Position: Executive Assistant
Location: UK or remote. UK working hours required
Position type: Two year fixed-term contract
Working Hours: 70-100% FTE. We are willing to talk flexible and part-time working.
About the role
We are seeking an exceptional Executive Assistant to support the CEO and Executive Team to deliver on the company strategy and priorities. This includes:
- Managing the CEO’s time to support maximum impact and alignment with company level strategic objectives and priorities;
- Supporting the CEO and Executive Team to make effective decisions by ensuring they have appropriate and timely information;
- Tracking decisions and actions from the Executive Team and following up on actions to ensure they are followed through in the required timeframes; and
- Supporting the Executive Team to drive forward and/or monitor progress of special projects, particularly where coordination of input from across the company is required.
Areas of responsibility include:
Time management
- Manage the CEO’s calendar and meeting schedule.
- Provide scheduling support for other members of the Executive Team and the Board.
- Support the management of the CEO’s time including effective delegation of activities to ensure sufficient focus on longer-term CEO priorities.
- Help manage the CEO’s mailbox, ensuring timely responses to all issues and other items requiring CEO inputs.
- Act as a channel for communication and escalation of urgent matters requiring the CEO’s attention, ensuring timely responses.
Information preparation
- Liaise with colleagues to obtain briefing notes and/or papers advance ahead of overseas visits, meetings and decision points.
- Review systems by which information is shared with Executive Team and implement improvements where identified.
- Coordinate and prepare regular company updates for communication by the CEO to staff, including written and verbal updates.
- Liaise with Head of Communications and support to endorse communication deadlines.
Action management
- Act as Secretary for Executive Team meetings. This includes preparing the agenda, ensuring all information required in advance is circulated in a timely manner, getting advance updates of information in addition to what will be presented, taking minutes, and following up on actions according to agreed timelines.
- Act as Secretary for the Executive Steering Committee and Senior Management Group, coordinating meetings and providing summaries to the Executive Team and CEO.
- Follow up with groups and individuals mandated with actions by the Executive Team.
Special Projects
- Support the Executive Team to drive forward and/or monitor progress of special projects particularly where coordination of input from across the company is required. Over the next 12 months, this is likely to include coordination support to facilitate review, update and communication of company-wide policies, as well as to support the process of reaccreditation as a B Corporation.
About you
We are looking for an experienced Executive Assistant, with demonstrated success in supporting senior leaders to operate effectively. We are looking for someone who will understand the business quickly, who will see the big picture and connect the dots between strategy and day to day activity to help the CEO and Executive Team to deliver on the company strategy and priorities. You take pride in the quality of service you provide; you are both strategic and responsive; you are a clear and effective communicator and are comfortable managing a wide range of activities in a fast-moving environment. You are continually evaluating progress and looking to do things more effectively. You are a team player, able to build relationships at all levels, with people from a range of professional and cultural backgrounds. You demonstrate sound judgment, integrity and sensitivity.
Skills and experience:
- Previous senior level Executive Assistant experience
- A positive, proactive attitude and a willingness to support colleagues at all levels
- Demonstrable ability to build productive relationships with people from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds
- Familiarity working in a global business and in the international development sector is highly desirable
- Familiarity with supporting the development and implementation of business strategies in a global business is desirable
- Excellent communication skills, written and verbally; ability to confidently and sensitively represent the Executive Team
- Excellent organisation and time management skills
- An understanding of compliance processes
- Computer literacy with Microsoft Office products
- Strong attention to detail
- Respect for confidentiality; trustworthy, reliable, and accountable
- Achievement oriented and determination to drive continual improvement
- Ability to work under pressure and to tight timelines
- Embodiment of ASI values
We operate a flexible, hybrid working model, combining remote working with 2 days a week in our London office. Applicants must be eligible to work in the UK.
What We Offer You
As an employee-owned company, our people are at the heart of our strategy and our decisions. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, a dynamic and friendly team environment, the opportunity to support a highly successful portfolio of programmes, and support to develop your skills and progress in your career.
The diversity of our workforce makes ASI a great place to work, more creative and resourceful, and underpins strong partnerships. We keep a sharp focus on diversity and inclusion, including through our Equality Action Plan and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and through leadership from our Executive Team and oversight by our Board.
We recognise the importance of your life outside of work. We are proud to support flexible working arrangements, and commit to make a success of flexible working arrangements wherever possible. We’ve built a culture to reflect our values, full of likeminded professionals who are smart, passionate and great at what they do.
Heard Enough? Ready to Apply?
Please submit a CV (no more than 2 pages) and short cover letter with the subject headline “Executive Assistant” to recruitment.asi@adamsmithinternational.com .
Shortlisted applicants only will be contacted.
Deadline for Applications will be midnight 19th January 2022
ASI believes that a more diverse workforce makes us more effective in understanding – and tackling – the big challenges facing the world. We want people to be comfortable being themselves at work and are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce through the attraction, retention and development of a diverse range of talented people.
#We’re happy to talk flexible working