We are recruiting for an Executive Assistant to Mission Directors

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet. 

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation. 

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk. 

Overview

The Executive Assistant (EA) will be supporting the Mission Directors (MDs) across our three missions, A Fairer Start, A Healthy Life and A Sustainable Future. 

The EA will be responsible for diary management and key administrative tasks whilst simultaneously supporting the MDs in their duties. The EA will work closely with the EA to the Chief Programmes Office and be part of a wider group of EA’s across Nesta. You will be required to liaise with the Programme Management Office (PMO) who support mission teams. The position would suit a detail-oriented individual who is keen to take on a highly collaborative role.

The EA must be creative and enjoy working within a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment that is mission-driven and results-driven. The ideal individual will have the ability to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organisational skills. They will also have the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. The Executive Assistant will work independently on projects from conception to completion, and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities and confidential matters with discretion. 

The role 

This individual will coordinate administrative activity, along with undertaking EA duties. Examples of responsibilities and deliverables for the Executive Assistant include:

• Serving as a departmental first-point-of-contact for queries from Nesta’s wider corporate services teams (e.g. People, Finance teams etc).

• Assisting the Executives with diary management, preparation of papers/agendas, email correspondence and ad hoc tasks, working proactively to help ensure that their time is used efficiently and prioritised well in pursuit of departmental and organisational priorities.

• Streamline workflows and improve processes. 

• Liaise with the PMO team to ensure all departmental invoices and payments have been dealt with. 

• Ensuring information about the team is up to date for external and internal communications purposes.

• Processing expenses and booking travel where necessary

• Arranging logistics for meetings and (small scale) events on an adhoc basis, capturing actions for team meetings and capturing minutes for more formal committees.

• Provide cover when other EAs are on annual leave, dividing responsibilities with other EAs if needed. 

The person

The successful candidate will be a strong team-player, motivated by working towards shared goals and helping Nesta to deliver on its strategy.

Essential skills and experience

• Experience providing PA/EA support at a senior level, including diary management in a busy environment with competing, complex priorities.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with an adaptable, supportive, friendly orientation and the proven ability to build strong relationships and work well with others across the organisation, including when under time pressure.

• Demonstrable experience of supporting high level meetings and formal committees, including minute-taking.

• Strong time management skills, with the ability to juggle a variety of tasks.

• Experience of data entry and general administration and operations.

• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.

• Experience working with financial information and budgets.

• Experience of handling sensitive or confidential information discreetly.

• Subject to capacity, taking on discrete pieces of analytical work (e.g. gathering/synthesising data or information to test a hypothesis, conducting desk research, conducting short interviews based on an interview guide to explore specific questions of interest to the wider team) in support of the department’s objectives, under supervision of the Executives. (This element is considered non-core to the role, but can be pursued if the post-holder has capacity and interest).

Desirable skills and experience

• Intellectually curious, with an interest in gaining a broad understanding of Nesta’s work and potentially contributing to discrete pieces of analysis.

• Experience of building spreadsheets and dashboards to analyse data.

• Familiarity with the basic processes underpinning organisational or project-level impact reporting.

• A track record in developing new ways of working and delivering operational efficiencies for a team or department.

What we offer

Salary: £35k-£48k (offers are expected to be made towards the bottom of the band) plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more  

Location: This role is based in London, Blackfriars, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office

Term: Permanent

Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do. 

Making an application 

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 08:00am on the 11th of March 2024. 

Interviews will take place w/c the 18th of March 2024.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results. 

We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop. 

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful. 

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.   

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.