True collaboration. Room for vision. Inspiring teams

Personal Assistant

£34,000 - £40,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Director of Trading

Directorate: Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Closing date: 13 November 2024 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. Please let us know if there is anything about the recruitment process that you would like to discuss, in particular if there are any changes or adjustments that would make it easier for you to apply. Please contact [email protected] or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We’re looking for an experienced and highly organised Personal Assistant to join us within our Trading directorate. In this pivotal and varied role, you will support 2 people, the Director of Trading and the Head of Business Transformation, as well as the wider Senior Leadership Team (SLT). You will ensure diary management, travel arrangements and other administration duties are carried out for the two Directors, as well as offering support to the wider SLT team for tasks such as raising POs, minute-taking and other general operational support.

To thrive in the role, you will have solid experience supporting two or more Directors and be comfortable working in changing environments. You’ll also be pro-active with the ability to manage multiple tasks at once, and you’ll be happy working with different personalities and at varying paces.

What will I be doing?

• Proactively manage complex schedules and diaries, updating and communicating changes effectively, being reactive to change while maintaining a positive attitude

• Manage the Directors’ inboxes as agreed and use own initiative to action emails as appropriate and implement and maintain a flagging system to help directors prioritise and alleviate workloads

• Collate related paperwork for meetings, including briefing notes, agendas and minutes

• Organise complex itineraries, producing clear and concise schedules for travel and accommodation, arrangements for meetings, conferences and external engagements

• Responsible for logistical tasks relating to directors including payment of invoices and general administrative work

• Work as part of a close PA and Administrative team, ensuring everyone is kept up to date on activity across the directorate, supporting and covering as required

What are you looking for?

• Experience of providing high level support to two or more Directors

• Experience in diary management, travel management document preparation (PowerPoint presentations, meeting agendas, correspondence) and minute taking

• Good communication skills and ability to communicate effectively at all levels – relationship builder.

• Excellent planning and organisational ability for yourself and others

• Excellent prioritisation and time management skills with a flexible approach to taking on ad hoc projects/work

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and use discretion and diplomacy

• Identify and understand the needs of others and manage

Ideally, you’ll also have the following:

• Creative and forward thinking – championing new ideas and  process improvements

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination  

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism   

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people  

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.

Owing to the nature of this position, any offer of employment for this role will be subject to a satisfactory basic DBS check.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].  

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact [email protected] or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.