Executive Support Assistant

Durham County Council; North East; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority is looking for an organised Executive Support Assistant to provide high-quality support to senior managers within Children and Young People's Service. The role involves coordinating communications, diary management, and using Office 365 software. This is a temporary position with a hybrid working model and offers various benefits including competitive salaries and learning opportunities.

Benefits

Competitive salaries

27 days holiday per year

Hybrid working options

Employee Benefits Portal

Qualifications

• Strong organisational skills with a high level of attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are essential.
• Experience of using Office 365 packages and software.

Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for the Senior Manager/Leader.
• Manage senior manager mailboxes and delegate emails promptly.
• Provide high-quality diary support and meeting coordination.

Skills

Organisational skills

Attention to detail

Verbal communication

Written communication

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Business Admin or equivalent

Tools

Office 365

Job description

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Executive Support function for Durham County Council, supporting the Chief Executive, Corporate Directors and their management teams. This is a temporary 12 Month Contract.

We are seeking a motivated and organised Executive Support Assistant who can provide high quality and comprehensive support.

You should have strong organisational skills, a high level of attention to detail and be able to work discreetly and confidentially. You must also have excellent verbal and written communication skills.

You will provide effective, flexible and responsive support and will be aligned to senior managers within Children and Young People's Service. It will be important to demonstrate flexibility and have the ability to work innovatively and proactively to meet on-going demands and deadlines, as well as changing priorities, when required.

The role requires you to have excellent knowledge and experience of using Office 365 packages and software. You will also be involved developing new and improved ways of working, using digital technology, to support continuous improvement.

Key Duties will include:

• Act as the first point of contact for the Senior Manager/Leader, dealing with enquiries, and email correspondence on their behalf. To acknowledge, co-ordinate and track correspondence ensuring the appropriate officers are aware of the communication and it follows the expected approval route.
• To effectively manage senior manager mailboxes and use effective judgement and interpersonal skills to delegate or respond to incoming emails as appropriate and in a timely manner.
• To provide high-quality diary support and meeting co-ordination; including managing forward plans, circulating agendas and papers, taking notes/actions at required meetings, distributing notes, monitoring actions, booking rooms and arranging travel time.
• To track deadlines and ensure all documents, information and reports are completed within timescale and reported via the appropriate reporting pathways.
• To assist in the preparation of reports, briefing notes and presentations, as appropriate, and assist in resourcing and booking of events and visits.
• To provide support to projects and administrative tasks as directed by the Senior Manager/Executive Support Officer.
• To work collaboratively with other Executive Support Assistants, supporting other senior managers, monitoring mailboxes and dealing with enquiries.
• Embracing new technology into our roles and our managers, such as the use of AI via Co-Pilot.

A full training and development package will be tailored to your role to ensure you can provide a high quality service and we have a great progression opportunities available for those who may want to progress within the organisation.

We encourage you to contact Sally Fothergill via email: [e-mail] or tel: [phone] for an informal discussion about this role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?
You should have a NVQ Level 3 in Business Admin or equivalent relevant qualification.

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria.

REWARDS AND BENEFITS
We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best:

• Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service.
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year.
• Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year).
• Hybrid working (home and office working).
• Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options - Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS.
• Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme.
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring.
• Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers).
• Discounted DCC gym membership.
• Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT+, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause.
• Trade Union membership.
• A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing.

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look:Rewards-and-benefits

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HYBRID WORKING (if applicable)
Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services.

We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process.

Take a closer look:Equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-our-workforce

INTERVIEWS
It is anticipated that interviews will be held on 26 August 2025.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

HOW TO APPLY
In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal.

Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed.

If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact the Recruitment Team via email [e-mail] or telephone [phone] selecting option 3 for Resources.

We collect personal information from you when you register with North East Jobs and make an application. Details on how we process your personal data is available in our Privacy Notice.

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