Personal Assistant

Job Overview:

The Personal Assistant to the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) is a pivotal role within the Executive Leadership and Senior Management Team support function. The incumbent will join an existing team to provide comprehensive secretarial support to the CFO, ensuring the efficient management of day-to-day college tasks, activities, and strategic priorities.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manage realistic and manageable diaries for the CFO.
• Schedule, moderate, and minute college committee meetings, ensuring all aspects are organised, agendas developed, and prompt minutes and actions taken.
• Administer college corporate bids, maintain funding and bids tracker, and manage the college tender and procurement processes.
• Receive, sort, and prioritise mail and emails, responding to routine correspondence with a high level of communication skills.
• Produce documentation such as briefing papers, reports, and presentations.
• Support impending work deadlines for both internal and external commitments.
• Proactively support CFO’s college projects, capital bids, and internal audits.
• Manage internal logging and reporting processes or systems as allocated within the PA team.
• Screen calls, enquiries, and requests in compliance with college process and policy.
• Meet and greet visitors, ensuring hospitality arrangements are in place.
• Coordinate CPD arrangements including travel and accommodation.
• Provide cover across the team, supporting other ELT or SMT members as required.
• Perform ad hoc duties as required.
• Personal Assistant experience with diary management at a senior level, preferably at C-suite level.
• Strong problem-solving ability and customer service skills.
• Flexible proactive approach with the ability to work on own initiative.
• Excellent attention to detail and time management skills.
• Experience dealing with sensitive information with discretion and confidentiality.
• Excellent IT skills including Microsoft Office package.

Job Requirements:

• Good level of general education to GCSE standard in Mathematics and English or equivalent.
• Advanced IT Skills in MS Office.
• Administrative or secretarial qualification.

The right candidate will have:

• Minimum of two years’ experience as a Personal Assistant working at senior/C-suite level.
• Proficiency in IT systems.
• Data protection and confidentiality awareness.
• Previous experience within a college or educational institute.

Why choose us:

Our strategy is to create a Career Focused, Digital Learning environment, ensuring that the learner experience and our relationship within our community, local and regional employers, are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to be selected as finalists for the AoC Beacon awards for effective use of digital Technology in FE.  Providing a high achieving, focused learning environment allowing our students to achieve the grades they need for higher educations, or the skills and aptitude required to secure a suitable role in their chosen career. Our college is set in the leafy suburbs of Essex, with easy access to surrounding areas and amenities, we are based in a well-connected location both by road and rail.

What we offer:

• A dedicated and friendly team of professionals who are keen to develop and learn.
• Excellent pension provision
• Annual Staff Awards
• CPD days - opportunities to grow and development through mentorship and coaching
• Free onsite parking
• Staff appreciation days
• Eye care vouchers
• Onsite Starbucks & Restaurant
• Well-being days & activities 
• Electric Vehicle Scheme*
• Discounted gym membership.
• Fully immersive teaching rooms allowing online teaching simultaneously at multiple locations.
• Hybrid Working available.
• Free Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7, 365 days offering legal & financial advice, as well as general support & guidance.

*subject to terms & conditions

This role is considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.  It is an offence to apply for the role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children. Self-declaration is subject to Ministry of Justice guidance on the disclosure of criminal records, further information can be found on GOV UK

USP College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, we therefore expect all staff to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service, and any other checks that the role requires to ascertain suitability for working with children and/or vulnerable adults, which may include online searches.

We will hold and process any personal data, including sensitive (special category) personal data, relating to you in accordance with our legal obligations, in the manner set out in the Privacy Notice for staff and in accordance with our Data Protection Policy, which is set out on the College’s website, found here.  You should familiarise yourself with our Data Protection Policy (and all other subsidiary policies to it) and comply with them at all times. Neither the Privacy Notice for Staff nor those policies form a part of your contract of employment.