Executive Assistant

Aj Bell; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK investment platform is seeking an Executive Assistant to provide proactive support to the CFO. This role entails managing the CFO's diary, preparing meeting materials, and supporting administrative tasks in a dynamic environment. The ideal candidate will have relevant experience and excellent organisational and communication skills. Benefits include a competitive salary, hybrid working, and various employee perks, contributing to a supportive work culture in a FTSE 250 company.

Benefits

Minimum starting salary £47,500

25 days holiday, increasing with service

Matched pension contributions

Discretionary bonus scheme

Private healthcare and dental plan

Free gym membership

Ongoing technical training

Qualifications

• Relevant experience as an Executive Assistant.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Remain calm under pressure, adapting to changing priorities.
• Excellent planning and organisation skills.
• Effective use of IT skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Manage the CFO’s diary arrangements effectively.
• Prepare and distribute senior management meeting packs.
• Enable effective delivery of the business strategy process.
• Provide general administrative support and resolve issues proactively.
• Work as a team with other Executive Assistants.

Skills

Organisational skills

Communication skills

IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Attention to detail

Proactivity

Teamwork

Job description

We're now seeking an Executive Assistant to provide highly organised, proactive and detail‑oriented support to the Chief Finance Officer (CFO), ensuring smooth and effective functioning of the CFO role. This is an excellent opportunity for a well‑organised and commercially aware Executive Assistant who excels in a fast‑paced environment and is motivated by supporting work at the centre of a FTSE 250 company. You will act as a trusted partner to the CFO – anticipating needs, enabling effective decision‑making, and ensuring the smooth running of the office. This role also operates as part of the wider EA team who support the Executive Committee (ExCo) at AJ Bell, coordinating with each other and key teams across the business to ensure ExCo can manage senior teams effectively and deliver strategic objectives.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manage the CFO’s diary arrangements, optimising time, planning ahead.
• Ensure the CFO is well prepared and briefed ahead of any meetings, assisting with clear and accurate research, reports, presentations, agendas and meeting papers.
• Enable effective delivery of the business strategy process by coordinating with the Group Corporate Development Director, strategy team and other executives to ensure meetings are diarised appropriately and strategy content meets deadlines.
• Provide general administrative support – booking travel and accommodation, managing inboxes, processing expenses and supporting personal admin.
• Prepare and distribute senior management meeting packs; when required, attend internal meetings and take minutes, ensuring actions are followed up.
• Act on behalf of the CFO, leading on their initiatives and ensuring deadlines are met.
• Proactively resolve issues – anticipate and address potential problems to ensure seamless operations.
• Ensure processes impacting the executive team are effective and seek improvements where needed.
• Build knowledge and understanding of key objectives to assist executives where possible.
• Provide event management support for occasional activities such as team social events or offsite strategic meetings.
• Welcome external visitors to the executive floor at EQ4 and ensure they are catered for when required.
• Work as a team with other Executive Assistants to provide support for one another and cover team administrative tasks such as arranging authorised signatures for key documents.
• Support and enable the business to achieve its regulatory requirements, including consumer duty.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience as an Executive Assistant.
• Ability to always maintain confidentiality.
• Remain calm under pressure, adapting to changing priorities, accustomed to working in a fast‑paced environment.
• Excellent planning and organisation skills to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills and relationship management.
• Effective use of IT skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and ability to learn and engage with new tools as needed.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Pro‑active, self‑motivated and able to use initiative.
• Co‑operative and a supportive team player.

Benefits

• Minimum starting salary £47,500
• Starting holiday entitlement of 25 days, increasing up to 31 days with length of service and a holiday buy and sell scheme
• Choice of pension schemes with matched contributions up to 6%
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Annual free share awards scheme
• Buy As You Earn (BAYE) Scheme
• Health Cash Plan – provided by SimplyHealth
• Private healthcare scheme and dental plan
• Free gym membership
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Bike loan scheme
• Sick pay+ pledge
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave
• Loans for travel season tickets
• Death in service scheme
• Paid time off for volunteer work
• Charitable giving opportunities through salary sacrifice
• Calendar of social events, including monthly payday drinks, annual Christmas party, summer party and much more
• Ongoing technical training
• Professional qualification support
• Talent development programmes
• Peer recognition scheme, with rewards including restaurant and shopping vouchers or time off
• Monthly leadership breakfasts and lunches

About AJ Bell

AJ Bell is one of the fastest‑growing investment platform businesses in the UK, offering an award‑winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 644,000 customers using our award‑winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £103.3 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.

Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company. Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1,500 employees and have been named one of the UK’s ‘Best 100 Companies to Work For’ for six consecutive years and in 2024 and 2025 named a Great Place to Work®.

Hybrid Working

At AJ Bell, we offer a hybrid working model – you will spend a minimum of 50% of your working time per month in the office. For new team members, an initial period will be full‑time in the office to help you immerse yourself in our business and build valuable relationships with your colleagues.