Executive Assistant – Data Protection & Information Governance

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College; Greater London; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College is seeking an Executive Assistant to join the Executive Services team at West London College. You will provide executive and administrative support, focusing on data protection, information governance and confidentiality.

You will work closely with the Data Protection Officer and Chief Operating Officer to coordinate responses to FOI and SAR requests while ensuring deadlines are met and information is handled securely.

Qualifications

• Demonstrates high organisation and meticulous attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritise competing tasks and deadlines under pressure.
• Experience as an administrator who can work independently from start to finish.
• Confidential handling of personal and sensitive information with discretion.
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable using data, digital systems and large information volumes.
• Proactive, solution-focused approach and reliable follow‑through.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and administer data protection and information governance activities to meet deadlines.
• Support the Data Protection Officer with administration of responsibilities.
• Manage FOI requests, SARs and information rights tasks with accuracy.
• Maintain records and information governance systems, ensuring retrieval and audit readiness.
• Provide executive office support to the DPO, COO and wider executive team.
• Coordinate communication with internal and external stakeholders and follow up actions.
• Assist with the termly college magazine production and delivery timelines.

Skills

Highly organised

Attention to detail

Prioritisation

Independent administrator

Confidential information handling

Clear communication

Data and digital systems

Stakeholder relationship building

Proactive problem solving

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for an organised, proactive and highlycapable Executive Assistant to join our Executive Services team at West LondonCollege.

Working closely with the Data Protection Officer and ChiefOperating Officer, you will provide executive and administrative support whilecoordinating key data protection and information governance activities.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoysworking with confidential information, managing competing priorities andensuring work is completed accurately and on time.

Responsibilities

Data Protection & Information Governance:

• Coordinateand administer Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and data protectionrights requests, including Subject Access Requests (SARs), ensuringstatutory and internal deadlines are met.
• Manageshared information-rights inboxes, liaising with colleagues across theCollege to gather information and support accurate, timely responses.
• Handlepersonal, confidential and sensitive information with discretion and inline with College policies and legal requirements.
• Supportthe Data Protection Officer with the administration of the College's dataprotection responsibilities.
• Supportthe secure processing, storage, retrieval, retention and disposal ofinformation in line with information governance and data protectionrequirements.
• Supportthe effective management and retrieval of College records, includingelectronic and paper-based documentation.
• Usee-discovery and information management systems, including Google Vault andMicrosoft Purview, to support records management, information retrievaland audit readiness. Full training will be provided.
• Maintainhigh standards of confidentiality, data integrity and information securityacross Executive and College records and communications.

Executive Office Support:

• Provideeffective administrative support to the Data Protection Officer, ChiefOperating Officer and wider Executive Team.
• Monitorand coordinate requests and important matters from internal and externalstakeholders, ensuring information is communicated accurately and actionsare followed up.
• Prepare,organise and maintain correspondence, documents and records, ensuringinformation is appropriately filed and readily accessible.
• Liaiseconfidently and professionally with colleagues and external contacts,handling sensitive matters with tact and discretion.
• Supportthe coordination, production and distribution of the termly Collegemagazine, including liaising with contributors, collating content andmanaging deadlines.

About you

We are looking for someone who is:

• Highlyorganised, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to managecompeting priorities and deadlines.
• Anexperienced administrator who can work independently and take ownership oftasks from start to finish.
• Confidenthandling confidential, sensitive and personal information.
• Aclear and professional communicator, with strong written and verbalcommunication skills.
• Comfortableworking with data, digital systems and large volumes of information.
• Ableto build effective working relationships with colleagues and stakeholdersat all levels.
• Discreet,dependable and able to exercise sound judgement when dealing withsensitive information.
• Proactiveand solution-focused, with the ability to identify what needs to be doneand follow matters through to completion.

Desirable experience

Experience of any of the following would be advantageous:

• Dataprotection, GDPR or information rights.
• Freedomof Information (FOI) or Subject Access Requests (SARs).
• Informationgovernance, records management or compliance.
• GoogleVault, Microsoft Purview or similar information management systems.
• Workingin a public sector, education, regulated or similarly complex environment.

Education sector experience is not essential. We areinterested in candidates who can demonstrate strong transferableadministrative, organisational, teamwork and information-handling skills.