Conference & Events Administrator

Conference & Events Administrator Application Deadline: 21 May 2026 Department: Conferences & Events Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time Location: Central Oxford Reporting To: Ms Sarah Church (Conference & Events Manager) Compensation: £32,108 - £40,514 / year

Description Magdalen College is one of the oldest and most beautiful of all the Oxford Colleges, set in 100 acres of grounds in the heart of the city. The historic buildings include medieval dining hall, chapel and cloister as well as seminar rooms and bedrooms added over the centuries in a sympathetic neo-gothic style. In more recent time, we have built a 160-seat Auditorium and modern ensuite accommodation.

In term-time there is a busy calendar of college committee meetings, seminars, lectures, outreach and choir events which make use of our many teaching and function rooms. Students, staff and visitors are catered for in our Hall, Old Kitchen Bar and other private dining rooms, for regular meals, receptions and formal dinners.

Conferences, functions and events have come to play a major role in the business of the College with held throughout the year and short residential conferences and summer schools in the vacations; alongside Alumni events organized though the College Development Office, in both term-time and vacations. We also offer facilities for private dinners and alumni wedding receptions.

The work of the Conference & Events Office has expanded as business has developed. We are now looking for a proactive and organized person, demonstrating excellent customer focus and who enjoys a busy and varied work environment, to become a supportive member of the Team; which currently comprises a Conference and Events Manager, and Conference & Events Administrator. This new role will cover Monday to Wednesday to cover alternate days to the current Conference and Events Administrator on a job share basis.

This role is office based at Magdalen College, Oxford, OX1 4AU. Normal working hours will be 37.5 per week, Monday to Friday, but staff are expected to be flexible to allow for the requirements of the job.

Key Responsibilities The Conference & Events Administrator assists the Conference & Events Manager in the following duties:

Maintaining the events diary and communicating to College departments the requirements of functions taking place, using event management software. Responding to enquiries made by telephone, email and in person. Allocation of function rooms, teaching rooms and lecture rooms in term time as required, and for summer schools, conferences and College events throughout the year. Logging all additional requirements for catering, audio-visual, maintenance and housekeeping. Preparation of contracts for functions, conferences and events where applicable. Working with both internal and external conference and event clients to ensure that their requirements are met and information in place by the contracted deadlines. Acting as a point of contact when visitors are on site. Recording costs agreed for events and preparing summaries for invoicing. May involve working very occasional evenings and weekends for which time off in lieu will be granted. Provide support to the Accommodation team, as well as cover for annual leave or sickness, whenever possible throughout the year, balancing this with the current workload and availability of the Conference and Events Administrator. Any other duties commensurate with this post, as assigned by the Conference & Events Manager, Bursar or Home Bursar.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise The Conference and Events Administrator should be a proactive and organised person demonstrating excellent customer focus and the ability to work as part of a team.

Essential Excellent administrative and events/conference organisation skills. Proven ability to interact confidently, articulately and sensitively with clients, professional colleagues, students and senior members of the College. Demonstrate excellent IT skills including knowledge and experience of Microsoft Office applications. The ability to prioritise workload and manage time effectively within the workplace. A collaborative and supportive attitude to colleagues. Demonstrate good attention to detail (for example the ability to convert a verbal enquiry into a well-structured brief of requirements) Desirable Knowledge and experience of the University of Oxford calendar, or experience of working with a similar complex cyclical calendar of events. Knowledge and experience of using an event booking database, ideally Kinetics A flexible approach to working; very occasional evenings and weekends may be required.

Benefits Salary Grade 5, £30,378 - £38,784, plus £1,730 per annum Oxford Location Allowance.

Holiday The holiday entitlement is 38 days per annum including bank holidays. Some bank holidays are regarded as normal working days and may need to be taken at a later date. Some set days’ holiday must be taken when the College is closed.

Other Benefits Membership of contributory pension scheme Free lunch will be provided (when Magdalen College kitchens are open) Use of sports facilities Optional contributory Healthcare Scheme Bus pass purchase scheme Cycle to work scheme Car parking may be available

The College provides for maternity leave on a basis that exceeds the statutory provisions. This is a day one entitlement and there is no qualifying period, women are eligible for 26 weeks’ maternity leave on full pay, followed by 13 weeks of leave on Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and 13 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Arrangements are available for Adoption Leave, Shared Parental Leave, and Paternity Leave. Magdalen College has a priority claim on places in the University nurseries.

Applications

To apply for this position, please click the 'Apply Now' button. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.