Executive Assistant

About the Role:

To provide professional and excellent Executive support to the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director that enables him to focus on managing the strategic direction of the Authority.

Outcomes or objectives that this role will deliver:

• Take lead responsibility for ensuring the smooth running of the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director’s daily operations. Managing a busy schedule through effective diary management and meeting planning, proactively ensuring the best use of time; using knowledge and judgement to help the organisation achieve its priorities. By proactively planning ahead, ensure that time is available for organisational priorities.

• Provide effective and efficient high level support in the management of correspondence, including inbox management, acting on emails as necessary and, using a high level of judgement, deciding on appropriate actions. Draft substantive responses on behalf of the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director; ensuring that these are of a high quality and that the use of English is exemplary.

• Work closely with the office of the Authority chair, Camden chief executive (formally the Authority Clerk), board of LondonEnergy Ltd, Members’ offices and colleagues in the Authority. This is to ensure close coordination with relevant leaders on delivering the Authority’s responsibilities and ensuring that we are responsive to external demands.

• Represent and communicate on behalf of the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director – internally and externally. Maintain political awareness, sensitivity, confidentiality and discretion to address these appropriately and ensure extremely high levels of customer service are delivered. Proactively support the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director in ensuring that strong relations and coordination are maintained with constituent boroughs and wider organisations (eg the Greater London Authority, London Environment Directors Network)

• Coordinate planning for and follow up from Corporate Leadership Team meetings.

• Proactively work with others across the organisation to request information, commission advice as needed and follow through to ensure they are delivered and are in an

  appropriate format.

• On behalf of Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director the develop briefings and presentations. This will involve liaison with colleagues in the Authority team and development of an understanding of subject matter.

• Advocate new ways of working and provide innovative and imaginative solutions to support to the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director. This could include the adoption and trialling of the use of technology.

• Carrying out business management duties such as dealing with purchase orders, administering daily variation reports (sickness / absence) and more

• Supporting the wider organisation with any administrative / project support type activity

Technical Knowledge and Experience:

• Good knowledge and understanding of the roles and functions of local government

• Current knowledge and understanding of the national and local political environment

• Understanding of confidentiality and Data Protection and Information Security issues and how these can be effectively deployed.

• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to effectively multi-task and respond to the changing priorities of the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services /

  Programme Director.

• High levels of initiative in the initiation of activity and commissioning of work to others and the ability to follow through actions to ensure that progress is made, and others

  keep to deadlines.

• Strong literacy and numeracy skills and the ability to research and analyse information and produce high quality reports, presentations and briefings in a meaningful

  format.

• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office programmes (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and the ability to quickly learn and adapt to changing use of IT to support

  changes in ways of working, such as the use of desk top publishing software

• Ability to communicate effectively, negotiating and influencing with a wide range of stakeholders, whilst showing a high level of diplomacy and confidentiality in the

  provision of excellent customer care. Adapt style according to the audience and the needs of others.

• Ability to work flexibly, balancing competing priorities of self and others, to ensure that deadlines are met whilst understanding the needs, timescales and deadlines of

  others, enabling the delivery of organisational objectives.

• Ability to work under pressure, whilst maintaining strong attention to detail, and proactively use own initiative to make informed decisions and considered judgements.

• Ability to work as part of a team and manage the workflow to ensure that all aspects of work are managed with considerable attention to detail.

• Experience of working directly with senior officers in a support capacity.

• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders, including elected Members / politicians and other senior officials.

• Ability and experience to tailor / establish PowerPoint presentations on behalf of the Managing Director / Director of Corporate Services / Programme Director

• Being flexible on dealing with a range of activities at work with a “can-do” attitude

Only applications showcasing relavant skills and experience will be taken into consideration.