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Department For Education
Executive Officer/PA
Pay: 17.15 per hour
Contract May 20225
Description:
Short Summary of role
If exceptionally organised, reliable, and able to come up with creative solutions to meet people's needs describes you, then this role could be for you. This is a busy role that will provide you with a varied and exciting workload. We are looking for a talented EO to act as an Executive Assistant for an experienced DD with a visual impairment. You will use your skills and experience to enable her to operate at her best while at the same time, nurturing your own thirst for exposure to and involvement in high-profile policy development.
You will also be asked to confirm that you can match the DD's working pattern including office attendance and travel and that you are comfortable around guide dogs and with sighted guiding (for which training can be provided).
Job Description
You will be providing effective and efficient day-to-day and strategic diary management including organising meetings/telephone and video conference meetings, reviewing and accepting meeting invitations, balancing conflicting appointments and suggesting delegation of meetings where necessary.
Also managing the inbox to ensure that communication and work is effectively prioritised, delivered, and distributed as appropriate and assuming delegated responsibility for key administrative functions such as Workday action, finance systems, and travel booking.
You will quickly become familiar with the structure of the team and the roles and responsibilities of individuals, enabling you to operate effectively on the DD's behalf where necessary.
You will also prepare meeting papers, ensuring availability of priority papers for the day in a format that meets DD's needs, and sourcing briefing for meetings where required.
You will be expected to look ahead to identify opportunities for divisional engagement events (away days, site visits etc) and support your Deputy Director to navigate busy periods of work. You will also take the lead in coordinating divisional team meetings, including preparing and organising the agenda.
Beyond PA duties, though, we are looking for someone able to read, digest and interpret documents, describe pictures, PowerPoint slides and Excel sheets, using your verbal and written communication skills to render their content accessible to someone with limited vision. You will also need to use your mastery of the Department's software packages to render information in required formats (slides, Excel sheets, etc.) accurately. For example, you may need to complete corporate commissions on behalf of the DD, compiling information in required formats in consultation with her. Also, you will resolve any IT issues experienced that do not require specialist access support and liaising with others where further support is required.
You will help the DD process staffing information and will be required to Handle any sensitive information in a confidential manner.
You may also need to provide practical assistance in meetings, taking notes, summarising meeting chats, alerting her to visual clues she may not otherwise be able to access. In some circumstances, you may also need to help her to access unfamiliar surroundings, accompanying her to meetings in new/unknown locations including travelling to visits and different offices internationally and in the UK, helping her navigate and any other support duties that will help her day run smoothly, effectively, and comfortably. This will require the post-holder to be London-based and willing to match her days in the office and undertake travel and overnight stays as required.
The postholder will need to be comfortable around guide dogs.
You also may need to provide wider support to the directorate.
Skills/Experience Required
This is an exciting opportunity to work in a high profile, fast-paced and rewarding environment.
Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate that they meet these essential criteria:
Attention to detail
A proactive, adaptable approach to work.
Strong judgement and problem-solving skills.
Ability to build positive and constructive relationships and work collaboratively across teams.
Ability to work in a pressurised environment and deliver to demanding timelines.
Flexibility to handle shifting priorities and a fast-paced workload.
Strong organisational skills and ability to manage and prioritise your own workload and the work of others. Experience handling sensitive information with a high level of professionalism and confidentiality.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to interpret and describe visual materials (e.g., PowerPoint slides, Excel spreadsheets) clearly.
Advanced IT Skills-Proficiency with software packages such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other relevant tools to produce accessible formats for documents.
Experience of responding to need in a professional, practical and empathetic manner so that the DD feels well supported.
Desirable criteria
Executive or Personal Assistant Experience-Previous experience in a similar role, ideally supporting senior leadership in a busy and demanding environment.
Lived experience of visual impairment, including a relative or friend with a visual impairment, would be an advantage.
Brook Street is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.
As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.
Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.
In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group.
