Senior Executive Assistant - London, United Kingdom - Octavia

Octavia

Verified Company

London, United Kingdom

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

To provide effective and efficient high-level executive support and project management/coordination within busy and demanding Executive Office.

As Senior Executive Assistant, this role requires a degree of leadership and supports the Head of Executive Office who has oversight of Executive Director workloads, to plan and prioritise successfully - it is the responsibility of the Senior Executive Assistant to ensure that all Executive Directors achieve their outcomes and stay on top of their demands.

This involves building a good relationship with each Executive Director, gaining a thorough understanding of their roles and responsibilities, drafting board/ committee meeting reports and presentations on their behalf, and gaining an understanding of business-as-usual activity (which is managed by the Executive Assistant).

In addition to this, traditional aspects of executive support will also apply, including the prioritisation of complex workloads including (but not limited to) diary, inbox and meeting management, stakeholder engagement, project planning, document production, quality assurance and ensuring good governance.

This role will therefore be suited to someone who is an experienced Executive Assistant looking to take the next step into a or supervisory or project-focussed role, or someone who is an excellent report-writer and project planner who has worked closely with Executive Directors and looking to explore the inner workings of an Executive Office.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic project support: Planning, coordinating and monitoring of key strategic projects for the Executive Team, in liaison with the Head of Executive Office and PMO. To create and manage the departments' service project work plan with clear goals, objectives and tasks to be accomplished to meet business timelines
Forward planning: To work closely with the Head of Executive Office to plan and prepare Executives for Executive/ Board and Committee level meetings and various internal/external events. Ensuring that Executives are properly briefed ahead of meetings
Report, briefing and presentation writing: Drafting/ producing reports and presentations on behalf of Executive Directors for board, committee and executive meetings, and research/ briefing notes ahead of meetings as necessary
Diary management oversight: For two/three Executive Directors to ensure efficient and effective use of their time, using key prioritisation techniques (providing cover for the Executive Assistant during periods of absence)
Inbox management: For twothree Executive Directors to ensure efficient and effective use of their time, using key prioritisation techniques and adapting to their preferred ways of working (providing cover for the Executive Assistant during periods of absence)
Correspondence management: Maintaining/establishing correspondence logs, trackers and registers ensuring tracking logs and required registers are maintained and replies are produced within required timeframes
Meeting management: To primarily service the Executive Committee meeting and other key meetings as necessary, including agenda planning, drafting/ preparing/ collating papers, and prompt followup action
Exemplary stakeholder management: To gain a rapid understanding of Octavia's key stakeholders and each Executive's role in maintaining strong working relationships both internally and externally. To collaborate and maintain close working relationships with key teams (particularly with Governance, Communications and PMO teams)
Support to the Executive Assistant who maintains business as usual activity within the Executive Office, understanding distinct differences between both roles, outlined by the Head of Executive Office
Deputising for the Head of Executive Office who supports the CEO and Chair during periods of absence and taking on key areas of work to allow the Head of Executive Office to focus on projects/focussed work as and when required

Requirements:

For this position, we have listed the requirements we believe are essential for this role:
General

Ideally, we are looking for someone who is has more than five years' solid experience working closely with csuite level Executives and Board members and developed a sound understanding and appreciation of how senior executives operate and need to be organised, in order to lead organisations well. We would also consider someone who is worked very closely with Executive Directors, who has exemplary report writing skills, projectplanning/management/coordination experience who could fulfil the aspects of this role and add value
We are seeking someone who understands the expanse of tasks and responsibilities that fall under 'executive support' and where these necessary skills come naturally to them so, you will understand the demands of a busy Executive Office and be able to 'hit the ground running' once in post. You can multitask effectively, managing your time as well as yo