Where I work is an odd set up so I'll try and explain best I can. Let's pretend it's a retail shop. Myself and colleague do the customer service and day to day managing like ordering and making sure customers pay their bills. There is a shop manager but they are not our manager they are our client, who we run it on behalf of. They are employed by a board of "ex employees" to make sure we run things ok. Our actual line manager works in another store.
The store manager wants to retire and he and the head of the board have been saying (I thought in jest at first) that they want me to take over when he retires. I dismissed it as nonsense because the job is a very high position and the salary is double mine currently. The first time it was mentioned was a year ago when I started a course sent on by my line manager to basically be qualified in what I'm already doing. That's very nearly over and in the last couple of months the manager and head of board have been more insistent I should take over. I haven't really said anything to them either way as I just don't know what to say. But I was feeling very uncomfortable with it as it is never said in front of my colleague who is actually senior to me and more exprieneced. I suspect it's because they don't like her as much (I'm more agreeable and shy and she is more blunt) so I spoke to my line manager because I really trust her opinion and she's always been helpful and tried to motivate me to better myself, hence the course, at a cost to her budget.
She said I should be flattered they've said that and it would be my choice (as I would be leaving the company I've been at for 3 years) but that I wouldn't be her first choice if it were her because it's basically running a Ltd company and I have no business experience in that sense. There is also not very much in the way of support for the role, and as well as a board, it reports to a larger organisation who is in charge of the budget and continually looking at ways to cut funding - I would have to stand up to that.
Unfortunately the idea was also mentioned to dh at a social event and he's well on board and thinks I should do it. He thinks it will be great on my C.V. which it would, but part of me feels like the money is a bigger lure. My line manager recently said there may be a position for me in their store in a month's time which would also be a promotion and pay rise (not double salary though lol) - i would love this as I would still be doing what I think I do best, a customer facing role, I LOVE helping people. Whenever the higher job is mentioned I just feel dread! But up until now I thought it was only the manager and head of board that had wanted me to do it, this weekend I saw the head of board and they said it had also been spoken about with the whole board at meetings and also with the rep from the larger organisation that oversees everyone! I feel like they're all conspiring against me to take a job I don't think I want the responsibility of!
Sorry that's so long winded, I don't know what to do with this, I'm not sure it's a job I could do and if it collapsed because I was incompetent it would be horrible. Am I being unfair to just tell everyone to shut up and leave me alone about it, find someone else? Or...I don't know. Help, ideas? I don't want to sound whiny "oh I'm being offered a job for lots of money, woe is me!" I'm just not honestly sure it's something I could do.