Executive & Commercial Assistant to the CEO

UpSkill; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work | London

Job summary

UpSkill is seeking an Executive & Commercial Assistant to work alongside the CEO in a hybrid London-based role. You will manage the CEO’s diary, inbox, and board/ client preparation, while enabling commercial activities through CRM accuracy, research outreach and AI-driven templates.

Occasional UK and international travel is required. You will use AI tools daily to speed up drafting, meeting notes and outreach, and there is a clear path into Business Development within the Commercial team after

Qualifications

• Experience supporting C-suite executives or senior leaders.
• Strong diary, inbox and meeting preparation skills.
• Experience using CRM tools and sales enablement platforms.

Responsibilities

• Own the CEO’s diary, inbox and meeting prep to protect selling time.
• Research accounts and prepare outreach aligned with growth goals.
• Maintain accurate CRM data and coordinate with Sales/BD teams.
• Coordinate board and leadership preparation and follow-ups.
• Organise UK/international travel and event commitments.
• Create repeatable templates, workflows and dashboards using AI tools.
• Support recruitment admin and vendor/invoice coordination.
• Provide weekly updates on follow-ups and pipeline status.

Skills

Executive support

Diary management

CRM proficiency

AI tool usage

Stakeholder coordination

Communication

Project coordination

Research skills

Tools

HubSpot

LinkedIn Navigator

Apollo

Zapier/Make

Job description

• We are looking for an Executive & Commercial Assistant to work alongside our CEO and sit at the centre of how UpSkill Universe wins new business. Around 70% of the role is running the CEO’s working week well: the diary, the inbox, travel, board and client preparation, and the follow-through that keeps commitments moving
• The remaining 30% is commercial enablement: researching accounts and contacts, following up on the CEO’s relationships and conversations, preparing outreach, and keeping HubSpot an accurate picture of where every opportunity stands, working closely with our Head of Growth and sales team. As with any EA role, the balance will flex with what the business needs at the time
• You will use AI tools confidently every day and build simple, repeatable systems such as templates, workflows, automations and dashboards, so that the CEO’s time goes where it creates the most value. This role suits someone who is highly organised, commercially curious and ambitious, and there is a clear route into business development for the right person
• This is a permanent, full-time hybrid role, reporting to the CEO and based at our London office for part of the week, with occasional UK and international travel
• Owning the CEO’s diary, inbox and meeting preparation so that time is protected for selling and key relationships
• Researching accounts and contacts and preparing outreach and follow-up on the CEO’s relationships
• Making sure every conversation, event contact and introduction is followed up and handed to the right person in Sales
• Keeping HubSpot accurate, current and useful for the whole Commercial team
• Using AI and automation to make the CEO’s office and our sales process faster and more consistent
• Coordinating board, leadership and client preparation so that nothing is missed
• Diary and Inbox Management: Own the CEO’s calendar and inbox triage, protecting time for selling, client relationships and board work, and making sure nothing important waits more than a working day for a response
• Meeting Preparation: Brief the CEO ahead of client, partner and board meetings with a short summary of the organisation, attendees, HubSpot history and the objective for the conversation, then capture actions afterwards and chase them through to completion
• Board and Leadership Rhythm: Prepare papers, packs and follow-ups for board and leadership meetings, keeping a clear log of decisions, owners and deadlines
• Travel and Events: Organise UK and international travel along with the CEO’s speaking, conference and panel commitments, and turn each event into a plan of who to meet and how to follow up
• Recruitment and Admin Coordination: Schedule interviews, manage candidate communication, and handle invoices, supplier and office logistics, awards and event submissions
• Stakeholder Coordination: Act as a warm, professional first point of contact for clients, partners, funders and government stakeholders
• Account Research: Research target organisations and contacts against our ideal customer profile, including HR, L&D, Talent and Digital leaders in large enterprises and CSR, Foundation and Social Impact leads for societal programmes, using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo and HubSpot
• Outreach and Follow-up: Prepare and send personalised outreach and follow-up on the CEO’s relationships, event contacts and introductions, booking meetings for the CEO and passing qualified interest to Sales
• Network Re-engagement: Work through the CEO’s network, past clients, lapsed accounts and event attendees to reopen conversations, which is often where our quickest wins sit
• CRM Management: Keep HubSpot accurate and up to date for contacts, companies, activities, meeting outcomes, next steps and deal stages
• Proposal Coordination: Pull together proposal packs, credentials, case studies and tender documents with the Commercial team
• Reporting: Share a short weekly update on CEO follow-ups and commercial enablement activity, and contribute to monthly pipeline reviews
• AI-first Working: Use AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot for research, drafting, meeting notes, summaries and personalised outreach at scale, with sound judgement on accuracy, tone and data protection
• Building Systems: Design and maintain simple workflows, templates, sequences and automations (for example HubSpot workflows, Zapier or Make) that save time for the CEO and the sales team, and document them so that others can use them
• What success looks like:
• By the end of month three: the CEO’s diary, inbox and meeting preparation routine is running smoothly, HubSpot records for CEO-owned accounts are complete and current, and outreach sequences are live
• By the end of month six: at least eight hours a week of CEO time released from administration and redirected to new business and key accounts
• Inbox responses within one working day on items the CEO needs to act on, and no missed follow-ups on CEO-owned opportunities
• After 12 to 18 months, and against clear performance measures, there is a route into a Business Development Manager role within the Commercial team, or into a broader Chief of Staff remit working across the business

Confident and articulate on the phone, in writing and on LinkedIn, and comfortable approaching senior peopleUses AI tools every day and can show examples of work built or sped up with themTwo to five years in an executive assistant, business support, sales development, business development or account management role, ideally in a growing business, consultancy or learning organisationA track record of managing a busy senior diary, and ideally of arranging meetings with senior stakeholdersHands-on CRM experience (HubSpot preferred; Salesforce or Dynamics also considered)Highly organised and discreet, with strong attention to detail and the ability to juggle competing prioritiesEnjoys finding and building a better way of doing thingsExperience coordinating bids and tendersAn interest in AI, future skills or social impact programmesExperience in EdTech, L&D, training or consultancyKnowledge of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, HubSpot workflows, Zapier or Make