Personal Assistant

Personal Assistant

Final date to receive applications: 1 March 2026

Department: Administration

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Cheadle

Reporting To: Sabine Herbigniaux

Compensation: £28,000 - £32,000 / year

Overview of the role

We are looking for a highly organised and discreet individual to provide a high‑level, confidential and comprehensive administrative service to support the work of the Executive Leadership Team.

As an integral member of the Executive Support Team, the post holder will work under the direction of the Executive Assistant and in close collaboration with the wider Executive Leadership Team. This role is central to ensuring the smooth running of executive operations and requires someone who can manage sensitive information, prioritise effectively, and maintain exceptional attention to detail.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Be an integral part of the Executive Support Team.
• Provide general administrative support to the Executive Leadership Team, as directed by the Executive Assistant.
• Arrange meetings involving internal and external stakeholders, often involving individuals at the highest levels of seniority, and working across different time zones. This includes scheduling, maintaining and updating the Executives’ calendars for several members of the Executive Team, exercising discretion in committing time and evaluating needs.
• Source and secure meeting rooms. This includes researching and booking venues and organising catering for external meetings and securing meeting rooms and arranging setup/clear‑down of onsite rooms.
• Organise travel arrangements as required. This includes domestic and international travel for the Executives and events attendees.
• Assist with the coordination and running of national and international events and meetings.
• Assist with the coordination and running of visits to local UK Biobank sites.
• Handle correspondence: dealing with incoming emails to the Executive Support Team as well as monitoring emails for the Executives, as required.
• Develop and maintain datasets (e.g. contacts, distribution lists, procedures). These must be up‑to‑date and accurate at all times.
• Prepare and distribute meeting agendas and materials, including confidential meeting paper.
• Prepare professional documents, correspondence and reports, using MS Office tools.
• Attend meetings and take minutes as required.
• File and retrieve corporate records, documents, and reports.
• Prepare and reconcile expenses records, including invoice management and maintaining and monitoring of business expenses/budgets.
• Coordinate work with other colleagues/departments as needed.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Act as a primary point of contact and provide cover in the absence of other members of the Executive Support Team.
• Other administrative duties as nominated by the Executive Assistant.

Essential criteria

• Recent relevant experience working within an Administrative / Assistant capacity.
• Excellent administration and organisational skills, including attention to detail and the ability to manage a very busy workload effectively.
• Excellent communication skills – both written and verbal.
• The ability to work as part of a team in a collaborative way.
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to multitask and prioritise an ever‑changing workload, managing Executives’ expectations along with their own.
• The ability to be proactive and work autonomously. The ability to have an analytical approach to tasks/challenges, using independent judgement and initiative.
• Trustworthiness, discretion, and confidentiality.
• The ability to confidently communicate with senior management and Executives.
• The ability to build relationships at all levels across the business and with external stakeholders.
• Proficient working with IT systems; experienced in using the full Microsoft Office suite and MS Teams, or equivalent collaborative and video‑conferencing tools.
• GCSE Maths and English or equivalent.

Desirable experience

• Previous work experience in a scientific/academic research environment or some knowledge of the research process in academic and/or…