Senior Executive Assistant to the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience

As the Senior Executive Assistant (EA) to the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience (TCDE) you will be responsible for one-on-one EA support to a global HR Operating Committee member; managing the calendar end-to-end, all travel schedules and all administrative and planning activities within the office. This role requires the ability to interact with senior stakeholders as well as staff at all levels, in a fast paced environment, sometimes under pressure, remaining flexible, proactive, resourceful and efficient, with a high level of professionalism. You should demonstrate experience in developing relationships in a highly-matrixed organisation, as well as experience in handling administrative and executive support related tasks, delivering to a very high standard.

Job Responsibilities

• Maintain a complex calendar and numerous competing priorities through a detailed understanding of the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience’s diary including all meetings and meeting attendees; ensuring that the day-to-day schedule is utilising the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience’s time efficiently and effectively, and all logistical details, both virtually and in-person, have been considered
• Working closely with the Business Manager for Talent & Career Development Experience to regularly forward plan; anticipating requirements and proactively flagging key upcoming meetings so that the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience is prepped and briefed by the Business Manager, Talent & Career Development Experience
• Manage the coordination and logistics of both internal and external meetings, and organise the administrative aspects of offsite conferences as required, including catering and transportation
• Calibrating meeting requests to determine the level of priority; proactively considering better ways to utilise calendar time and time in the office. Examples include consolidating meetings, holding prep time, flagging any duplication or 1:1 meetings that have not taken place for a while and prioritising in-person meetings when the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience is in the office
• Ensure that all requests from the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience are acknowledged and actioned quickly, and status updates are provided to confirm whether an item is completed or in progress
• Management of the forward meeting agenda and presenter slots for the weekly TCDE Leadership Team meetings, confirming the agenda with the Business Manager for Talent & Career Development Experience in advance of the meeting so that all meeting attendees and presenters have logistics confirmed
• Management of all domestic and international travel for the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience, providing a detailed schedule in advance of each trip including a full itinerary for the trip, all meetings, all logistical information and any required briefings
• Management of a 1:1 key stakeholder meeting tracker in Microsoft Excel for the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience, providing weekly updates to both the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience and the Business Manager, Talent & Career Development Experience
• Provide executive biographies for each new 1:1 meeting and assist in editing spreadsheets, presentations and other basic formatting within documents
• Manage the coordination and logistics for colleague engagement sessions and support with the organisation of Town Halls and any other events hosted by the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience
• Management and processing of T&E related expenses and invoices for the Head of Talent & Career Development Experience, providing regular status updates. Ensure all policies are followed and items are always processed within guidelines
• Assist with the onboarding and offboarding of team members, including requesting equipment, system access and general new joiner queries
• Ensure attention to detail and very strong organisational skills at all times, producing high quality emails and messages to individuals at all levels across the firm
• Become a key point of contact within the TCDE organisation and across the HR function more broadly for admin and EA related queries; building strong relationships across TCDE with a very good understanding of the org structure and the key contacts/stakeholders

Required qualifications, capabilities and skills

• At least 7 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant working for senior stakeholders (MD level and above) or within an executive office in large, complex organisations (preferably financial services)
• Strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills, including excellent telephone etiquette, with an ability to quickly build strong relationships and networks across the firm
• Excellent problem-solving ability; able to take an issue or question and proactively determine how to solve, utilising a strong internal network and determining when to seek a sign-off or decision from the Head of TCDE or Business Manager for TCDE
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint including table creation, mail merges and basic formatting)
• Knowledge of general executive office procedures (e.g. briefings, correspondence, scheduling, expenses, calendar management)
• Tact and good judgment in confidential situations and proven experience interacting with senior management and with sensitive information
• Ability to adapt procedures, processes and techniques to the completion of assignments
• Proactive, with extremely high standards and attention to detail