Personal Assistant

Are you looking for a new challenge in an organisation committed to making a real difference to the residents of Cambridgeshire and where you will play a vital role in supporting the delivery of the organisation's vision to create a greener, fairer, and more caring Cambridgeshire?

We have two permanent and full-time positions available for the role of Personal Assistant which form part of the Council's centralised Executive Support Service where you will work alongside a hub of Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants.

The first role available supports the Service Director for Communities, Libraries and Skills as well as the Service Director for Policy, Insight and Change. The Service Director for Communities, Libraries, and Skills oversees teams that manage historic records, provide library services, offer adult and community learning services, and collaborate with groups and organisations to enhance services and facilities for Cambridgeshire residents. Meanwhile, the Service Director for Policy, Insight, and Change leads teams that provide analysis, insight, and policy expertise, ensure governance and quality assurance across corporate programs and projects, and drive strategic change aligned with the council's ambitions and priorities.

The second role available is for the role of Personal Assistant supporting the Service Director for Infrastructure and Project Delivery. The Service Director for Infrastructure and Project Delivery leads teams responsible for highways maintenance, complex infrastructure projects, asset management design and delivery, and commercial and contract management. These teams handle tasks such as repairing potholes, managing complex highways and energy projects, providing design services for capital programs, and ensuring value from supply chain partners.

These roles are based in our Headquarters of New Shire Hall, and we offer flexible working options and the ability to work on a hybrid basis.

We are very much interested in developing colleagues at all stages in their career and this presents as a fantastic opportunity for an already established administrator with good organisational and technology skills. An understanding of the services delivered at Cambridgeshire County Council, in particular those that would receive this Personal Assistant support, would also be advantageous.

If you think this could be the role for you, please get in touch with us for an initial conversation:

• Helen.Baird@cambridgeshire.gov.uk for the role supporting the Service Director for Communities, Libraries and Skills as well as the Service Director for Policy, Insight and Change.
• Annette.Reader@cambridgeshire.gov.uk for the role supporting the Service Director for Infrastructure and Project Delivery.
• Cambria.Steward@cambridgeshire.gov.uk to discuss either role.

The closing date for applications to be received via the Cambridgeshire County Council Recruitment Hub is 16th March 2025.

Interviews will be held at New Shire Hall on 25th and/or 28th March 2025.

Please demonstrate in the supporting statement how you meet the essential criteria and please also indicate if you are interested in one of these specific roles or both.

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage:

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

You will play a vital role in supplying professional, proactive, and confidential support to the Service Director(s) enabling them to focus on our organisational priorities. This will include diary and inbox management, as well acting as a link to key corporate areas of work including the coordination of correspondence processes relating to Councillors and Members of Parliament. The role will also involve supporting the Service Director(s) with meetings where you will be required to organise the meetings and keep an accurate record of decisions made during the meeting through effective forward planning, minute taking and distributing papers. You may also be required to co-ordinate reports to committee or corporate meetings and member briefings. You will work as part of a wider team to support the relevant directorate's management team, covering for colleagues at times of annual leave, for example.

We are looking for people who can deliver efficient, effective and proactive Personal Assistant support to enable the Service Director(s) to focus on the key priorities and the strategic needs of the organisation.

As a Personal Assistant you will have well developed knowledge of business administration processes and IT systems. You will be co-ordinated and proficient in all Microsoft packages including Outlook and embrace new ways of working through technology. You will also have an A-C grade in GCSE English and Maths or equivalent experience. You will have well-developed knowledge of general business requirements such as HR and finance processes, information management, risk management, customer service and health and safety. You will be able to predict and pre-empt challenges and provide solutions with a calm, balanced and positive approach showing good judgement. You will develop strong and effective working relationship with colleagues, stakeholders and partners by embracing our values of being collaborative, accountable, respectful and focused on excellence.

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don't meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don't be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers