Executive Officer

Warwick; Coventry; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday allowance

Learning & development

Staff discounts

Parental leave policy

Onsite childcare

Flexible working

Job summary

The University of Warwick is seeking an Executive Officer to join the Governance, Assurance and Risk Group in the Strategic Planning Directorate. You will support senior leaders, coordinate governance activity and drive cross-functional workstreams to deliver clear, well-managed programmes of work.

Applicants should bring strong organisation, excellent communication, and MS 365 proficiency, with experience in complex environments and a commitment to inclusive, professional service.

Qualifications

• Experience providing high-quality support to senior leaders within a complex organisation.
• Experience servicing committees or governance meetings.
• Ability to coordinate projects, programmes or cross-functional workstreams.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to balance competing priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills and confidence working with senior colleagues and external contacts.
• High level of discretion and professionalism with confidential information.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills, including Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to maintain forward plans, action logs, risk and issue registers, and other programme documentation.
• Proactive approach to improving processes and establishing efficient ways of working.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate governance and committee activity across forward planning, agendas, papers and minutes.
• Support programmes by maintaining plans, milestones, risks, issues, dependencies and benefits information.
• Provide proactive executive support to ensure meetings are well prepared and actions progressed.
• Coordinate engagement with senior internal stakeholders, external partners and networks.
• Help establish Directorate processes, communications and shared workspaces.
• Promote good information management, accessibility and data protection.

Skills

Experience supporting senior leaders

Committee servicing

Project coordination

Planning and organization

Interpersonal skills

Discretion and professionalism

Microsoft 365 skills

Forward plans & risk logs

Process improvement

Inclusive communication

Education

Degree or equivalent qualification in governance/PM or business administration

Tools

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

Job description

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Department: Governance, Assurance and Risk Group

Contract Type:Indefinite

Hours: Full-time (1.0 FTE)

Closing Date: Sunday 11 October 2026, 11:59 pm

Full time Salary Range: £35,608 - £46,049 per annum

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the University of Warwick’s new Strategic Planning Directorate as an Executive Officer. You will provide high-quality executive, governance and programme coordination support to the Director of Strategic Planning and the Directorate’s senior leadership team, helping to establish an effective and collaborative strategic planning function.

Working across a varied and high-profile portfolio, you will:

• Coordinate governance and committee activity, including forward planning, agendas, papers, minutes, decisions and action tracking.
• Support programmes and cross-functional workstreams by maintaining plans, milestones, risks, issues, dependencies and benefits information.
• Provide proactive executive support, ensuring senior colleagues are well prepared for meetings and that agreed actions are progressed.
• Coordinate engagement with senior internal stakeholders, external partners, sector bodies, consultants and professional networks.
• Help establish effective Directorate processes, communications, shared workspaces and ways of working.
• Contribute to continuous improvement and promote good practice in information management, accessibility, confidentiality and data protection.

You will work with colleagues across the University and beyond, using sound judgement to manage competing priorities, identify risks and dependencies, and ensure that strategic activity is translated into clear and well-managed programmes of work. Occasional flexibility may be required during peak governance, planning and programme delivery periods.

For details on the experience and skills required, please refer to the job description (link here) .

About You

You will be an experienced and highly organised professional who is comfortable supporting senior leaders and coordinating complex activity across multiple teams. You will bring excellent written communication skills, with the ability to produce clear and accurate agendas, minutes, briefings, reports and correspondence for a range of audiences.

You will have:

• Experience of providing high-quality support to senior leaders within a complex organisation.
• Experience of servicing committees or formal governance meetings.
• The ability to coordinate projects, programmes or cross-functional workstreams.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to anticipate requirements and balance competing priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills and confidence working with senior colleagues, professional services teams and external contacts.
• A high level of discretion, judgement and professionalism when handling sensitive or confidential information.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills, including Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• The ability to maintain forward plans, action logs, risk and issue registers, and other programme documentation.
• A proactive approach to improving processes and establishing efficient ways of working in a new team.
• A commitment to inclusive, accessible and professional communication, supported by a strong service ethos.

Experience of higher education or another complex, regulated environment would be valuable, as would an understanding of strategic planning, resource allocation, data-led decision-making or institutional performance management. A degree, equivalent professional experience, or a relevant qualification in governance, project management or business administration would also be welcomed.

About the Department

The Strategic Planning Directorate is a new University-wide function designed to support faster, evidence-led decision-making, stronger resource allocation, improved governance and clearer delivery of institutional priorities. The Directorate is expected to bring together around 25 colleagues working across Academic Planning, Performance, Insights and Analytics, Data Strategy and Governance, and a central Director’s Office and executive support function.

The Directorate works collaboratively with faculties, departments and professional services teams across the University, as well as with external partners and sector organisations. By connecting planning, performance, data and governance, it will provide coordinated support for senior decision-making and help ensure that institutional priorities are translated into effective, well-managed activity.

• attractive pension scheme
• generous holiday allowance plus Christmas closure
• excellent learning and development opportunities
• savings on a wide range of products and services
• generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy
• onsite childcare facilities

We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and offer you access to flexible working.

If you are considering relocating to the UK.

Warwick is committedto building an organisation ofmutual respectanddignity, promoting awelcoming, diverse, and inclusive workingand learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to berecognised, respected, and valued. Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social, and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding.

We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation.

The University currently holds aRace Equality Charter Bronze Award,Athena Swan Sliver Awardand aDisability Smart Bronze Award.Further information on all of the University's Awards and Accreditations can be found here . The University of Warwick is also one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance .

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