Executive Assistant Salary: £36,650 Hours: Full time Contract Type: Open Ended (Permanent) Location: Bristol (Hybrid) Grade: UKRI Band D Closing Date: 05 Jan 25 Context UK Research and Innovation brings together the nine organisations to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, and a vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. More information can be found at www.ukri.org Research England is one of the nine Councils within UK Research and Innovation, set up in April 2018. As a key component of the research funding system, Research England will oversee UKRI's England-only functions in relation to university research and knowledge exchange (KE). This includes providing grant funding to English universities for research and KE activities; developing and implementing the Research Excellence Framework in partnership with the UK Higher Education funding bodies; overseeing the sustainability of the Higher Education research base in England; overseeing the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund; and administering the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). Research England will create and sustain the conditions for a healthy and dynamic research and KE system in English universities. It works closely with its counterparts in the Devolved Administrations. For more information about Research England, please visit https://www.ukri.org/councils/research-england/ Purpose To provide integral support to three Directors. Responsible to the Head of Operations, working closely with the Business Support Team, to support the Directors and ensure that they can carry out their responsibilities fully and appropriately. The postholder will develop an understanding of Research England policy areas and deal with a range of complex and fast-paced agendas. Intelligence gathering and horizon scanning will be key to enabling the Directors to be well informed and effective. This is a varied and challenging role, which requires you to build trusted relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. The post holder will be expected to deliver at pace, communicate and collaborate effectively, and demonstrate attention to detail alongside the need for confidentiality, to ensure that the Directors are well supported. Responsibilities To provide comprehensive and proactive support to the three Directors at Research England (RE). Act as a key link between the Directors and teams across Research England. You will work with other colleagues in the Business Support Team to ensure that the Directors are well prepared with background information, in the right place, at the right time with the right set of people. Ensuring they are making good use of their time and focus so that they can deliver their role and responsibilities as efficiently and effectively as possible. Maintain a strong awareness of upcoming issues and decisions, recognise urgent issues and ensure they are brought to the attention of the Directors as appropriate. Undertake and manage administrative support activities. Ensuring all work is carried out to high professional standards and in a timely manner, maintaining confidentiality. Manage diary planning for the three Directors including scheduling, travel arrangements and prioritising the demands on their time effectively. Monitor correspondence and emails for the Directors, taking the initiative to redirect queries to the right individual or respond on their behalf where appropriate, escalating issues if required. Ensure accurate record keeping and appropriate audit trails are maintained. This role is central to the organisation and will require you to respond to different types of challenges and tasks daily in a fast-paced environment. You will act as an important interface with external and internal colleagues and stakeholders at all levels, building strong and trusted relationships. Work flexibly as required to support colleagues across the team and organisation. You may be required to deliver ad-hoc projects. Reporting Lines Line managed by: Head of Operations Line management: n/a Shortlisting / Interview Criteria All assessed at both shortlisting & interview A proven professional PA/Executive Assistant with experience of providing high quality support to senior staff. A confident, assertive and co-operative style with an ability to build positive relationships and deal effectively with stakeholders at all levels both internally and externally. Able to write clear and accurate correspondence, appropriately tailored to the audience. Able to communicate confidently in a clear, concise manner to different audiences across all levels of seniority. Strong planning and prioritisation skills, with the ability to work autonomously and as part of a team, managing own workload, changing priorities and resolving competing demands in a flexible and proactive way. Display an exceptionally high level of attention to detail and demonstrate a conscientious approach to work with a high degree of accuracy. To demonstrate resilience and the ability to remain calm and professional under pressure and in the face of conflicting and changing priorities to ensure that business critical tasks are delivered, showing awareness of the impact of any decisions and actions. A creative, flexible and positive approach to problem-solving. Questions established ideas and generates solutions to problems. Able to collaborate to achieve results in a timely manner. The ability to show initiative, manage ambiguity, able to think and adapt quickly; and be able to operate independently when required. Able to proactively listen and apply feedback regarding quality, performance and value in continually improving business processes and operations; demonstrate an ongoing commitment to learning and development. Interest in developing knowledge of the higher education sector in which Research England operates. APPLICATIONS Online applications only for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter to the attachments section (ignore free textbox for cover letter under 'Experience' section) which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'Experience' section of the application process. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DEVELOPING TALENT : We are committed to developing employees in their roles throughout their career. Learning and development plans enable employees to continue their professional development through training and development opportunities such as e-learning, classroom training and on-the-job experiences. We encourage our employees to share their learning across teams and organisations. BENEFITS: UKRI can offer the successful candidate: - Flexible Working - 30 days annual leave Public Holidays - Access to Civil Service Pension Scheme - Various everyday discounts through our dedicated provider Visit our dedicated benefits webpage for more info: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) SOC GRANTED Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitmentukri.org About Research England Research England is one of the nine Councils within UK Research and Innovation. As a key component of the research funding system, Research England will oversee UKRI's England-only functions in relation to university research and knowledge exchange (KE). This includes providing grant funding to English universities for related activities; developing and implementing the Research Excellence Framework in partnership with the UK Higher Education funding bodies; supervising the sustainability of the Higher Education research base in England; guide the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund; and coordinate the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). Research England will build and sustain the conditions for a healthy and dynamic research and KE system in English universities. They also work closely with their counterparts in the Devolved Administrations. For more information about Research England, click here. About UK Research Innovation (UKRI) UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation. More information can be found at www.ukri.org. Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment. How we support EDI in the workforce At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit 'How we support EDI in the workforce'. Disability Confident Employer As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. How to apply Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application. UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us. Additional Information Organisation: Research England (RE) Contract Type: Open Ended External Closing Date: Jan 5, 2025 Minimum Salary: Pound Sterling (GBP) 36,650 Hours: Full-time