Diary & Events Manager

LSEC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent educational organization in Greater London is seeking a highly organized individual to manage the Group CEO’s diary and coordinate significant events. The ideal candidate will have a degree and demonstrable experience in business operations within an educational context. You'll manage multiple responsibilities, draft communications, and ensure smooth operations for high-profile engagements. This full-time role requires a UK driving license and flexibility to travel across sites. Generous leave and unique benefits are included.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Access to Employee Assistance Programme

Free onsite parking

Cycle to work scheme

Discounts for Teachers portal

Free access to onsite gym

Qualifications

• Proven experience in business operations within an education or comparable setting.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Highly organised, methodical, and able to juggle multiple priorities.
• Collaborative, customer-focused approach.

Responsibilities

• Own and optimise complex diary management for the Group CEO.
• Plan and deliver multiple events and visits for the Private Office.
• Draft clear and accurate communications for public engagements.
• Prepare briefings ahead of meetings to ensure the CEO is well-informed.
• Contribute to systems and procedures for the Private Office.

Skills

Business operations experience

Written communication

Oral communication

Event management

IT skills (MS Office)

Organizational skills

Customer-focused approach

Networking

Education

Degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

About the role:

About the role

Sitting at the heart of the Group CEO’s Private Office, this is a fast-paced, purposeful role that ensures exceptional diary management, smooth coordination of meetings, events and visits, and first-class communications and briefings. You will work closely with the Group CEO, the Group Executive Leadership Team and colleagues across Elevare to enable agile decision-making, outstanding stakeholder experience and seamless delivery of high-profile engagements.

What you will do

• Own and optimise complex diary management for the Group CEO—prioritising requests, sequencing meetings, and resolving conflicts across Group operations.
• Plan and deliver multiple events and visits for the Private Office including but not limited to Group Annual Conferences and Annual Award Ceremonies, landmark lectures and Strategic Elevare Events and visits of high profile political and local dignitaries and stakeholders.
• Draft clear, accurate communications and coordinate with the Communications team on public engagements and media interactions.
• Use social media and digital tools appropriately to support timely, effective communication.
• Prepare briefings and commission analysis ahead of internal and external meetings, ensuring the CEO is well-briefed on priorities, risks and opportunities.
• Champion great service and streamlined processes, using Microsoft 365 and ethical AI tools to improve workflows across the Private Office.
• Maintain policy awareness across FE, HE and schools, producing succinct updates on education policy changes, media coverage and legislative developments.
• Support high-profile visits and engagements alongside Group Executive colleagues—always with meticulous preparation and customer focus.
• Contribute to Private Office systems and procedures, including papers flow, meetings, travel and wider business coordination; deputise for the Head of Private Office when required.
• Work closely with the Group Chief of Staff & Group Chief Governance Officer on governance-related activities that involve the Group CEO and Private Office operations.

What you will bring

Essential

• A degree (or equivalent experience).
• Proven experience in business operations within an education or comparable setting; confident in project/diary/event management.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills; comfortable drafting on behalf of senior leaders and using social media appropriately.
• Excellent IT skills across MS Office with the aptitude to adopt new systems and a good understanding of AI.
• Highly organised, methodical, able to juggle multiple priorities and present complex information clearly.
• Collaborative, customer-focused approach; able to network and engage confidently with stakeholders at all levels.
• UK driving licence and ability to travel across Elevare sites.
• Personal qualities that align with our values: commitment to student success, equality, diversity and inclusion, integrity and confidentiality, resilience, and the Nolan Principles.

Desirable

• Project or Event Management qualification; prior PA/EA experience and change-influencing exposure.

Additional requirements

This role involves out-of-hours working (evenings/weekends) as needed, including travel with the Group CEO; occasional stays and working from the CEO’s home office may be required. You will also contribute to business continuity planning with the Group Chief of Staff & Governance Director.

Working arrangements

This is a full-time role (1.0 FTE) based primarily at Bromley and Orpington with hybrid and flexible working and travelling across all school and college sites in SE London, Surrey and East Sussex. Evening and weekend working and occasional overnight stays may be required to support the Group CEO’s schedule and or event planning. UK Driving Licence is essential as travelling with and driving the Group CEO will be required.

About Us

Elevare Civic Education Group

Elevare Civic Education Group is the umbrella organisation that comprises our Group Organisations, London South East Colleges, London South East Academies Trust and Elevare Education Foundation. The Group rationale is borne from a shared mission, vision and values. It seeks to optimise governance alignment through a Group Strategy and provide efficiencies across the organisations. Built on charitable principles and a co-incidence of interest, the Group ethos is founded upon high-quality teaching and learning, the development of curriculum models fitting each school and cohort, and a core and bespoke school improvement strategy which focuses on our shared strength. The strategic and operational working relationships between the College, Trust and Foundation have been established to optimise collaboration and integration - and to reflect both the next stage of our journey and our growing civic mission. Collectively the Group annual income is c£150m, delivering education to c16,000 students and employing over 2000 staff.

Elevare – meaning to elevate or uplift – captures our mission to raise aspirations and opportunities, while Civic signals our responsibility and commitment to being an anchor institution, at the heart of our communities.

Working in the office that is the heart of the Elevare Civic Education Group, the postholder, is a key and important officer who enables and supports strategic leadership across the Elevare Civic Education Group.

Benefits

We offer a very generous package of annual leave and provide up to two more additional College closure days throughout the year, and also offer leave for volunteering.

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Free onsite parking
• Cycle to work/bike loan scheme
• Annual season ticket loan
• Access to the ’Discounts for Teachers’ portal
• Free Wifi access in over 10,000 locations worldwide Eduroam
• Access to our onsite gym at Bromley, discounts in our in-house restaurants and on our hair and beauty treatments

Accreditations

As employers, we recognise and embrace our legal and quality-assurance framework responsibilities. We use these frameworks, as well as other accreditations and schemes, to further develop our development and progress of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

We acknowledge that there is always more that we can learn and use these accreditations to provide us with an external lens and share/gain best-practice information.

Equal Opportunities

London South East Colleges is fully-committed to being an Equal Opportunities Employer, and creating a diverse and inclusive workspace, free from discrimination and harassment. We welcome and encourage applications from all, regardless of race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion/belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, parental status and/or marital/partnership status.

As a Disability Confident-Committed employer, we will offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum job role criteria.

If you have accessibility needs and/or require any adjustments for the application and interview process, please email us at [e-mail].

In line with KCSIE (Keeping Children Safe in Education) guidance we conduct social media checks for all candidates who are shortlisted for roles in order to ascertain their suitability to work with children and young adults.

As the College supports a number of children and vulnerable adults, all staff are exempt from Section 4(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Accordingly, all staff will be subject to an ‘Enhanced’ DBS (formerly CRB) check, along with a Children’s Barred List check if in regulated activity. Any offers of appointment may be withdrawn if these checks prove to be unsatisfactory to the College. Self-disclosure will be required as part of the recruitment process. If you fail to make a full disclosure or provide sight of your DBS certificate then your offer of employment is likely to be withdrawn. The College's DBS policy covers the recruitment of ex-offenders which is available upon request.