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Cobseo, the Confederation of Service Charities – Business Support Officer
Cobseoisexcited to berecruiting fora Business Support Officerto join our small, dynamic team.We are looking for a professional, energeticteam playerwith a passion for customer service anda track recordfordeliveringambitiousand variedobjectives, who can help us achieve our plans for 2026 and beyond.
ABOUT COBSEO
Cobseo as the Confederation of Service Charities, provides a single point of contact for interactionbetweenour Members andGovernment, including localand devolvedgovernments,the Royal Household,the PrivateSectorand members of the Armed Forces Community.
Underpinned by our values anddriven by ourobjectives,the Confederationexists tofacilitate engagement across the sector, act as arepresentativeand advocate for the Membership, promote collaboration and cooperation across the Membership and widersector, influence policy,present an informed and measured view from across the Membership, and enable theMembership to build networks and share best practices.
Membersenjoy a range ofbenefits, including information, guidance, training,and support on key topics such as governance, fundraising,and safeguarding, access to theCobseoClusters,representation on key government groups and committeesthrough theCobseoChair and Executive Committee, promotion of news,eventsand job vacancies, access to theWeekly Newsnewsletter,and the opportunity to contribute to key Government policyareas.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Reporting to the Director of Operationsandworkingclosely alongside the rest of the team,the Business Support Officer is a vital member of the smallCobseooffice team, providing administrative support across all of the team’s business functions with a particular focus on Membership, Finance, and Communications & Engagementto enable othercolleagues within the teamto focus on strategic projects and decision making, knowing that routine administration is in hand.
The Business SupportOfficerensures the smooth running of key meetings and events throughout the year, including quarterly Executive Committee (EC) and Finance, Audit & Risk Committee (FARC) meetings, as well as the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and other member-facing events, both in-person and online.
The role is responsible for supporting the development and maintenance of sound working practices, including policies and procedures across the organisation, and will be the first point of contact for many enquiries as they monitora number ofoutward-facing mailboxesand support the Head of Communications & Engagement with routine communications work.
The Business SupportOfficeris required tointeracton a daily basiswith colleagues from across the team in verbal, written and face-to-face communications via their management ofa number ofkey processes, including meeting preparation. They havedirect contact with the Executive Committee members and Cluster Chairs, often being the single point-of-contact forCobseoin the interval between formal meetings and events.
As a member of the smallCobseooffice team, theBusiness Support Officer, along with the other members of the office team, is expected to lean into issues, opportunities, and workstreams that arise, sometimes at short noticeand occasionally outside of their own portfolio.
This role isfull time (34.5 hours per week) and is office-basedin London for at least 2 days per weekin order tofacilitatepositive relationshipswiththe rest of the team and with stakeholders. There isanoptionfor hybrid/homeworkingthe rest of the week. Some UK travel isrequiredand the post-holder will occasionallybe requiredto work from external sites, such as events’ venuesorin order tovisit members’ premises.Normal working hours aremaintainedwherever possible noting that some eventsareoutwithnormal office hours.
The salaryfor this role is£42,500per annum.Cobseooperates acontributory pension scheme with a 7.5% employer’s contribution and a 5% employee’s contribution.We provide access to a confidential Employee Assistance Programme and the CycleToWork scheme, as well asmembership of death-in-service and guaranteed income protection schemes.
Cobseo’sstandard leave is 30 days per year,plus Bank Holidays.
KEYDUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Operationsand administrativesupport
- Provide cross-functional administrative support to enable the smooth running of the organisation.
- Help to coordinateand deliverprojects, workstreams, meetings and events.
- Maintain and developCobseo’ssystems, processes and ways of workingensuring safe data storage and sharing.
- Supportnew staffand Directorsthroughout recruitment,onboardingand induction.
- Jointly own and implement the process for quarterly Executive Committeeand Finance, Audit & Risk Committee meetings, the AGM,internalteam meetings, and external meetings and events, including providing support to coordinate agendas and papers.
- Support in gathering and reporting on outputs associated with grant funding.
- Support the development of HRand datapolicies and procedures.
- Support with the collation and distribution of Members’ news and internal articles for the Newsletter and Jobs’ Board.
