Senior Executive Assistant

Church of England; London; On-site; GBP 49,000; Full time

Job description

The following content displays a map of the job's location - Church House, Great Smith Street, London

Closing Date: 08/04/2025

Vacancy Category: Administration and Business Support

Business Unit: National Church Institutions (NCIs)

Organizational Unit: CofE Central Services

Introduction

We're looking for a Senior Executive Assistant to join us in providing full support to the CEO in their leadership and the conduct of the Church Commissioners’ business.

About the Department/Role

The Secretariat team supports the Chief Executive and Estates Commissioners in their leadership and the conduct of the Church Commissioners’ business. The Senior EA provides comprehensive and wide-ranging executive assistance and research/policy support to the Chief Executive and First Church Estates Commissioner in all aspects of their work, as well as acting as an interface between the and the wider Church/public. This makes it an important role in respect of the Church Commissioners’ efficiency and their relationship with, and accountability to, stakeholders.

You will be directly accountable to the Head of Governance and have frequent collaboration with the Chief Executive, First Church Estates Commissioner, the Deputy Chair and other trustees. There will also be regular collaboration with staff at all levels in the Church Commissioners and, at times, other NCIs, including Chief Officers of the other National Church Institutions and their teams.

What you'll be doing

The Senior Executive Assistant provides crucial support to the Chief Executive and the First Church Estates Commissioner in their conduct of the Church Commissioners’ business in support of the Church of England. This varied work covers first-class diary management and logistical support, the provision of high-quality written materials/briefings, and the design and maintenance of clear and effective systems and administrative processes, relationship management and ‘in person’ support as required.

In this role you will:

• Provide full Executive Assistant support to the CEO (responsible for the overall management of the organisation and its c.150 staff), and the First Church Estates Commissioner (a Governor who chairs the committee responsible for the £10+bn investment fund).
• Interpret and summarise documents.
• Deal sensitively and intelligently with enquiries and re-routing to other departments/staff as necessary.
• Use technology to improve our processes.

You will need:

• Extensive EA/Senior PA experience within a senior individual’s office
• Extensive experience of managing online diaries for senior individual(s)
• Evidence of a high level of administrative and organisational ability including document management skills and complete understanding of the full Microsoft suite
• Proven ability to summarise complex documents, extracting and representing key information
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to establish positive working relationships with senior stakeholders and to represent the CEO and First Church Estates Commissioner to external partners

Key role requirements:

• The post-holder will work 2-3 days per week in primary office location in Church House, Westminster, subject to business need

About You

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information about the role and person specification.

Closing date for applications is 08 April 2025.

Interviews will be held on 29 April 2025.

What we offer

• A salary of £48,557 per annum, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.
• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank holidays and three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department’s needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK’s leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus-one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

ABOUT NATIONAL CHURCH INSTITUTIONS

The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation - a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.

We Include. You Belong.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.

Living out our values in all that we do, we:

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Act with Integrity

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you.

Please note: You must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for the role.