Could you work here?

For the past few days we have been coming to terms with the news that Alison, our long-serving Office Manager, is to leave Baby Milk Action. She has been with us for 8 years, through the ups and downs of working for a small organisation with precarious funding. Alison's dedication has been exemplary. She is the first voice most callers hear and many health workers in the UK will have met her on the stalls selling materials she has sourced, developed or designed, providing an important source of income for Baby Milk Action while also spreading the word. It is now time for a new challenge and we wish her well in the organisation she will be moving on to in the near future.

Now the hunt is on for a new Office Manager. Two years' ago Alison coordinated the move to our new office. New is not quite the right word as it is several hundred years old and a listed building. It may sound extravagant, but it was actually the cheapest office space we could find, and, believe me, Alison looked. We had to move as our old office finds itself in a city centre shopping centre development. It is now surrounded with hoardings.

We are on the two floors, above an antique shop, across the road from the Fitzwilliam Museum, an impressive Romanesque building containing art and artefacts. Moving could have been horrendous as our staircase is narrow and winding. But we found a way to have the boxes and boxes of documents and office equipment to be passed in through the rear window. Then we had to decorate, put down the carpet brought over from the old office and load up the shelves. The shelves were a challenge as they stand on the floor, but the floors here are not level. The engineer in me resurfaced and the shelves stand on planks adjusted to be level with bolts at the corners.

A few days ago I wrote about Nestlé hiring public relations firms to counter our campaign. In our world you decorate your own office at the weekend with the help of volunteers.

Now we are well settled into the office. But nothing remains the same and we are recruiting a new Officer Manager. Could you work here? Alison will be a tough act to follow, but the job is one in which people can grow and develop skills. It ranges from first point of contact with supporters and partners around the world, to managing the budget. From sorting out the audit and arranging the Annual General Meeting of members, to supervising volunteers in mailing out information to meet the many requests we receive. It is a fun, friendly place to work, though sometimes stressful when the money is tight or we have to respond to an emergency or news story.

Interested? The job description and application form will be available on the Baby Milk Action website shortly.