Recruiting an office manager/all-rounder
to join the Sheldon Community

This is so much more than just a job - it is an opportunity to come and live and work in the heart of a small community running a highly specialist retreat house in the beautiful Devon countryside. It is a role and a lifestyle which is uniquely varied, challenging and rewarding. Could this be you?

Application form - please read this web page carefully before completing the application form. Please also explore the visit and belong sections of our website and our social media feeds for a broader context. 

Deadlines 

• Expression of interest with request for further information and/or a telephone conversation and/or an enquiry to check if any impediment before making a full application: 21st February 2026 
• Full application : 28th February 2026
• Residential interviews will be held at Sheldon 9th - 11th March 2026 with invitations extended no later than 3rd March. 

About the context

The community living at Sheldon currently comprises 4 members ranging from 2 to 50 years of service. Warden Sarah, Cellarer Hillary, Assistant Ainslie and Lay Chaplain Carl. We are a small community holding a big space, aspiring to stability, stewardship and servanthood. Take a deeper dive. 

We work alongisde a salaried staff team of about 20 (6 FTE) and also dozens of volunteers. The current admin team comprises Erica on bookkeeping and Martin on technical infrastructure. Reception cover is shared between Darren as curator of the Sheldon Hub, Trudi as an all-rounder, Roweena on design/promotions and Troy on technical development/coding. The Warden is seeking a new colleague to carry much of the day to day admin associated with running the organisation in order to release her for other duties.  

Our team is tight-knit and very committed to serving the guests who come to Sheldon. For the person who brings the right aptitudes and a real heart for what we do here, there is the potential for quite a lot of flexibility in shaping up this new role. 

Summary of the role

• The back office admin that keeps the organisation running smoothly
• People skills for front office reception and telephone cover
• PA support to the Warden
• Solving problems (varied and unpredictable!)  
• Involvement in wider hospitality and practical tasks around Sheldon

Entry level requirements

This is an all-rounder role and we will ask candidates to demonstrate

• A mature, vocational approach to life and work in a community focused on hospitality
• Enjoyment and good capability across both people skills and systems skills
• Good working proficiency with MS Office, especially Outlook, Word and basic Excel
• Understanding of relational database principles (beyond simple data entry)
• Experience of working in a modern office using locally networked computers and cloud based services

Take a deeper dive into what the working role might involve

Ts & Cs

• We hope to appoint someone who will be here for a minimum of 2 years, and ideally 5 or more
• Community members live at Sheldon and work a 6 day week, including 3 evenings with 5.6 weeks/year holiday. 
• Accommodation is available for a single person or a couple. If applying as a couple the spouse/partner also has a working role and commitment at Sheldon - open to conversations about what this might look like. 
• The personal allowance is a modest £7,000/year but accommodation, food and many of the practical day to day costs of living are provided as part of the remuneration package, and Class 1 NI and pension contributions.
• New members need to share our fundamentals including. 
  • A Christian faith, even if unconventional, is an genuine occupational requirement for joining the community. 
  • We are a lay community
  • We are fully inclusive and supportive of LGBTQI+ people and their relationships
  • We are Covid-aware, recognising that health protection is a shared responsibility not individual

Could this be you?

If you're ready to start a conversation, please click here to continue

On this form you can make a full application (deadline 28th February) or an initial outline application +/- a request for feedback/phone conversation (deadline 21st February, but the sooner the better).