Executive Office Senior Manager, and Personal Assistant to the President

The Royal Society was established in the 1660s and is recognised across the world as one of the leading scientific academies. Its Fellows include the most distinguished scientists in the UK and internationally. Its activities include work on policy, scientific publishing, and the award of grants.

The overall aims of the role will be:

To manage and oversee the offices of the Society’s President, Officers and Executive Director, of the Royal Society working closely with the Director of Fellowship, Strategy and Governance and other members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and a team of personal assistants, ensuring the delivery of high-quality administrative services. (The President and Officers of the Royal Society are trustees and Fellows of the Society. The Executive Director is its Chief Executive).

To co-ordinate support functions to the President, Officers and Executive Director, ensuring a seamless overall service.

To provide support directly to the Society’s President, as his personal assistant (the President changes every 5 years)

To manage and provide secretarial support for meetings of the Society’s Officers weekly and to ensure relevant papers are sent ahead of and following meetings.

To manage a team of three to four other Personal Assistants providing direct administration and diary support to the five Officers of the Society and the Executive Director, working for continuous improvement in service.  

To act as an ambassador for the President and Executive Director within and beyond the Society, building close and effective communication between the corporate centre and internal and external stakeholders.

You will provide oversight of the work of this office as a whole and provide additional support to the Executive Director, working with her PA, on request, particularly regarding more complex correspondence and the co-ordination of briefing and information flows across the Society.

 Key outcomes of the role:

Society staff have a point of reference for advice and guidance on handling issues requiring input from the Society’s leadership and that the Society’s standards are maintained with regular and reliable communication on behalf of the executive office.

The Society’s leadership is supported with a clear system of oversight, tracking communications with and from their offices, key weekly meetings are well planned, and they are briefed on issues requiring their attention when necessary.

The team of personal assistants is well supported and motivated, providing a continuously improving system of administrative support to the President, Executive Director, and Officers and cover for leave and absence is seamless and well planned

The President, Executive Director and Officers are provided with effective administrative support, maximising their impact as the leadership of the Society.

There is oversight of the programme of meetings and events that Officers and the Executive Director participate in, and they are well prepared for them.

Senior Leadership and Officer meetings are managed to a high level. Internal and external communications from the centre of the Society are managed professionally and effectively.

Reports to: Director of Fellowship, Strategy and Governance

Line manages: 3-4 x Personal Assistant Roles

Location: Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG                                                                            

Hours: Full time, 35 hours a week. The Royal Society promotes a hybrid way of working, the nature of this role is such that the jobholder will be expected to work in the office most days of the week with the occasional home working day.                                      

Pay band:  Band F, £60,000 to £65,000

The application closing date is Tuesday 7 May. 

Interviews will be held w/c 13 May. 

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

President’s, Officers’ and Executive Director’s Offices

1. To act as team leader and line manager for personal assistants providing support to the Officers and Executive Director, overseeing effective service delivery.
2. To act as personal assistant to the President, providing a proactive service in his role: managing diary, correspondence, and access to briefing relating to his work, handling travel arrangements (including visas and accommodation) and managing expenses in line with Royal Society policies.
3. To monitor levels of support service to the President, Officers and Executive Director, ensuring continuous improvement.
4. To oversee the work of the Office, anticipating forthcoming issues and ensuring that the Society’s leadership is well briefed for them, co-ordinating with colleagues.
5. To maintain strong relationships with key members of staff, using diplomacy and the ability to act independently, anticipating issues and dealing with them before they arise.
6. To manage incoming correspondence and action directly where appropriate, and develop systems to track the treatment of correspondence and replies.
7. To prepare responses for action/signature by the President, or Executive Director, or, if appropriate to respond on their behalf.
8. To be a primary point of contact within the Royal Society for the Executive Office team and to maintain the Society’s reputation, always ensuring approachability and accessibility to those wishing to connect with the Society, and staff needing their attention on urgent matters.
9. To ensure that the preparation of briefs/speeches/presentations for the President and Executive Director are of high quality and prepared in sufficient time ahead of meetings and events, drafting material where appropriate, but usually in collaboration with other members of staff.
10. To manage and deliver ad-hoc cross-Society projects as directed by the Executive Director.
11. To ensure that key tasks are covered during periods of staff absence and a seamless service maintained to the President, Executive Director, and Officers.
12. To attend meetings or events with the President or Executive Director.
13. To manage communications from the centre (in collaboration with finance, HR and communications colleagues) to the rest of the Society, working to improve visibility across the organisation.

Secretariat provision

1. To attend and take minutes of sensitive meetings, both for the President and the Executive Director.
2. To arrange meetings of the Society’s Advisory Board.

General

1. To provide effective leadership and line management of the Executive Services team.
2. To carry out any other tasks as are reasonably requested by the Executive Director and Director of Fellowship, Strategy and Governance.

The Royal Society is looking for a candidate who can demonstrate effective team leadership, who has a track record of providing customer-focused and high-quality administrative support, and the ability to understand the implications of the bigger picture (such as major stakeholder relationships) for the work of the Society.

Candidates will need a broad overview of the office’s work, but the ability to work on routine matters to get work done where necessary will also be important (for instance, during periods of absence by team members).

The following skills will be essential:

• The ability to motivate and manage a team of personal assistants with a view to continuous service improvement.
• The ability to build personal networks with colleagues at all levels founded on trust and clear communication.
• The ability to deliver calmly and effectively under time pressure.
• The ability to work effectively with, and lead, a team, for effective performance, setting a lead but also able to take responsibility for specific tasks when required.
• The ability to prioritise effectively, ensuring that important issues are addressed at the same time as managing more urgent tasks.
• The confidence to support senior people manage their time and work more effectively.
• Excellent communication skills, spoken and written. The ability to draft quickly and accurately on complex issues will be essential.
• The ability to handle sensitive information confidentially, and to build trust with leaders in the organisation.
• The ability to respond quickly to urgent issues, and the flexibility to stand in for colleagues when the situation requires.
• Expertise in Microsoft Office applications, and the ability to develop new systems to make services more efficient and effective.

Experience in a senior Personal Assistant role combined with solid line management experience is essential for the post.