View Vacancy – Executive Assistant to the Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau

Main purpose of job:

The Northern Ireland Bureau is the diplomatic mission of the Northern Ireland Executive in the United States and Canada. Its main purpose is to cultivate and strengthen links between various political, economic, educational, and cultural interests in Northern Ireland and North America. It also serves as a resource for individuals and organisations wishing to learn and understand more about Northern Ireland, and about its relationship with the United States and Canada.

The Bureau is seeking to recruit an experienced Executive Assistant (EA) to provide administrative, organisational and diary support to the Director of the Bureau. The post holder will be required to work closely with the Deputy Director and other members of the team.

This is a busy and interesting position, working directly with a wide variety of important stakeholders: including the offices of the most senior representatives of the US administration, elected representatives and a wide range of other external contacts; the British and Irish Ambassadors’ Executive Offices; colleagues across the US; and a wide range of academic and cultural organisations. The EA will also have close working relationships with colleagues in Northern Ireland Departments, particularly the offices of Ministers, the Head of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretaries.

The ideal candidate for this position will be a reliable self-starter with strong communication, organisational and time management skills and who takes a pro-active and flexible approach. The post holder will be required to use good judgement and initiative in progressing work, particularly when the Director is away from the office on business. As the work of the Bureau is often politically sensitive, the post holder will be required to exercise the utmost discretion at all times. Team working skills are essential to the role within the small Bureau team. The ideal candidate will be a team player, a clear and effective communicator and have a strong attention to detail, ideally with a background in being an Assistant to a Senior post holder.

Roles and responsibilities:

Supporting the Director
Maintaining the Director’s email box and Calendar, this includes scheduling appointments and organising diary entries
Liaising with staff and external parties and handling and responding to all correspondence including phone calls, emails, invitations and letters.
Supporting the Director in ensuring that travel and accommodation for official business is booked in good time and all work expenses have been correctly recorded.
Organising logistics and Hospitality for conferences, workshops, seminars and other events
Taking notes at meetings, preparing the minutes and actions and subsequently distributing to all participants 

Finance and Governance 
Ensuring that all costs of office have sufficient evidence.
Ensure relevant staff members have updated and amended all governance documents. 
Ensure all financial and governance returns have been approved by Director and staff members have completed within timeframes.

Communications
Assisting the Office in their communications.

Office operations
Assisting in the operation of the office, this includes organising team meetings, ensuring there is no rubbish or obsolete equipment in the Office and liaising with Building Office Management.
 
Events and Visits
Supporting the Office to ensure the successful delivery of events and visits.

Resources managed:

Ensure the Directors budget is not over or under spent.

• A proven track record of strong interpersonal skills including the ability to be professional, courteous and discreet and deal directly with key players at senior levels inside and outside the Bureau.
• Excellent organisational skills and a keen eye for detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task, grip complex and evolving situations and think creatively to find solutions, remain task-focussed at all times, demonstrate flexibility when plans change at the last minute, and work as a team player.
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite

Language requirements: 

Language: English

Level of language required: fluent