Overall Purpose of the role

You will be providing administrative support to Arts Council England’s teams of Directors, Senior Relationship Managers and Relationship Managers.

Main day to day responsibilities

You will be providing administrative assistance to the leadership and specialist teams, servicing and event-managing internal and external business meetings and coordinating administrative processes. Key tasks include collating and distributing agendas and papers, note-taking and following-up on actions, and providing support for cross-team working groups and other committees, as required.

You will provide some personal assistance to the Directors, promoting optimal use of time by coordinating meetings and making travel arrangements and ensuring that the Director is well briefed in advance. 

You will be undertaking research, gathering and disseminating information, as well as running administrative support systems for the team: including workload planning, data entry, record filing and archiving in line with the Arts Council’s BCS system.

You will be providing administrative support to the work of the team including in communications and stakeholder management. You will support the team’s role in assessment and grant management, liaising with the Senior Manager Operations and the Investment Centre. You will provide administrative support to strategic development programmes and to the coordination of work on cross-cutting policy areas, for example, engagement and audiences.

You will be the first point of contact for the team, responding to queries and liaising with internal and external stakeholders, and greeting visitors as required.

You will combine your ability to plan and prioritise with a flexibility and curiosity to work beyond this area of work, contributing to areas outside of your daily responsibilities.

You will contribute to the organisation’s commitment to diversity and its implications for arts and culture, promoting a diversity perspective in all aspects of your role’s objectives and activities.

You will contribute to a positive working culture in the organisation by taking a proactive approach to learning, responding to change, inclusive practice, and environmental responsibility.

You will reflect the Nolan Principles of Public Life and the Arts Council's values with a commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Key relationships

You will work closely with the Directors, Senior Relationship Managers and Relationship Managers in your locality as well as with colleagues across the country and in the Investment Centre. 

What do I need to bring to the role?

Essential (Skills, Knowledge and Behaviours)

To succeed in this role, you will have experience of providing administrative and programme support, preferably in a similar role.

You will be highly organised, able to work with a high level of attention to detail and with the ability to prioritise and juggle multiple priorities. You will also be able to exercise effective judgement when managing conflicting tasks.

You will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills – speaking, listening and writing – and the ability to communicate in a confident and engaging manner and influence individuals over whom there is no formal line-management relationship.

You must be numerate, have good research skills and the ability to interpret complex information.

Finally, you will also have a good understanding of our duty as a public body under current diversity legislation, the current diversity agenda and its relationship to arts and culture.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and we participate in the ‘Offer an Interview’ scheme, which means that we offer an interview to any disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role they’re applying to, subject to the volume of applications received. Disabled candidates, those living with a long-term condition and/ or neurodivergent candidates may be eligible for this scheme.

Our Code of Ethics requires that employees of the Arts Council are not able to receive an Arts Council grant, investment or loan funding - either in person, as a member of a partnership, or for any organisation they own. There are also limitations on board or CEO positions employees can hold in organisations we fund. For more information on this, please talk to the recruiting manager or contact recruitment@artscouncil.org.uk

 Closing date: 23:59 Tuesday 2 September 2025

Interviews: Held on Microsoft Teams on Thursday 18 September 2025