience with data migration and integration is a plus.
• An understanding of safeguarding data, confidentiality, safe working practices and GDPR compliance.
• Knowledge of appropriate project management frameworks (agile, waterfall) to set project scope, meeting key milestones and budget constraints
• An understanding of equal opportunities issues and a commitment to diversity.
• Commitment to Create, its activities and mission.

Terms & Conditions

• This is a part-time (0.6 FTE), fixed term contract for one year, with a review to extend at the end of that term.
• This role is based in London.
• Salary: £45,000 per annum pro rata (0.6 FTE).
• Holiday: 25 days (including 3 faith days*) + 8 Public Holidays pro rata.
• A beautiful office based in the City of London. Hybrid working is available following induction period.
• 21-hour week: standard office hours are 9.30am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday with an hour for lunch. Work outside these hours is required on occasions.
• The opportunity to visit projects and Showcase events.
• As part of Create’s Green Action Plan, the charity offers the Cycle to Work scheme. T&C Apply.
• In line with Create’s Safeguarding Policy, all staff are required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which Create will carry out upon appointment.

*  Create closes the office over the Christmas period. For staff members who celebrate other faith days, however, the charity is happy to discuss alternative dates.

Create is committed to a policy of equal opportunities embracing diversity in all areas of activity and positively welcomes applications from disabled people and people of all ethnicities.