Executive Assistant Derby, England
Job description
Job details
Department
Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Responsible to
Head of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Location
Kedleston Road, Derby Campus
Salary
£30,950 to £34,027 per annum (for exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £39,131 per annum)
Closing date
Sunday 10 September 2023
Contract type
Permanent
Post type
Full-time
Reference
0210-23
About the role
If you have exceptional organisational skills, high attention to detail, and excellent communication skills then this is the role for you.
You will provide confidential support service to the Provost-Innovation & Research, a member of the University Executive Board (UEB). You will act as a contact point for the Provost and take forward any issues that the Provost needs resolving.
In this role, duties will include diary management and co-ordination of events, including servicing meetings, project co-ordination, providing cover and occasional out of hours support. You will be responsible for ensuring data quality within a right first-time ethos for all data within a specified business area. You will have an eye for detail and understand the highly confidential nature of the information you will be party to. You will be able to work at pace, be resourceful and flexible with a high degree of credibility and professionalism.
You will be part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office (VCO) and at times you may be needed to help cover other areas and support members of the team. You will support the wider work of the VCO across a range of business processes, providing an excellent staff and student experience and assisting in key University operational activities.
On appointment the job title for this position will be Executive Support Officer.
Principal accountabilities
- Provide a full confidential support service to the UEB Lead,as well as to the wider VCO Support team, demonstrating discretion and integrity in dealing with reputationally sensitive information.
- Proactive and creative diary management for the UEB lead to ensure optimum use of their time to focus on strategic priorities and upcoming deadlines.
- Work closely with team members to provide an on-call support provision out of office hours, to ensure the UEB member can focus on matters of strategic importance.
- To ensure continuous and proactive forethought into university activities and strategic aims to support all portfolios within the UEB.
- To lead and provide comprehensive support to strategic level meetings, through excellent organisational skills, high quality minutes and actions, and make connections across the business to ensure high quality, insightful decision making is carried out.
- To promote the VCO vision as a highly professional and competent support service to UEB members to ensure an excellent reputation of the Vice-Chancellor (VC), UEB and the VCO, whilst acting as a positive ambassador for the University.
- To research and provide relevant comprehensive briefing material, prepare draft documents such as presentations, meeting papers and correspondence (letters and emails) on behalf of the UEB member, ensuring all completed to a consistently high standard.
- Demonstrate a future focused approach to personal development and embracing the digital direction of the University to provide a continually evolving suite of services and support to the UEB.
- To initiate and lead mentoring of peers in the University in similar positions, and/or have line management responsibilities, to establish ourselves as beacons of best practice. The role of an Executive Support Officer is to show continuous improvement in practices, raise aspirations and influence peers to meet the high-performance standards of the institution.
- Develop strong working relationships across the University, as well as with members of the VCO support team, to deliver a seamless, efficient, and effective approach to support across the VCO.
- Provide a highly comprehensive and professional deputising support role for the Head of the VCO to ensure a seamless and efficient running of the VCO, ensuring full support is always provided to the VC.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
Qualifications
- HND (including GCSE Maths and English at grade C or above or equivalent qualification) - or proven track record of equivalent experience in a similar role.
Experience
- Experience of supporting at an executive level preferably in a large and complex organisation.
- Experience of handling sensitive situations, recognising confidential issues and dealing with them appropriately and with full discretion.
- Experience of proactively managing a diverse workload with the ability to meet deadlines, effectively manage own time, prioritise and react swiftly to changes.
- Experience of working within a high performing team.
- Experience of producing professional standard minutes and reports.
- Experience of supervision, the ability to give constructive feedback to promote best practice and create high performance in others.
Skills, knowledge & abilities
- Ability to be able to make operational decisions in line with UEB/ College expectations.
- Ability to react positively to frequently changing priorities and deadlines, and deal with unforeseen circumstances.
- Digital literacy and excellent computing skills including Microsoft Office and use of administrative business systems.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to continuously develop effective relationships with individuals and organisations both internally and externally.
- Excellent attention to detail, including proof reading skills and the ability of maintain a high level of accuracy.
- Understanding the importance of having up to date sector knowledge and the impact this may have on the day-to-day priorities of both UEB members and the wider University.
- Ability to create a team spirit which engages others to innovate and perform to a high standard.
Business requirements
- Expectation to undertake occasional late/evening/weekend working when required.
Desirable Criteria
Qualifications
- Educated to degree level or equivalent.
- Management/business/customer care qualification.
Experience
- Higher Education sector experience.
