GROUP OPERATIONS PA - 1 YEAR FTC

John Ruskin College; Redhill; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Two excellent pension schemes

Life assurance

Free onsite parking

Access to fully equipped gym

Job summary

John Ruskin College is seeking a highly organised Group Operations PA to support senior leadership across East Surrey College (Redhill) and John Ruskin College (Selsdon). This full-time, fixed-term role offers a busy working environment and the chance to shape administrative systems across the college group.

You will manage executive diaries, stage meetings, prepare papers and liaise with senior stakeholders while ensuring confidentiality and governance requirements are met.

Qualifications

• Maths & English GCSE / Level 2 equivalent (achieved or willing to obtain).
• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience is highly desirable.
• Good problem-solving skills.
• Experience handling confidential information and data protection requirements.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, able to convey to various audiences.
• Strong IT skills across Microsoft 365 suite.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex Executive diaries with strategic and operational priorities.
• Coordinate meetings, prepare agendas, papers, minutes and track actions.
• Prepare high-quality reports, presentations and papers.
• Serve as first point of contact for senior stakeholders and partners.
• Coordinate Corporation, Committee and leadership meetings end-to-end.
• Own Executive administrative systems and protect confidential information.
• Support projects, risk management and governance processes.

Skills

Organisational skills

Communication

Scheduling

IT skills

Education

Maths & English GCSE

Degree or equivalent

Tools

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Outlook

Teams

Forms

SharePoint

Job description

Group Operations PA - 1 Year FTC

Job Type: Support

Job Category: Directorate Administration, Various

Employment Basis: Fixed Term (salaried)

Location: John Ruskin College - Croydon, East Surrey College - Redhill

Salary Range: £32,631 - £34,614 (subject to qualifications, skills, and experience)

Closing Date: 11/10/2026

• Group Ops PA JD&PS - Sept 2026.pdf (PDF, 266.25kb)
• Introduction from the Principal.pdf (PDF, 156.25kb)
• OSC Corporation Competency Framework 2019.pdf (PDF, 472.18kb)

College location: East Surrey College (Redhill) and John Ruskin College (Selsdon)

Salary: £32,631 - £34,614 (subject to qualifications, skills, and experience)

Hours: Full time (37 hours/week) 08:45-17:00 Mon - Fri

Are you a highly organised, proactive professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment? If so, this could be your next exciting opportunity.

We’re looking for an exceptional Group Operations PA to join our College Group, supporting senior leadership across East Surrey College and John Ruskin College. This is a unique chance to play a pivotal role at the centre of decision-making, helping shape the success of a dynamic and forward-thinking organisation.

As Group Operations PA, you’ll be the trusted right hand to senior leaders, ensuring their time is used effectively, priorities are met, and Executive operations run seamlessly. You’ll be at the core of everything, from coordinating high-level meetings to driving improvements in administrative systems.

What You’ll Do

• Managing complex Executive diaries, balancing strategic and operational priorities
• support the organisation of meetings, including preparing agendas, collating papers, taking minutes and tracking actions where required
• Preparing high-quality reports, presentations, and meeting papers with precision
• Acting as a professional first point of contact for senior stakeholders and partners
• Coordinating Corporation, Committee, and leadership meetings end-to-end
• Taking ownership of Executive administrative systems
• Handling confidential information with discretion
• Supporting projects, risk management processes, and governance requirements

What We’re Looking For

• Exceptional organisational skills and attention to detail
• Strong communication skills and confidence working with senior stakeholders
• Experience managing complex schedules and high-level meetings
• Excellent knowledge of IT packages (in particular Excel, Word & PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Forms, SharePoint)
• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities and frequent deadlines
• Experience of providing PA support at a senior level, including preparing papers for boards and executive meetings

The Successful Candidate Must Have

• Maths & English GCSE / Level 2 equivalent (achieved or willing to obtain)
• relevant degree or equivalent professional experience is higly desirable
• Good problem-solving skills
• Experience working with confidential or sensitive information in line with data protection requirements
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey information to a variety of audiences
• An excellent standard of IT skills

If this sounds like you and you will enjoy working in a forward thinking, friendly, fast paced, changing environment with state of the art facilities, we would love to hear from you. In return, we offer a competitive salary, as well as staff benefits such a choice of two excellent pension schemes, life assurance, free onsite parking and access to our fully equipped gym along with discounted in house Spa and Salon treatments.

Orbital South Colleges Group are committed to Equal Opportunities, encouraging applications from all sectors of the community to reflect our diverse student population.

We are also committed to PREVENT and Safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Both College Campus’ are smoke-free zones.

As part of our pre-employment checks, successful candidates will be required to complete an enhanced DBS, references will be taken and evidence of all qualifications and awards will also be required before commencement of employment. Failure to do so may lead to offers being withdrawn.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the UK as we do not sponsor work permits, and work permits from other organisations are unacceptable as proof of right to work in the UK.