Executive Assistant & Governance Coordinator

UK Sport; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading sports organization in Sheffield is seeking an experienced Executive Assistant to support the CEO and COO. The role involves managing complex schedules, governance responsibilities, and logistical support for events. The ideal candidate has strong communication skills and governance experience and is proactive under pressure. This position is full-time, offering occasional remote work with competitive salary based on experience.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as Executive Assistant/Chief of Staff in a fast-moving environment.
• Exceptional written communication and minute-taking skills.
• Ability to coordinate multiple workstreams and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex diary and inbox of CEO and COO.
• Coordinate governance cycles for Board and Committees.
• Provide event logistics support for meetings and workshops.

Skills

Proactive anticipation of needs

Exceptional written communication

Strong governance literacy

Organised under pressure

Tools

MS 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, Teams)

Job description

Overview

Organisation: Ice Hockey UK (IHUK) & UK Ice Hockey Foundation (UKIHF)

Reports to: CEO (functional), with day-to-day support to COO

Location: Sheffield/Remote, occasional travel to the office in Sheffield; evening/weekend work around events/meetings on occasion

Contract: Full-time, permanent

Salary: Competitive, depending on experience

Purpose of the role: A highly organised Executive Assistant who keeps the business running, and delivers contracted supported to our affiliates and partners: you will proactively support the CEO and COO, own the governance calendar for the Board and Committees, and coordinate volunteer Company/Corporate Secretaries. You\'ll drive execution, turning decisions into actions, while safeguarding quality, compliance, and pace.

Responsibilities

1. Executive Support (CEO, COO, Board, Contracted Partners)
   • Complex diary and inbox management; gatekeeping and prioritisation.
   • Briefing packs, agendas, speaking notes, and follow-up action tracking.
   • UK/overseas travel, logistics, itineraries, and expenses.
   • Drafting high-quality correspondence, reports, and presentations.
   • Information flow: ensure the right people have the right info at the right time.
   • Ensure Special Projects are delivered on time through effective internal and external communication.
2. Governance Management (Board & Committees)
   • Own the annual governance cycle (meeting schedule, forward planner, workplans).
   • Coordinate volunteer Corporate/Company Secretaries; ensure consistent standards.
   • Board/Committee packs: quality control, collation, circulation, version control.
   • Minute-taking to professional standard; decisions/action registers maintained and chased.
   • Support Chairs with agenda setting and post-meeting follow-through
   • Compliance: Companies House filings (with appointed CoSec), policy register upkeep, conflicts of interest, gifts & hospitality, risk register and action logs.
   • Support induction for new directors/committee members; maintain skills matrices.
3. Programme & Operations Support
   • Project management for priority programmes (e.g., Project Clarity, NHL Street, Development Initiatives): timelines, RAID logs, stakeholder updates.
   • Procurement support (POs, simple contracts, supplier onboarding) with Finance.
   • Data stewardship: organise files (SharePoint/Teams), manage document templates and naming conventions, ensure GDPR-compliant handling of sensitive data.
   • Event/meeting logistics (AGM, strategy days, workshops), including venue liaison.
   • Oversee delivery of Contracted Supported to affiliates and partners.
4. Stakeholder & Communications
   • First point of contact for senior stakeholders (Board, UK Sport/Sport England, leagues, clubs, partners).
   • Prepare briefings and comms for governance milestones and decisions.
   • Model IHUK values: professionalism, integrity, inclusion, and athlete-centred thinking.

Person specification

Essential

• Proven experience as Executive Assistant/Chief of Staff/Board Secretary support in a complex, fast-moving environment.
• Strong governance literacy: agendas, minutes, action logs, forward planners, policy registers.
• Exceptional written communication; concise minute-taking and drafting.
• Highly proactive, anticipates needs, exercises sound judgement and confidentiality.
• Advanced MS 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, Teams).
• Organised under pressure; able to coordinate multiple workstreams and deadlines.
• Willing to work occasional evenings/weekends aligned to the hockey calendar.

Desirable

• Experience in governance or charity/Not-for-Profit settings.
• Executive administration and Project Mgmt.
• Basic finance/admin.

Safeguarding, Equity, and Vetting

IHUK is committed to safeguarding and to equity, diversity and inclusion. The role requires adherence to IHUK policies and completion of safeguarding training. Appointment is subject to references and appropriate background checks.