Senior Executive Assistant NEW

Birmingham, Staffordshire
RMC Charity
About RMC

RMC Charity (RMC) is an established, award winning, regional charity working across the West Midlands to support newcomers and people facing barriers to accessing services, rights and opportunities.

RMC is a growing and ambitious organisation. As we continue to develop our services, partnerships and organisational infrastructure, we are strengthening the support available to our Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and Trustee Board.

We’re also embarking on an exciting new asset development project, which will represent a significant long-term investment in the organisation and its future. The project is expected to be sizeable and complex, involving a range of external parties, professional advisers, stakeholders and partners, and will develop over the next two years and beyond.

The Senior Executive Assistant will play an important role in supporting the SLT through this period, including helping to coordinate meetings, information, actions and communications involving external parties. The postholder will need to bring structure, organisation and follow-through to a lengthy and evolving programme of work, ensuring that key actions, decisions, commitments and deadlines are effectively tracked.

We are looking for an exceptional Senior Executive Assistant who can operate at a senior level, bring structure and discipline to executive and governance activity, and act as a trusted partner to the SLT and the Board.

This is not simply an administrative role. The postholder will be an important part of how RMC ensures that decisions are followed through, commitments are delivered, information flows effectively and governance remains strong.

About the Role:

The Senior Executive Assistant will provide high-level executive, governance and organisational support to the SLT, working particularly closely with the CEO and Executive Director of Services.

The postholder will manage complex diaries and relationships, support the effective operation of the Trustee Board, prepare high-quality information and reports, and ensure that important actions and commitments do not get lost.

The successful candidate will have the confidence to work with senior leaders and managers, trustees and external stakeholders while maintaining the highest levels of discretion and professionalism.

They will also be someone who is prepared to “keep the executives honest” constructively challenging where appropriate, identifying gaps, following up on commitments and helping the SLT to anticipate and manage organisational risks.

Key Responsibilities

1. Trustee Board and Governance

• Coordinate the effective administration and operation of Trustee Board meetings, including scheduling meetings, preparing agendas and papers, circulating documentation and managing follow-up actions
• Attend Trustee Board meetings and produce accurate, concise and timely minutes and records of decisions
• Maintain an effective system for tracking Board decisions and actions and ensure that these are followed through
• Act as an important conduit between the Trustee Board and SLT, ensuring appropriate information flows between governance and executive leadership
• Support the SLT in maintaining an effective overview of governance requirements, deadlines, decisions and actions
• Maintain appropriate governance records and documentation and support the preparation of relevant papers
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies or emerging governance issues and appropriately flag these to the SLT
• Maintain absolute confidentiality in relation to Board discussions and sensitive organisational matters

2. Executive Support and Diary Management

• Provide high-level diary management and executive support to the CEO and Executive Director of Services
• Proactively manage complex and competing priorities, identifying diary conflicts and resolving them before they become problems
• Help executives prioritise meetings and commitments according to organisational importance and strategic priorities
• Ensure executives are properly prepared for important meetings by coordinating papers, briefings, agendas and relevant information
• Arrange travel, accommodation, meeting logistics and expenses where required
• Manage meeting schedules involving internal teams, trustees, funders, partners, commissioners and other external stakeholders
• Act as an appropriate first point of contact on behalf of the SLT, maintaining positive and professional relationships
• Support the SLT in coordinating the new asset development project, which will involve a significant programme of work over the next two years and require engagement with a range of external parties
• Coordinate meetings and communications with external professionals, partners, funders, and other parties involved in the asset project
• Maintain an overview of key milestones, deadlines, and dependencies associated with the project and ensure that the relevant members of the SLT are appropriately briefed
• Ensure important commitments, deadlines and follow-up actions are tracked and completed as well as anticipate the needs of the Executives and proactively identify issues before they arise

3. Executive Information and Reporting

• Draft, edit and coordinate reports, briefing papers, presentations and other executive-level documentation
• Compile information from across the organisation and turn it into clear, concise and useful briefings, identifying areas requiring further consideration and raise these appropriately
• Prepare agendas and supporting information for SLT, Senior Management Team (SMT) and other senior meetings
• Attend relevant meetings and produce precise, action-focused minutes and records
• Support the preparation of information for strategy sessions, appraisals and organisational reviews
• Ensure that information presented to senior leaders is accurate, appropriately sourced and clearly communicated

4. Leadership Accountability and Organisational Follow-Through

A key part of this role will be ensuring that decisions and commitments made by the SLT translate into action.

The postholder will;

• Maintain oversight of key leadership and senior management commitments and actions
• Track commitments made to staff, service users, trustees, partners and other stakeholders
• Prompt senior leaders and managers where actions or deadlines are approaching or have not been completed
• Identify gaps between agreed decisions and implementation
• Constructively challenge where commitments appear to be at risk of being missed
• Help the SLT maintain visibility of emerging organisational risks, issues and dependencies
• Support the SLT to maintain oversight of the asset development project, ensuring that key actions, deadlines and dependencies are captured and followed through
• Help coordinate the flow of information between the SLT and the range of external parties involved in the asset project, ensuring that requests, actions and decisions are appropriately followed up
• Help the SLT maintain visibility of emerging organisational and project risks, issues and dependencies
• Escalate concerns appropriately and proportionately
• Support a culture of accountability, transparency and delivery

This will require judgement and courage. The successful candidate must be comfortable respectfully challenging senior colleagues when something does not look right, while maintaining trust and confidentiality.

5. Relationships and Communication

• Communicate confidently and professionally with people at all levels of the organisation
• Contribute to the existing environment where colleagues feel able to share concerns, provide candid information and challenge decisions appropriately
• Handle sensitive conversations with empathy, discretion and objectivity
• Represent the SLT professionally when communicating with internal and external stakeholders
• Maintain appropriate boundaries and confidentiality at all time

Person Specification:

Essential Criteria:

Executive support and organisation

• Minimum 5 years’ experience of providing high-level executive, senior administrative or governance support
• Excellent organisational and time-management skills
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities and complex schedules
• Exceptional attention to detail and ability to work accurately under pressure
• Experience preparing professional reports, briefings, minutes and correspondence
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Governance

• Understanding of effective governance and the relationship between trustees and senior leadership
• Experience supporting Boards, committees or senior-level meetings
• Ability to understand complex information and identify actions, risks and gaps
• Strong understanding of confidentiality and appropriate information handling

Technology

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft 365, particularly Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams
• Confidence using CRM systems, digital collaboration platforms and online meeting tools
• Ability to use technology to improve organisation, information management and workflow

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