31346 - Personal Assistant to Area Director

Do you want to work for an organisation that values difference and includes everyone? Then the Environment Agency is the organisation for you! We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We don’t just talk about diversity; we seek it, embrace it and live it, for the benefit of our staff, our communities and our environment.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Personal Assistant to join our Executive Support Team! This position is a job share with our existing Personal Assistant for London's Area Director. You will form part of a tight-knit unit, acting as an initial point of contact and executive support to the London Area Director’s office.

You will:
• Manage a dynamic Area Director’s diary and mailbox, tracking actions and commitments
• Be a professional initial point of contact for the London Area Director’s Office
• Communicate and collaborate effectively as part of a job share to ensure a high level of support is maintained throughout each week
• Triage, commission and distributing tasks accordingly
• Organise travel and overnight accommodation
• Process expenses
• Handle/oversee line management administrative tasks
• Provide support with leadership meetings and note taking
• Handle sensitive information and facilitate responses to correspondence received from high profile stakeholders
• Keep the Area Director fully informed on key messages and support them to manage their time effectively
• Coordinate annual leave arrangements for the Area Leadership Team
• Provide ad-hoc support to London Area Leadership Team, occasionally outside of the scope of your primary responsibilities
• Be driven to make a difference and motivated to develop your understanding of the Environment Agency

The team

London Area focuses on early engagement, effective influencing, collaborative working, strategic planning and investment across the capital.

You will be a core member of the London Area Director's Office. You will be fully supported by the wider Executive Support Team. You will work directly with a dynamic Area Director, their senior management team and team leaders. You will build strong networks with other parts of the business and key stakeholders.

Experience/skills required

This role is fast-paced and priorities can change quickly. You will need to be pragmatic, good at multi-tasking and use your initiative to prioritise effectively. You will follow policies and procedures carefully to achieve timely outcomes.

You will be able to demonstrate:
• Experience working as a PA or in a similar role
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills
• A keen eye for detail whilst working at pace
• Ability to work proactively and use initiative to identify and solve problems
• That you are a team player, delivering quality results alone and with others
• Resilience, determination and ability to respond to changing situations
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Strong customer service skills, developing and maintaining relationships with internal/external customers
• Ability to anticipate and manage expectations of customers and colleagues
• Competency using Microsoft Office programmes and ability to learn new IT systems quickly