Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.
The Position
The Operations Assistant is the primary point of contact between Mercy Corps and our serviced office provider in London. This role will be responsible for the smooth day-to-day running and administration of the Mercy Corps London office as well as providing operational support to our team members across Europe. Responsibilities include upkeep of front of house standards, acting as point of contact within serviced office, arranging and setting up meeting rooms, mail and courier services, sand general administrative and travel support.
Essential Responsibilities
FACILITIES POINT OF CONTACT
- Provide friendly, efficient and effective operational support for team members across all European office locations (Edinburgh, London, The Hague and Brussels) as well as team members based remotely across Europe.
- Main point of contact from Mercy Corps with London Serviced Office Provider and wider building. Establish a close working relationship with Serviced Office provider and building security teams answering queries and reacting to requests as necessary.
- Monitor and respond to enquiries into Operations, Onboarding and Travel inboxes
- Provide support and guidance on all Operations functions including but not limited to: Health and Safety, ergonomic workstation assessments, travel, mobile phones and facilities
- Issue and provide support for mobile phones
- Provide user and site admin for desk booking system
- Support reporting on office usage
- Other duties as assigned or requested.
LONDON OFFICE WORKSPACE
- Act as on-site point of contact for Health and Safety and fire safety/
- Greet visitors upon arrival; provide a welcoming, friendly and professional first impression of Mercy Corps in London.
- Ensure phones are answered promptly, properly, and efficiently; take messages and direct calls.
- Sort and distribute incoming and outgoing mail and packages. Includes managing external courier suppliers.
- Coordinate with serviced office on any repairs or required maintenance.
- Serve as the focal point for coordination of visitors (both internal and external to Mercy Corps), including setting up schedules and providing primary logistical support.
- Assist with the setup of and clean up for events as requested, including board meetings, field staff visits, outreach and development events, and delegation itineraries.
- In line with the Internal Visitors Procedure, ensure that visitors passes are managed efficiently.
- Coordinate bookings of meeting room space with serviced office provider and keep accurate records of room bookings.
- Along with the rest of the operations team, ensure that the process for visitors; meetings and events is properly adhered to.
- Along with rest of the operations team, provide catering consulting and coordination and help to provide coordination for office events both internal and external.
- Provide coordination in-person team events including attendee management, interaction with external venues.
- Coordinate with IT team and Executive Office on monthly All Europe team meetings as requested.
- Order and stock office and kitchen supplies.
- Responsible for appearance standards throughout the office.
MCE TRAVEL & TRAVEL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
- Assist with travel bookings as requested and provide cover on travel inbox during periods of leave.
- Provide travel advice in line with Mercy Corps in Europe Travel Policy
ONBOARDING AND OFFBOARDING
- Along with the rest of the Operations team ensure that the Onboarding Procedure is followed to ensure all new team members are onboarded efficiently.
- Complete New Start and Leavers forms
- Support Operations Coordinator to schedule onboarding sessions.
- Act as point of contact for new team members joining in the London office.
- Facilitate Operations; Travel and Health & Safety onboarding sessions as required
ASSET REGISTER AND MOBILE PHONES
- Ensure asset register is updated and accurate.
- Ensure all mobile devices are kept up to date on asset register and billing platform
- Ensure mobile phone bill is processed on a monthly basis
Supervisory Responsibility
None.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Head of Operations & Data Protection
Works Directly With: European Operations team , Senior IT Infrastructure Manager, IT Support Officer, HR team, External Travel Management Company,
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills
- 1+ year(s) of experience in a fast-paced office environment, with emphasis on administrative services and/or facilities or other relevant administrative and front of house experience.
- Excellent computer skills required, including familiarity with MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint; comfort in working with IT functions a plus.
- Approachable with excellent communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and cooperatively with team members and the ability to take direction as well as work independently.
- Prior experience with coordination and management of travel schedules and meetings desirable. Sensitivity and experience in communicating with stakeholders from diverse sectors and backgrounds
Success Factors
The successful candidate will be able to represent Mercy Corps effectively and accurately to visitors to the Edinburgh Office. They will have healthy combination of professionalism and confidence and be comfortable working in a fast-paced, fluid environment. They should have strong multi-tasking, organizational and prioritization skills. Furthermore, the successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills. The candidate will also be comfortable working both independently and as team whilst demonstrating flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. They will be a quick leaner who takes initiative and is accountable for results.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Edinburgh and may require occasional travel to support the team.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the worldโs most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to