Business Support Manager - Chief Membership Group

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35 days annual leave

Pension 8% with 2% employee contrib.

Private healthcare

Employee Assistance Programme

Death in service cover

Job summary

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is seeking a proactive PA who will support governance and strategic work across the Membership Group. You’ll schedule committees, format papers, take minutes and help movements of deadlines while protecting sensitive information.

Based in London or Oxford, the role involves coordinating international meetings, supporting volunteers and directors, and traveling within the UK.

Qualifications

• Experience as board/secretariat support and governance administration.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and integrity.
• Strong organisation skills to manage deadlines and multiple channels.

Responsibilities

• Act as secretary to committees; schedule meetings, chase and format papers, take minutes, follow up actions.
• Support the board of ICA 98 Ltd, our international entity.
• Prepare updates for the Executive Leadership Team, Board, Council and committees.
• Lead projects and initiatives for the directors and make independent decisions.
• Coordinate International Actuarial Association membership; manage committee nominations and volunteer support.

Skills

Secretariat support

Governance coordination

Stakeholder management

Diary management

Travel coordination

Meeting scheduling

Discretion/confidentiality

Project coordination

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

This isn’t your typical PA role. Our directors look after their own inboxes and day-to-day diaries. You'll sometimes arrange diaries around specific meetings and events, such as committee cycles or international visits. Most of the role though, is keeping the governance and strategic work moving. That means scheduling committees, getting papers into shape and in on time, and spotting what's coming before it lands on anyone's desk.

You'll report to the Director of Market, Partner & Member Development but you'll also work with the Director of Member and Customer Success, the Director of Member Value, Brand, Marketing & Communications, and at times the Chief Membership Officer. Your job is to help the Membership Group run well as a whole, not to look after one person.

About Us

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is the chartered professional body for actuaries. We have over 32,000 members around the world. The Membership Group looks after the full member journey: how we attract members, support them as they progress and keep them with us. The teams you'll support deliver our strategy across the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. They also run a large programme of events and conferences, and look after our marketing, communications, volunteer engagement and research.

What You'll Be Doing

• Acting as secretariat to the Member Engagement Committee, the Research and Thought Leadership Committee and the Supranational Associations Liaison Sub-Committee. You'll schedule meetings, chase and format papers, take minutes and follow up actions.
• Supporting the board of ICA 98 Ltd, our international entity.
• Planning and preparing updates to the Executive Leadership Team, Board, Council and committees, so they show clearly what we're delivering against our Corporate Plan.
• Leading projects and initiatives for the directors, and making your own decisions on many of them.
• Coordinating our membership of the International Actuarial Association, including committee nominations and support for the volunteers involved. You'll also help organise our part in the twice-yearly IAA and Actuarial Association of Europe meetings.
• Organising international travel, itineraries and briefing packs, and managing expenses.
• Coordinating directors' diaries around committee meetings, events and international visits.
• Working closely with the other Business Support Managers and with the Executive Assistant to the CEO, Presidential Team and Board Chair. You'll cover for each other, so there'll be a mix of work and you'll always have colleagues to lean on.

What We're Looking For

You're curious. You can step back from the day-to-day, see where things are heading, and act before you're asked. You don't wait for a to-do list, and you're comfortable using your judgement about what to handle yourself and what to expand.

You'll have worked closely with senior leaders and stakeholders, and you'll be confident representing directors to members, volunteers, suppliers and colleagues. You turn work around quickly without letting quality slip. When priorities change halfway through the week, you adjust and carry on. Much of what crosses your desk will be confidential, so your discretion needs to be beyond question.

Experience of committee or board secretariat work would be a real advantage. So would a background in the public sector, higher education or another membership organisation, where you'll have learned how governance, deadlines and stakeholders fit together. It would also help to have some experience of international work, events, or working with volunteers, but it isn't essential.

Values in action

• Integrity: you handle sensitive information carefully and are honest about what's on track and what isn't.
• Focus: you keep committee cycles and deadlines on course, even when there's a lot going on.
• Connection: you link up work across teams and directors, and you're a dependable partner to the wider BSM group.
• Performance: you look for better ways of working and put them in place without being asked.

How We Work

This role can be based in either our London or Oxford hub. You'll need to travel into London regularly to work with the directors, and occasionally to other UK locations. Colleagues split their time between home and our hubs and can flex their hours around core business hours.

The starting salary is £45,790 if based in London, £42,655 if based in Oxford.

Benefits include Holiday entitlement of 35 days leave per annum (this includes the bank holidays) Pension contribution from the IFoA of 8% with a requirement for a personal contribution of at least 2%, plus matching of additional voluntary contributions of up to an additional 2%, Private healthcare scheme, Employee Assistance Programme, Death in service cover of 3.5 times your annual pensionable salary, Income protection, Agile and Hybrid working, Training & Development.

Alternative format and adjustments

Please Email The HR Team If You Require

• any information regarding our vacancies in an alternative format
• any adjustments to support you to fully participate in any part of the application and recruitment process

Any information shared will be used only to enable us to make reasonable adjustments to support you to participate in the recruitment process and not to inform selection decisions.

You can reach us at [e-mail].

The IFoA encourages applicants from a variety of backgrounds and experience and welcomes diversity with regard not only to protected characteristics but also diversity of thought. Diversity, equity and inclusion are more than just words for us. That's why we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels included and respected, and where no one is unfairly discriminated against. Consequently, we promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all our policies, practices and procedures, and actively encourage applications from a diverse range of potential candidates. All applications for our roles are considered on merit alone, and if you don't meet all the criteria but believe you have something to offer, we want to hear from you. For more information on our commitments, please see our DEI strategy page.