- Support with routine social media activity, includingCobseo’sown posts and the amplification of Members’ and stakeholders’ posts.
- Receive and respond toinitialMembership enquires, including applications to ensure excellent standards of customer service and help applicants on the journey to becomingCobseoMembers.
- Helpmaintainaccurateand effective databases and systems.
- Lean into the Membership due diligence process whenrequiredto help gather and collate relevant information to inform application decisions.
- Provide routine secretariat support toCobseoClusters and other groups to enable focussed, productive, high impact collaboration ion line withCobseo’sObjectives and in support of the groups’ Chairs and each group’s specific aims.
- Assistin the development of governance resources and support for members, including governance-related webinars.
- Contribute to, and provide secretariat support for, governance-related reports.
- Help with the design, publication,and analysis of customer feedback, including online surveys and focus groups to help inform the Membership and Engagementobjectivesand impact reporting.
- Manage routine updates toMember, potentialMembers,and other stakeholder records held.
- Manage various multiuser mailboxes and respond to enquiries a sCobseo’sfirst point of contact or distribute to relevant team members to respond asrequired.
- Provideonline and virtualmeetingand events’administration including diary management, room bookings,webinarmanagementand visitor hosting.
- Liaise with landlord, ITproviderand facilities’ management.
Given the nature of working within a small team, and the fast-paced, high-profile nature of the Armed Forces sector, the Business Support Officer may be required to fulfil other duties on occasion,this may be via workingindependently or in partnership withCobseoteam colleagues, in order to support the delivery of the business plan and strategic objectives or in response to unexpected events or issues.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- A track recordfor delivering tasks andobjectiveswithout close supervision.
- Experienced deliverer of high-quality customer service and supporttoa broad range of stakeholders with varying needs.
- Demonstrable experience of working across multiple projects,objectivesand workstreams at any one time on a regular basis.
- Strong experience of organising administrative systems and processes for increased efficiency and risk mitigation.
- Experience ofassistingin the delivery of meetings, events, and training.
- Previouswork for or with a membership organisation.
- Experience of working within a small, ambitious team with dynamic individual and collective responsibilities.
- Experience of project management
- Experience of integration of a new CRM system.
APPROACH TO TEAMWORKING:
- Maintain effective,timelycommunication with colleaguesand stakeholdersto ensure coordinated workstreams andtimely, high-quality outputs.
- Work to agreed standard operating procedures and ways of working in the support of effective outputs and to mitigate the risks of single points of failure.
- Actively contribute to the continuous improvement of internal processes.
- Commit to, prepare for, and actively attend team meetings.
SKILLS AND APTITUDE:
- Strong attention to detail.
- Pro-active and able to juggle multiple tasks and work cross-organisationally.
- The ability to organise and plan effectively, often to tight deadlines.
- Good problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively in the spirit of continuous improvement.
- Approachable and confident.
- Competent, confident in the use of at least one CRM system.
- Strong office administrative skills and IT literacy, including confident use of Teamsand Zoom, SharePoint, Word, Excel,Outlookand PowerPoint.
- Strong and effective communication skills, both verbal and written.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with people at all levels and from all backgrounds, including colleagues, suppliers,membersand senior external stakeholders, adapting style of communication appropriately.
- A self-starter and motivator with initiative to work alone and/or unsupervised whenrequired.
- Motivatedto achieve SMARTobjectivesthat contribute to the realisation of an annual business plan and strategicobjectives.
- A strong team-work mentality with a willingness to adapt and flex as is oftenrequiredwithin small teams.
If youhave a strong work ethic,andthe skills, experience and attitude to fulfil the role ofCobseo’sBusiness Support Officer,and you are motivated byCobseo’sobjectives,please send a CV andcover letter to Kate McCullough, Director of Operations via email to k.mccullough@cobseo.org.uk by0800 on Monday30 March 2026.
Any questions or queries, or requests forreasonable adjustments during the application process,should be directed to Kate by email.
It is our intention to interview a shortlist of candidates during the last week of April at our offices in central London.
Recruitment for this position is carried out in line withCobseo’sEquality, Inclusion,and Diversity Policy.
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