Programmes Assistant

Royal Geographical Society

Hours
35 hours per week

Length of contract
6 month

About the Organisation

Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) is a learned society and professional body for geography and geographers. It is also a charity and a membership organisation. The Society was founded in 1830 and has been one of the most active of the learned societies ever since. It was pivotal in establishing geography as a teaching and research discipline in British universities and continues to play a key role in geographical and environmental education.

The Society is a leading world centre for geographical learning, supporting education, teaching, research, professional practice and scientific expeditions, as well as promoting public understanding and enjoyment of geography and providing advice to policymakers. The Society offers professional accreditation to members through Chartered Geographer status.

About the role

We are seeking a highly organised and enthusiastic temporary Programmes Assistant to support the delivery of a busy and inspiring programme of events across the autumn and spring terms. Working as part of a dynamic team, the successful candidate will help deliver a diverse portfolio of lectures, panel discussions, and other events. Our events programme connects people and ideas, broadcasting to audiences worldwide and showcasing the power of geography to shape our understanding of the world.

The role will involve providing administrative and logistical support to the Programmes team across all stages of event coordination, from setting up events in digital systems and managing bookings, through to delivery and ensuring a high-quality experience for both in-person and online audiences.

Responsibilities

Processing Ticket Sales:

• Taking and processing back-office bookings and payments for events from email, telephone and postal enquiries.
• Keeping thorough records, including via the Society’s CRM database.

Answering Enquiries:

• Dealing with email, telephone and social media enquiries about the Society’s events programme and other general queries.
• Monitoring the team mailboxes to ensure that all emails are dealt with appropriately and promptly.

Handling Payments:

• Dealing with a variety of payments, including cash, cheque, card and bank transfer.
• Raising invoices and recording PDQ transactions.
• Accurately recording all payments as appropriate and reporting to Finance regularly.

Assisting with Physical, Online and Hybrid Events:

• Entering event information into the Society’s CRM database.
• Creating event webpages on the Society’s website, via the CMS.
• Scheduling/posting content to the Society’s social media channels and helping to maintain the forward plan for content.
• Assisting with set up and delivery of Monday night lectures, including working paid overtime to 7.45 pm (if doing first aid, writing lecture minutes and facilitating Q&A with speaker) or 8.15 pm (if doing supper) as agreed in advance.
• Supporting other evening events throughout the year, including with front of house duties such as registration, providing first aid (training provided) and admitting attendees. (Paid overtime or time off in lieu is available for working outside normal office hours.)
• Producing marketing materials, including graphics for social media, and flyers and posters for print, using Canva templates.
• Producing event materials, including name badges, attendee lists and signs.
• Ensuring all events have a good supply of relevant literature.
• Liaising with caterers as required.
• Working with the rest of the team to generate ideas for speakers and events.

Supporting the Geographical Club:

• Providing admin support for Club dinners including taking bookings, liaising with the Hon Secretary and Treasurer, collating payments, dealing with correspondence, creating menus and attendee booklets, and confirming numbers with Lodge Catering and restaurants.
• Booking meeting room for the Club AGM, and attending when possible to produce minutes.
• Processing Club merchandise sales.
• Liaising with the Grants Officer on Geographical Club Award report.

Other Administrative Duties:

• Proofreading materials and literature.
• Collating the events section of the Society’s termly Bulletin.
• Administrative support for marketing activity, including for regional and London events.
• Data entry.
• Filing. 

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Essential:

• Good interpersonal skills, including face-to-face, over the telephone and in writing.
• Ability to problem solve and work flexibly with enthusiasm to overcome issues.
• Systematic approach to tasks, with the ability to multitask effectively, use initiative and work efficiently under pressure.
• Excellent attention to detail and organisational and time management skills
• Demonstrable ability to complete repetitive, process-driven tasks with accuracy.
• Experience of customer service in a busy environment.
• Confidence with computers, including Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel, as well as video conferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
• Good team worker and a sense of team spirit.

Desirable:

• Knowledge and experience of contemporary geography, or a closely related discipline, and a good understanding of the breadth of the discipline across the human and natural sciences.
• Geography qualification.
• First aid qualification or willingness to undertake first aid training.
• Experience of using CRM databases. Oomi.
• Experience of proofreading.
• Experience of working with content management systems. Umbraco.
• Experience of using social media in a professional capacity, including scheduling tools such as Hootsuite.
• Experience of using graphic design software, such as Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Previous involvement with public engagement activities and events.

Compensation & Benefits

• 25 days annual leave per annum plus public bank holidays for full-time staff, pro rata to 10 days per annum.
• Society closure between Christmas and New Year, in addition to the basic annual leave allowance.
• Pension scheme - 3% employee, 7.5% employer.
• Probationary period of three months.
• Group Life Assurance at four times the basic annual salary.
• Corporate eye care vouchers.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Free 24-hour Employee Assistance helpline with available counselling support.
• Flexible working arrangements with home working possible.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. The Society is unable to offer work visa sponsorships.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• Applications should be sent by email to [email protected] with a copy of your CV, a covering letter explaining your suitability for the post and how you fulfil the selection criteria, and the monitoring form.
• Applications must be received by 5.30 pm on Friday 24th July 2026.

Interviews

• It is anticipated that interviews will take place on Monday 3 August 2026.
• Note: Due to the high volume of applications we anticipate, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within one week of the advert deadline. Direct applicants only, no recruitment agencies please.

Policies

The Society aims to be an equal opportunities employer. We strongly encourage applicants from those traditionally underrepresented in the geographical discipline.

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