Personal Assistant

Thames Water Utilites; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water company is seeking an experienced Personal Assistant to support senior leaders by managing busy diaries, handling communications, and organizing meetings. This hybrid role requires strong organizational skills, professionalism, and discretion. The position offers a competitive pay rate of £25 per hour and various benefits, including annual leave and a pension scheme.

Benefits

£25 per hour

24 days holiday per year increasing to 28

Performance-related pay plan

Generous Pension Scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Personal Assistant or administrator supporting senior leaders.
• Strong diary management in both virtual and face-to-face settings.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage busy diaries, schedule meetings and resolve conflicts.
• Support inbox management, highlighting key priorities.
• Arrange travel and accommodation.

Skills

Diary management

Excellent communication

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Discretion

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Teams

Job description

This is a temporary position for 12 weeks with the potential for permanency - ASAP start.

At Thames Water, we make a daily difference to over 15 million customers by delivering 2.6 billion litres of clean water through 32,000 km of pipes, keeping taps running and toilets flushing. As the UK’s largest water company, we’re solving today’s challenges and building resilience for tomorrow — so our customers, communities and the environment can thrive.

What you’ll be doing as a Personal Assistant

We’re looking for an experienced and proactive Personal Assistant to provide professional and organised support to a group of senior leaders. You’ll be the first point of contact for Directors, ensuring efficient day-to-day operations through expert diary management, meeting coordination, communication handling and general administrative support.

This is a fast-paced and varied role where your ability to prioritise, communicate clearly, and act with professionalism and discretion will make a real impact.

• Manage busy diaries, schedule meetings and resolve conflicts across multiple stakeholders
• Support inbox management, highlighting key priorities and ensuring timely responses
• Arrange travel, accommodation and transport, and process expenses promptly
• Prepare agendas, coordinate meeting logistics, and take accurate notes and actions
• Greet visitors and stakeholders professionally and arrange hospitality as needed
• Support recruitment coordination and onboarding activities with HR
• Assist with planning internal events, offsites and team activities
• Maintain confidentiality and act with discretion at all times
• Collaborate with the wider support team and provide cover for other PAs when required

Base location: Clearwater Court, Reading - Hybrid

Working hours: 36 hours per week, Monday to Friday

What you should bring to the role

You’ll bring confidence, professionalism and strong organisational skills, with the ability to multitask and work independently.

Essential

• Proven experience as a Personal Assistant or administrator supporting senior leaders
• Strong diary management in both virtual and face-to-face settings
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Outstanding organisation and time management skills
• Strong team player with a collaborative approach
• High attention to detail and accuracy
• Discretion when handling confidential information
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams

Desirable

• Experience supporting multiple leaders simultaneously
• Experience organising internal events or offsites
• Comfortable capturing minutes or informal meeting notes

What’s in it for you?

• Payrate - £25 per hour
• Annual Leave- 24 days holiday per year increasing to 28 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.