Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant

Salary: £29,284

Location: Cambridge, St Edmunds College

Contract type: Permanent, Full Time

Looking for a role that offers work-life balance as well as the opportunity to develop?

Well then, we have the perfect opportunity for you at St Edmund’s College. We are looking for an Executive Assistant (EA) to provide support to our Bursar and Senior Tutor. You may not have collegiate experience but as long as you have strong PA or EA experience we would love to hear from you!

The role of Executive Assistant (EA) is integral to the Bursar and Senior Tutor, working in partnership with them you will be the glue that holds their busy schedules together, the paperclip that holds all important documents, and finally the cup of tea which keeps everyone calm and things running smoothly.

Job responsibilities

• Assist the Bursar and Senior Tutor in the planning and management of their complex diaries.
• Organise and manage the Bursar and Senior Tutor’s daily schedules, ensuring they are well prepared each day, and briefed with necessary paperwork and information.
• Schedule recurring annual tasks and provide proactive updates to the Bursar and Senior Tutor, and proactively make preparations.
• Act as a first point of contact on behalf of the Bursar and Senior Tutor.
• Assist the Bursar and Senior Tutor with their correspondence. Highlighting urgent or important business, drafting emails and letters, replying to emails and letters on the Bursar and Senior Tutor’s behalf, producing and distributing letters and invitations, and cards.
• Appropriately respond to inquiries and requests from staff, students, Fellows and senior members, alumni and external partners.
• Host events, including the provision of refreshments and hospitality for guests of the Bursar and Senior Tutor. Work with the catering team to provide refreshments when appropriate.
• Provide secretariat support for internal meetings.
• Take minutes of certain meetings.
• Capture action points assigned to the Bursar and Senior Tutor from the key meetings and committees that they attend. Support them in completing actions by assigned deadlines, for example, by prompting them to complete pieces of work.
• Support the Management Team Executive in the administration of the Senior Business Meetings.
• Undertake research to support the drafting of papers and policies.
• Support the drafting of papers (where appropriate).
• Provide support to the Management Team Executive and the rest of the team, for example, providing cover when other team members are away from College.
• Maintain communications logs and membership databases.
• Arrange lunches, dinners and other College functions on behalf of the Bursar and Senior Tutor.
• Help host events when necessary.
• Liaise with dinner guests to confirm arrangements, ensuring that dietary requirements are communicated to the catering team.
• Ensure that the Bursar and Senior Tutor’s expenses are claimed and paid.
• Working with the Finance team, ensure that authorised invoices are paid in a timely fashion.

What we need

The successful candidate will be calm under pressure and resilient, they will be able to quickly and efficiently prioritise and address any conflicting issues.

They will have excellent spoken and written English, with the ability to draft important documents to the standard required.

The successful candidate will take pride in their work, they will take responsibility and ensure both the Bursar’s and Senior Tutor’s time is used efficiently to best meet the needs of the College.

The successful candidate must have:

• Previous experience in a high-level administrative or PA/EA role.
• Experience working with a wide range of stakeholders, including Senior Leaders.
• Experience of minute-taking is advantageous.

If you feel that you fit most but not all of the above criteria, we would still love to hear from you.

WHEN APPLYING PLEASE ATTACH A COVER LETTER.

As well as a great salary and friendly team you will also receive:

• Working daily allowance for food and drinks*
• Free car parking (where available)
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (increasing with length of service)
• Generous pension contributions
• Discounts at restaurants, shops & more
• Outdoor gym
• Death in service
• Access to LinkedIn Learning & Business Disability Forum

About St Edmund’s College

St Edmund’s College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. Our vibrant student body is made up of around 520 post-graduates and 150 mature undergraduates. With over 230 senior members – academics working at the cutting edge of their field or eminent members of their profession – and around 70 staff, you will be joining a dynamic and growing College with an ambitious vision for our role in shaping the future of higher education and collaborative research.

The maturity of our community means that we have earned a reputation as the friendly college. Relaxed, non-hierarchical and diverse, we pride ourselves on being a place in Cambridge where people of all backgrounds are welcomed, will feel at home and can flourish. Therefore, we welcome all candidates regardless of their demographic characteristics such as gender, race, disability, neurodiversity, religion, age, sex & sexual identity to apply for our opportunities.

How to apply

To apply, please send your CV and a Cover Letter to Nicky Chalklin, HR Administrator by email [email protected]

Closing date for completed applications: Sunday 23rd  April 2023

If you have informal enquiries about the post, please email the Management Team Executive, Sally Bard, [email protected].

In applying for this role, you will provide personal data which the College will process in accordance with its data protection obligations and its Data Protection Policy: http://www.stedmunds.cam.ac.uk/data-protection

Any offer of employment is subject to evidence of your right to work in the UK and the receipt of satisfactory references.