Estate Secretary

Role Title: Estate Secretary
Company: Southwick Estate
Reporting to: David Pardoe (Agent)
Location: Southwick, Hampshire

Background

The Southwick Estate is a privately owned rural Estate, situated between Fareham and Portsmouth.
The Estate extends to over 7,500 acres of farmland and forestry, and includes 165 residential dwellings, 90 commercial units, a village shop and two churches, amongst other properties.

The management of the Estate is overseen by the owner and carried out by Land Agents, Rosehill
Advisors, who are assisted by the office team, consisting of the Estate Secretary, a Property
Administrator, Accountant and a Purchase Ledger Clerk.

The Estate is looking for an experienced office administrator to oversee the day-to-day office management and to support the wider management team.

General Description of Role

The Estate Secretary plays a key role as ‘front of house’ for the Estate Office but will provide direct support to the Land Agents and Farm Manager and is also responsible for general office management, as well as administrative support to the office, property maintenance, farm and forestry teams.

The role is full time, and the successful candidate will be office-based Monday to Friday.

There is some cross-over of work between the Estate Secretary and the Property Administrator, particularly the during holidays.

Duties include:

• Point of contact for visitors to the Estate Office
• Monthly direct debit management for set up and allocation via Barclays .Net and BACS
• Maintenance of insurance policies
• Coordination of vehicle MOTs and tax
• Work closely with Farm Manager and Land Agents
• Assisting with payroll data
• Drafting staff contracts
• Maintenance of staff holidays / sick leave
• Taking minutes and issuing agendas for monthly meetings
• Preparation and reconciliation of monthly rental demands
• Debtor management
• Assisting the bookkeeper with bank payments
• Maintain archiving system
• Petty cash management
• Paying in
• Administration of recharges
• Maintenance of property and tenancy databases

Key responsibilities include:

• Provide support to the Farm Manager
• Provide support to the Land Agency team
• Answer and screen incoming calls to the Office
• Deal with staff, contractor, supplier and tenant enquiries
• Ensure compliance with statutory regulations
• Liaise with finance department
• Support the budgeting, planning and forecasting process in relation to the estate
• Ensure all information held is accurate and updated
• Coordinate staff, contractors, tenants and suppliers building effective relationships
• Maintain an effective filing system for the office
• Maintain and update an effective archiving system
• Scan and file documents onto the computer system

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

• Excellent communication skills both over the telephone and in writing
• Ability to build effective working relationships and deal with people at all levels
• Good organisational skills and ability to prioritise workload
• Calm and resilient when under pressure
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook to an intermediate level
• Financial understanding and high numeracy

Benefits

Pension scheme after 3 months’ employment
30 days holiday (including Bank Holidays)
Training and qualifications supported by the Employer

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: £28,000.00-£30,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• On-site parking

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Fareham, PO17 6EA: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Experience:

• Microsoft Office: 2 years (required)
• Document management: 2 years (preferred)
• Administrative: 2 years (required)

Work Location: In person