Personal Assistant to the Director of Development and Scientific Programmes

Job Scope:

The PA to the Director of Development and Scientific Programmes is a key role working across the directorate and supporting two busy teams; Development (responsible for philanthropic activity at the Royal Society) and Scientific Programmes (a team combining 4 programmes of work that convene scientists or recognise excellence in science).

A large portion of this work will be focused on committee meeting preparation (logistics and drafting papers) but will also include team meeting planning, recruitment support, office management tasks and team project planning and management.

Pay band: E, up to £55,000 per annum

The application closing date will be 10 March at 23:59.

Interviews will be held on 20 March.

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Responsibilities:

Support for the Director of Development and Scientific Programmes

The Director leads two busy teams and the postholder is expected to anticipate and adapt to the needs of the Director when priorities can shift across the day. Proactive and confidential support which will include, but is not limited to:

• Detailed diary management across time zones
• Inbox management including working with relevant colleagues to manage workflow
• Proactivly identify priority items of business for immediate attention
• Organise travel and accommodate real time changes in line with RS policy
• Expenses and reconciliations, processing claims in line with RS policy
• Drafting correspondence
• Preparation of presentations, documentation and reports
• Point of communication between the Director and other staff / team
• Team meeting planning, minutes and follow up
• Ad hoc project management (eg, US trip planning / consultancy project planning etc…)
• Forward planning / meeting preparation
• Maintain strict confidentiality and discretion when dealing with all correspondence and discussions relating to the Director and teams

• In liaison with the Director and relevant team Head, arrange and manage the logistics of regular team meetings and away days, developing a programme of topics / speakers / activities as required.
• Support the team Heads with team administration, coordination, communications and planning e.g. the annual budgeting and forecast cycles, data analysis, reporting and following up on actions from team meetings.
• Support any recruitment, induction and training activities as required by the teams.
• Lead or support team-wide projects and initiatives such as the transition of files to Sharepoint, etc…
• Develop a deep understanding of the CRM and the way in which it can be used to support the teams’ work in order to support the team with process improvement.
• Act as point person and owner of all team equipment and resources, ensuring that it is safely stored, updated and ready for use by the team.

• Work with the Director / Head of Scientific Programmes / relevant team member, to manage the logistical administration of the Hooke Committee, five medal and award committees and three search panels that are within the remit of the Scientific Programmes team.
• Work with the Director and Head of Development, to prepare papers and undertake the logistical arrangements for the Gift Acceptance Committee and the bi-annual meetings of the American Friends of the Royal Society.
• Maintain a log of committee actions and ensure these are followed up and completed in a timely manner

• Quickly build excellent working relationships with colleagues and external partners in order to support the effective planning and delivery of team activities.
• Ensure that a successful working relationship with the Executive Office is built and maintained as well as with the other PAs in the organisation.

• Any other task as delegated by the Director.
• Support the onsite delivery of events from time to time.

Key Knowledge and Skills Required:

Education / qualifications / knowledge / interests

Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

Essential

Excellent knowledge of IT (Microsoft Office Suite) and databases

Essential

Excellent interpersonal skills with a high degree of political acuity, diplomacy and discretion

Essential

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills (including proofreading)

Essential

Ability to prioritise and manage a varied workload with minimal oversight

Essential

An understanding of the scientific and academic community

Desirable

Experience

Significant experience as an Executive or Personal Assistant, within a complex organisation

Essential

Highly developed organisational skills, with evidence of strong project management, attention to detail and meticulous planning

Essential

Proven ability to form strong working relationships with a variety of individuals including senior leaders, internal and external stakeholders

Essential

Ability to coordinate a range of different activities at the same time and understand the connections between them

Essential

Experience of dealing with highly sensitive and confidential information

Essential

Circumstances

Flexibility about working hours (evening / weekend) on occasion in order to support the Director / Teams

Essential

Competencies:

• Identifies difficult situations
• Recognises stress in others and takes steps to reduce it
• Controls pressurised situations
• Effectively enthuses those in the team
• Proactively sets goals and targets for own work

• Actively seeks ideas and criticisms from within the team
• Resolves conflicts within and between teams
• Embeds feedback processes within the team
• Seeks out new networks that will create opportunity for the Society
• Able to present complex issues simply
• Uses discretion, tact and empathy when negotiating with and/or seeking to influence others
• Understands the need to manage expectations and to only promise what is deliverable

• Determines strategy and deployment of resources, balancing cost and benefit; risk and potential for maximum impact across significant business areas
• Manages complex cross-cutting projects to time, budget and specification
• Ensures others accept responsibility towards results or quality
• Sets the quality standards for own business areas in accordance with strategy and contributes to the formulation of quality standards across the Society
• Sets and monitors priorities
• Identifies and manages risk effectively

• Uses questioning, analytical and probing skills to ‘dig deeper’
• Knows when enough information has been obtained and adapts presentation of information to the needs of the audience
• Evaluates the benefits, practicalities and value for money of ideas and obtains feedback
• Makes sound decisions in a complex or ambiguous environment and is able to gain support and manage challenges confidently

• Actively seeks the input and opinions of others, often outside his/her section and accommodates and incorporates this thinking into any output.
• Actively seeks new challenges and projects; leads discussions surrounding new ideas, approaches and projects
• Anticipates need for innovation and seeks new ideas, approaches and solutions

• Sets expectations of others and ensures they deliver
• Demonstrates a positive attitude towards work, celebrating success and instilling confidence, which encourages the same from others
• Encourages others to share ideas and participate in the discussion and decisions of the team
• Assesses needs of clients/stakeholders/staff and makes plans to meet these needs