Caroline Richards

I am a self-motivated and progress-driven Executive Assistant with an extensive background in PA, EA, secretarial and Research Assistant roles and related high-level skills. I currently work at the MS Society, as EA to the Director of Engagement and Income Generation and Research. I have worked within Higher Education for a large number of years (and also in the private sector) and really thrive and flourish in this rather specialised, not for profit sector, with the aims of supporting the vital work of the MS research and income generation and previously by helping students to succeed to their full potential and be the best they can be. Both areas of Charity and Higher Education aim to improve people’s lives and give them the tools and support to succeed. 

In my current role, I work closely with the Governance and Executive Office teams within the Charity, as well as the Board of Trustees, National Council members, volunteer and groups. My work supports the delivery of Governance and Executive Office strategy. I am Secretary to various Committees, with responsibility for agenda collation and sign off, as well as minute taking and chasing actions. A large part of the role is business plan implementation, development and delivery. I have a high level of responsibility and confidentiality in my role, along with research support, updating the website and PR and external affairs work. I also deal with complex invoicing and expenses and arranging travel around a busy schedule.

A large part of my role involves complex diary management and “gate keeping” for Executive Directors who have hectic schedules and constantly competing deadlines. Along with this, the standard EA tasks of complex travel and itineraries, including organising visas, working with lengthy documents, including excel spread sheets, reports, databases and presentations. I also deal with budgetary tasks and have experience of expenses reconciliation and costings.

I have a high level of stakeholder management experience, particularly in my current role. I service and minute take at a large variety of internal and external Board and Committee Meetings,   AT Medway School of Pharmacy, we went through a re-accreditation of our MPharm Programme, which I assisted the SMT with and led on arranging the pre-events, the main two day visit event and led on organising the required lengthy documentation which needed to be submitted, including research for, and formatting and collation of many documents, including over 100 appendices.

I liaise and work with many important external stakeholders, such as MS Prevention Taksforce group of high level researchers in the field and I have been the main contact for the Partnership and Advisory Board Committee of well-respected stakeholders from health-related industries and NHS, minute taking and collating Agendas and relevant documents, arranging events, as well as ensuring Action Points have been completed.

I thrive on being organised and utilising my time management skills, multi-tasking with competing deadlines and priorities and working with my project management skills, having taken some Project Management courses. I have Project Managed the implementation of new Placement Software for the School of Pharmacy. I have also used Smartsheet which I have found is an invaluable tool for projects and am in the process of introducing this to our EA team at MS Society to better streamline our processes.

I also event managed a large number of events, such as whole Directorate Away Days and charity events and have event managed the Pharmacy Graduation and high-level School events, This is an area I really excel at and I enjoy seeing events through from start to finish. I use gant charts and project management tools to assist in setting up and managing events. Working for the Director of Engagement and Income Generation means I also get involved in fundraising areas such as individual giving, philanthropy, legacies, Corporates and Trusts, as well as CRM systems and grant checking systems on the research side.

EDI (which I believe is also an important issue) is an area I have been involved with and understand well. I was the EDI Committee Secretary and have also completed a Mental Health First Aid Course. Health and Safety is an area I have enjoyed getting involved with. I was also on the Health and Safety Committee as Secretary and also the DSE Assessor for the School of Pharmacy.

I am involved in HR and recruitment at the MS Society, which requires dealing with often quite confidential and sensitive issues which require tact, diplomacy and sensitivity. My roles within HR and recruitment have also ranged from dealing with long-term absence and Occupational Health issues in conjunction with HR, minuting confidential meetings, keeping accurate records of sickness and annual leave schedules, to being the lead on the admin side for recruitment. On the recruitment side. I have organised job adverts, arranged shortlisting sessions and all interviews and have been responsible for gathering feedback and uploading onto the online recruitment system and dealing with Right to Work checks as needed.

I have a lot of experience of remote and hybrid working and believe this can also foster collaboration and team working and have experience of support and office management around remote and hybrid working.

I always look for a challenge, am a quick learner with a dedication to personal development and always improving my skills. Being highly organized and detail-oriented makes it easier to manage my own time for the success of the person/people I support. I never waver in my contribution to the wider team also, as I am always ready to help to achieve the end result. I am also someone who understands the nuances of managing multiple people’s busy days and can proactively tackle any issues that arise, anticipate any roadblocks, and create effective alternative plans. One of my greatest values to anyone I support is my ability to work independently, freeing up their time to focus on the needs of the business, using my initiative to get the job done amidst demanding deadlines and priorities. I perform my EA duties to an excellent level, but I also see my role as a key “business partner”, vital to the success of senior management and the wider team.

I am a self-motivated and progress-driven Executive Assistant with an extensive background in PA, EA, secretarial and Research Assistant roles and related high-level skills. I currently work at the MS Society, as EA to the Director of Engagement and Income Generation and Research. I have worked within Higher Education for a large number of years (and also in the private sector) and really thrive and flourish in this rather specialised, not for profit sector,

BA Hons History and German

3 A levels (B grades) - History, French, German

9 GCSEs (A and B grades)