Personal Assistant to the CCO EMEA

Howden; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Howden is seeking a Personal Assistant to the CCO EMEA on a 10-month FTC in London. The role provides operational support, handles confidential information, and supports the CCO with calendar, travel, and meeting logistics in a hybrid setup with two days+ in the office.

You will need strong organisation, excellent written and spoken communication, and proficiency in MS Office; AI tools will augment productivity. Join a fast-growing team at Howden.

Qualifications

• A minimum of two years' experience in a similar role.
• Strong social skills; able to create a positive impression.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively within a team.
• Pragmatic and confident with a 'can do' attitude.
• Strong attention to detail and prioritisation skills.
• Maintain confidentiality and discretion at all times.
• Proficient IT skills including Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Beginner skills in using AI agents to boost productivity.
• English plus one other EMEA language is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Diary management and proactive time management of requests.
• Coordinate travel and logistics internationally and in the UK.
• Arrange lunches, dinners and team events.
• Book meeting rooms and organise catering for UK and abroad.
• Format documents, reports and committee packs; assist meetings prep.
• Track actions and meeting deadlines for the CCO.
• Respond to urgent issues as they arise.
• Handle confidential information discreetly.
• Collaborate with the wider EMEA EA/PA team.

Skills

Diary management

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Can‑do attitude

Attention to detail

Discretion & confidentiality

Time management

AI productivity basics

English + another EMEA language

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

Personal Assistant to the CCO EMEA (10 months FTC)

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. We're experts helping clients adapt and thrive in a changing world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mind-set, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 23,000 employees and spanning 56 countries.

Our people are our biggest asset as well as our largest shareholder group and are everything that makes us unique; our inclusive culture, the quality service we offer our clients, and our continued growth, all come from our people-first approach. There's no such thing as individual success. We all need to play our part, contributing our skills and experience to make a true difference. That's Howden.

Why work at Howden?

We have always been employee-owned and driven by entrepreneurial spirit. Right from the beginning, we've focused on employing talented individuals and empowering them to make a real difference to the company, whilst building successful and fulfilling careers at the same time. Simply put, we hire talented specialists and give them what they need to make a difference for clients. Always have, always will.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It's what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down disappointed head-hunters for years. Whatever your priorities - work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you'll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

What we're looking for

This is an exciting role providing operational support for our Chief Commercial Officer, EMEA. The role will be a fixed term contract maternity cover for the period of 1 December 2026 to 30 September 2027.

The primary aim of the role is providing administrative support to the CCO along with ad hoc matters. As the individual will handle confidential information from a number of sources, the successful role holder should be discrete and able to communicate with a diplomatic manner.

The CCO is London based and it is expected that the role will be most successful through hybrid working with about two days+ per week in the office.

You will thrive in this role if you are extremely organised, with excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to form relationships quickly.

The role requires outstanding IT skills, including MS Office products such as Excel, PowerPoint and Word, as well as the use of AI agents such as Copilot, Claude and/or Chat GPT which the business will provide you with.

Additionally, you will be confident and able to take the initiative coupled with excellent time management skills. The ability to adapt priorities to meet deadlines and constantly changing demands are essential, as are accuracy and attention to detail. This is an exciting opportunity to join a fast-growing team.

What you'll be doing

• Diary management and proactive time management of competing requests
• Booking of travel and arranging logistics internationally and in the UK
• Arranging lunches, dinners and team events
• Booking meeting rooms & organising catering internally, both for the UK office as well as abroad
• As required - providing administrative support including but not limited to formatting documents, reports and committee packs along with help in the preparation and organisation of business meetings
• Assisting the CCO with tracking actions and meeting reporting deadlines
• Respond appropriately to urgent issues as they arise
• Handling confidential information in a discrete, sensitive and diplomatic manner
• Collaborate with the wider team of EAs and PAs looking after members of the EMEA leadership team

What qualifications we're looking for

• A minimum of two years' experience in a similar role
• Strong social skills - confident and able to create a positive impression
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work effectively within a team
• Pragmatic and confident with a 'can do' attitude
• Strong attention to detail and great prioritisation and organisational skills
• Understand the importance of maintaining confidentiality and discretion at all times
• Proficient IT skills, including but not limited to Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook

• Beginner skills in using AI agents to boost one's own productivity
• undefined
• English must have + one other EMEA language of advantage

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Our business succeeds by allowing our people to make a mark in the areas they care about most: personal development, volunteering, and fundraising for charity, or creating new insurance products that address society's greatest challenges.

And we know that separate home and work lives don't really exist. If you're happy and healthy at home, you're more likely to be happy and fulfilled at work - and vice versa. That's why we do our best to support our people in every aspect of their lives.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Howden we value diversity - there is no one Howden 'personality type'. Instead, we're looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
• We support each other, in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
• We are determined to make a positive difference, at work and beyond

We consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness, and respect - regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or family circumstances.

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it's the right fit for you, if your profile fits the role’s criteria we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Our sustainability promise

We're on a life-long journey to become an ever-more sustainable group. It's a commitment to taking care of our people and the world we live in, to doing good business, and to making a positive impact wherever we can. Our governance processes, company policies, and review systems are all geared towards our goal of making a positive impact in the world. You can read more about our sustainability work here.