Executive Support Co-ordinator

The Open University; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

An established institution is seeking proactive Executive Support Coordinators to provide high-level administrative assistance. These roles involve managing complex diaries, coordinating meetings, and supporting various teams to ensure smooth operations. Ideal candidates will possess excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels. Join a dynamic environment where your contributions will enhance the university's governance and operational efficiency, making a real difference in the academic community.

Qualifications

• Experience managing complex diaries and providing administrative support.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Manage diary and provide administrative support for senior colleagues.
• Coordinate meetings, prepare agendas, and take meeting notes.

Skills

Diary Management

Organizational Skills

Communication Skills

Attention to Detail

Problem Solving

Time Management

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

About the Role

The University Secretary’s Office is responsible for securing compliance for the university and providing a range of professional services that enable the University Secretary and other senior executives to deliver on their responsibilities. As institutional role models for good governance, leadership support, data and information management and effective compliance, we are recognised as the ‘go-to’ experts in developing and delivering institutional and sector priorities, policies, and services as they relate to our teams.

We are currently recruiting two Executive Support Coordinator positions:

• The first will provide proactive and professional support to the University Secretary. They will be responsible for the day-to-day management and organisation of the University Secretary’s business, managing the diary, acting as the point of contact for requests, and ensuring the University Secretary is adequately prepared for all meetings by coordinating pre-read material and associated papers in sufficient time and following up on actions for them.
• The second will provide proactive and professional support for several teams as required e.g. the Strategy & Planning Team and the Sustainability Team. They will be responsible for maintaining appropriate processes and procedures to ensure the efficient running of the team's administrative or project infrastructure. Working in partnership with other Executive Support colleagues, they will enable the teams to deliver their responsibilities and priorities effectively and cohesively.

Both role holders will report to the Senior Manager, Business Support and will be members of the wider Strategy & Planning Team. They will have a proactive approach and possess exceptional organisational, prioritisation and communication skills. They will be confident in working independently, as well as being a strong team player.

Key Responsibilities

Diary Support

• Provide day-to-day diary management for senior colleagues (e.g. University Secretary and members of the USO Senior Leadership Team, ensuring optimal use of time and anticipating or responding accordingly to all changes in an efficient, proactive, and professional manner.
• Manage the flow of information in and out of the office, requiring a high level of initiative, proactivity and personal judgement to prioritise appointments and activities, including handling confidential or sensitive matters ensuring compliance with data protection legislation and OU regulations.
• Monitor shared mailboxes dealing with incoming emails, assessing their significance to ensure senior colleagues are engaged with essential items that require their attention, either responding to or redirecting non-essential items as necessary.
• Develop strong relationships across the university to enable close liaison with senior staff, ensuring appropriate interactions are taken and deadlines are met.

Team support

• Provide administrative support across their areas of responsibility, in partnership with other Executive Support colleagues, for centralised or team-related tasks and activities.
• Manage administrative support in relation to new starters, including induction processes ensuring new staff have the right equipment and access when starting their role.
• Arrange, coordinate, and fully participate in team and Unit events, both remote and in person, and contribute to team issues and topics as a full member of the USO team.
• Support any other key activities that fall within the remit of the teams they support, including ad-hoc requests, projects and other activities as required.

Meeting and Event support

• Proactively support in scheduling meetings for key management groups including assisting in defining regular cycles of business which are aligned with university governance requirements
• Assist the Senior Managers in the preparation of agendas and meeting papers by collating information, proofreading, and producing documents, reports, spreadsheets, and presentations as required.
• Ensure senior colleagues are prepared for scheduled meetings and events, co-ordinating documents and papers where necessary to meet deadlines.
• Record accurate meeting notes and key decisions for management groups, taking responsibility for circulating notes and summary documentation within agreed timescales, as well as keeping track of decisions made and actions for follow-up.
• Provide administrative and project management support for events, in partnership with other Executive Support colleagues.

Skills and experience

1. Demonstrable experience of working in a similar role which includes managing a busy, complex diary and providing high-quality administrative support, demonstrating a methodical and accurate approach to work and an excellent attention to detail.
2. Excellent organisation, planning, prioritisation and time management skills.
3. Experience in organising meetings, taking minutes or recording actions, and understanding the need to adjust style and level of detail where necessary.
4. Proven ability to deal with the pressure of managing the demands of a high volume of work, managing complex diaries or workloads, with frequently changing priorities.
5. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to use tact and discretion, and to deal assertively with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels of seniority. Confidence in disseminating information to others verbally, in writing and by contributing to meetings.
6. Demonstrate initiative to solve problems and improve working practices using good judgment to refer issues upwards as necessary.
7. Experience of building rapport and forming strong working relationships with colleagues: particularly with those to whom direct support is being provided.
8. Excellent IT skills including up-to-date working knowledge of Microsoft applications, particularly Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook.
9. Ability to be receptive to new ideas, responding quickly to change and seeing change as an opportunity.
10. Ability to work as part of a team to achieve shared objectives, with a strong commitment to the principles and practice of equality and diversity, working without bias in an inclusive manner.