Executive Assistant

QinetiQ; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Matched pension

Holiday allowance

Private Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Employee discount portal

Armed Forces Covenant

Volunteering opportunities

Job summary

QinetiQ is seeking an Executive Assistant at its Farnborough site to provide trusted support to a senior leader of the Senior Leadership Team. The role focuses on diary and inbox management, travel coordination and effective stakeholder engagement in a high-profile environment.

You will bring a calm, proactive, and collaborative mindset, ensuring delivery of business priorities with attention to detail and discretion in handling sensitive information.

Qualifications

• Proven experience supporting a senior leader in a busy, fast-paced environment.
• Strong diary and inbox management skills with prioritisation.
• Experience handling confidential information with discretion.
• Excellent organisational skills and reliability.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative style.
• High emotional awareness and calm, solution-focused approach.
• Proactive, flexible mindset supporting across tasks.

Responsibilities

• Manage a complex and dynamic diary, balancing priorities and time.
• Filter and prioritise a high volume of email traffic with sound judgement.
• Coordinate meetings, briefings and travel with seamless logistics.
• Handle sensitive information with discretion and care.
• Support an open and transparent working style across the business.
• Bring structure and focus to a fast-paced environment with follow-through.
• Represent the leader professionally to stakeholders and peers.
• Help maintain alignment with leadership style and values.

Skills

Diary management

Inbox management

Confidential handling

Organisation

Interpersonal skills

Emotional intelligence

Proactive mindset

Job description

Package: Competitive Salary + Benefits

Role ID: SF20158

Are you ready to be part of the future? At QinetiQ, we’re not just imagining tomorrow we are creating it. From cutting-edge defence technology to ground-breaking innovations our mission is to empower and protect lives. Join us as an Executive Assistant supporting a key member of our Senior Leadership Team at our Farnborough site, where you will play a vital role at the heart of a fast-paced, high-profile environment.

As an Executive Assistant, you will be a trusted and dependable support to your senior leader, ensuring they are well-organised, well-prepared, and able to focus on delivering business priorities. This is a practical, hands-on role where attention to detail, responsiveness and a willingness to get involved at every level are key to success. This role requires a practical, highly supportive mindset, with a strong sense of ownership and pride in delivery. You will bring consistency & sound judgement helping to create an environment where people feel comfortable, supported and able to engage openly.

Day-to-day, you’ll take ownership of diary and inbox management, create clarity from complexity, and act as a warm, professional and approachable representative of the leadership team. You’ll bring a calm, solutions-focused approach, while maintaining openness, transparency and collaboration across the business, reflecting the leadership style you support.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Managing a complex and dynamic diary, balancing priorities and ensuring effective use of time
• Filtering and prioritising a high volume of email traffic with sound judgement and responsiveness
• Coordinating meetings, briefings, and travel, ensuring all logistics are handled seamlessly and to a high standard
• Handling sensitive and confidential information with discretion and care
• Supporting an open and transparent working style, enabling collaboration and helping others feel comfortable engaging
• Bringing structure, organisation and focus to a fast-paced environment, ensuring follow-through and attention to detail
• Acting as a professional and approachable point of contact for a wide range of stakeholders, helping to create positive and effective working relationships
• Acting as a trusted extension of the leader, representing their style and values through open, transparent and constructive communication

Essential experience of the Executive Assistant:

• Proven experience supporting a senior leader in a busy, fast-paced environment
• Strong diary and inbox management skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively and exercise sound judgement
• Experience handling confidential information with a high level of discretion and professionalism
• Excellent organisational skills with a disciplined, detail-oriented and reliable approach
• Strong interpersonal skills, with a warm, approachable and collaborative style that puts others at ease
• High levels of emotional awareness, with the ability to remain calm, constructive and solution-focused in a variety of situations
• A proactive, flexible mindset with a willingness to support across a broad range of tasks, maintaining a positive and helpful approach

We value difference and we don’t have a fixed idea when it comes to background or education, provided you can show the required level of experience and willingness to learn then we would like to hear from you.

This role is 37 hours per week based at our Farnborough site. Occasional travel to other QinetiQ and customer sites will be expected.

Why Join QinetiQ?

As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges.

As a QinetiQ employee, you’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experience enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in a diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential. Visit our website to read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture. www.qinetiq.com/en/careers/life-at-qinetiq

Our Benefits

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Generous holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days
• Options to join Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance
• Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more
• We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and maintaining our Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
• Volunteering Opportunities - helping charities and local community

Our Recruitment Process:

We want to make sure that our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible and we aspire to bring out the best in our candidates by creating an environment where everyone feels value, heard and supported. If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your Recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting being completed, applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment. A number of roles are also subject to additional restrictions, which mean factors such as nationality or previous nationalities may affect the roles that you can be employed in.

Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.

UKSV National Security Vetting Solution: guidance for applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)