SKA-Mid Executive Personal Assistant

SKAO company; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

SKAO (Square Kilometre Array Observatory) in Cape Town seeks an experienced Executive Personal Assistant to provide secretarial and administrative support to the Directors of SKA-Mid. The role is a six-month fixed-term appointment based in Cape Town, with flexible hours in agreement with the line manager.

The successful candidate will manage calendars, coordinate meetings across time zones, arrange international travel, and handle expenses.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience as an Executive Personal Assistant or similar administrative support role.
• Strong planning, time management and organisation skills.
• Proven calendar management and scheduling experience.
• Experience arranging complex international travel and visas.
• Discretion and confidentiality in handling sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Organise and manage calendar schedules, coordinate appointments across time zones.
• Manage inboxes for specified stakeholders.
• Arrange travel, visas, and accommodation for corporate travel.
• Prepare expense claims for Executive Directors.
• Take notes or minutes at meetings and circulate within deadlines.
• Support meeting preparation including agendas and itineraries.
• Provide front-of-office support including call screening, visitor coordination, and hospitality.
• Plan corporate events and executive engagements.
• Perform business management activities to support operations.
• Provide general administrative support for Executive Directors.
• Experience handling stakeholder communications at different levels and in an international environment.

Skills

Calendar management

Travel coordination

Executive support

Time management

Communication skills

MS Office (Word/Outlook)

Education

Mathematics and English proficiency

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

An excellent opportunity for an experienced Personal Assistant to join a welcoming, international organisation with a diverse and multicultural workforce.

The Executive Personal Assistant will be responsible for ensuring efficient and effective secretarial and administrative support to the SKA-Mid Telescope Director, SKA-Mid Site Construction Director and SKA-Mid Deputy Telescope Director (the “Directors”)

This is a six-month fixed-term appointment and will be based in Cape Town, South Africa.

SKAO is committed to providing an inclusive and flexible working environment, meeting the requests of our Colleagues whilst also fulfilling the needs and objectives of the Observatory.

This role requires the post holder to work across different time zones and, in line with SKAO policy, flexible working hours will be supported in agreement with the line manager.

• Organise and manage calendar schedules, coordinate appointments, and arrange meetings across different time zones.
• Manage inboxes for specified stakeholders.
• Arrange travel, visas, accommodation for corporate travel.
• Prepare expense claims for the Executive Directors.
• Take notes or minutes at meetings and circulate within tight deadlines.
• Support the preparation of meetings including agendas and itineraries for meetings and external visits.
• Provide professional front-of-office support, including call screening, visitor coordination, and hospitality.
• Plan and organise corporate events, functions, and executive engagements
• Perform business management activities to support effective operations and business objectives.
• Provide general administrative support as required by the Executive Directors.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required:

• Good level of education with a demonstrable competence in Mathematics and English.
• Previous experience working as an Executive Personal Assistant or in a similar administrative support role in a busy office environment.
• Strong planning, time management and organisation skills.
• Proven experience in managing calendars and scheduling meetings, events, and appointments.
• Demonstrated experience in arranging business travel, including booking flights, accommodation, visa coordination and itineraries.
• Conscientious self-starter, able to work proactively and accurately under pressure.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to communicate with people at all levels.
• Ability to build good working relationships with a diverse employee population.
• Capable of working independently, under pressure, and meeting tight deadlines.
• High level of discretion and understanding of confidentiality.
• Flexible team player, adaptable to change.
• Good IT skills, with a working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Outlook, along with experience in processing expenses.

• Experience handling stakeholder communications at different levels, from internal teams to external contacts.
• Experience of working in an international environment.Experience in Business Management
• Experience in handling complex international travel arrangements, including managing time zone differences and arranging multi-leg itineraries