Executive Assistant to Regional Director East Asia

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Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 202122 we reached 650 million people.

Job Title:

Executive Assistant to Regional Director East Asia

Role Purpose:

This role provides critical executive assistance and support to the Regional Director (RD) and the Regional Executive Team (RET) in East Asia, making sure the regional office runs smoothly and effectively, enabling the regional leadership to focus on areas that directly contribute with the delivery of our cultural relations objectives.

The role involves working closely with the RD, the RET and Country Directors (CDs), engaging with colleagues in teams right across the organisation as well as occasionally with senior external stakeholders, as and when necessary, to ensure regional operations run with maximum efficiency and to a high quality.

The post holder will be part of the regional team in East Asia. The role is predominantly office-based at the British Councils Napier Road office in Singapore, which is also the regional headquarters. It will provide direct support to the RD and RET colleagues based at this location. It is a pressured, interesting and varied environment to work in, driving and responding to external and internal situations, and requires the postholder to be able to work flexibly, manage a high volume of work, be comfortable with ambiguity, and hold the highest degree of confidentiality and integrity. It is a busy office which engages with our work and our people at every level. Working in it offers the opportunity to get close to key developments and gain exposure to different forums, as part of a team which is helping to build the wider profile and reputation of the organisation.

Main accountabilities but not limited to the following:

Logistical support and problem solving

Develop clear and efficient processes/systems to support the provision of high quality and prompt support to the RD and RET, making sure they are all aligned with our corporate procedures and regulations.

Manage the diary and commitments for the RD to ensure their time is appropriately prioritised and effectively allocated.

Organise travel plans, in line with the RDs priorities, covering the end-to-end process, including travel bookings, accommodation arrangements, visa processing, briefing documents as well as cover arrangements during their absence, directly liaising with internal and external colleagues as necessary.

Provide logistical support to RET members (including arranging flight bookings, visas and accommodation), and preparing travel packs.

Arrange the RDs physical/virtual meetings with internal/external stakeholders, including booking rooms/meeting slots, arranging catering, IT support, guests management, local transport etc. This includes ensuring the RD has full information, including briefing and speaking notes for all events and meetings.

Manage the RDs correspondence as necessary.

Operations

Manage administrative and governance processes impacting the RD office, making sure they are undertaken to a high quality, including the approval of delegated authorities, Board of Directors updates across the different East Asia entities, induction of new RET members and CDs and other colleagues, as required.

Assist with external and internal communications, working closely with the RD, the Regional Head of Communications and Head of Internal Communications. This includes updating information on internal and external websites and portals (such as the Regional website, Teams and SharePoint sites).

Records management: ensure key correspondence and documentation kept by the RD/RET is filed, archived, or deleted/shredded as appropriate. Ensure stakeholder engagement records and tracking of meetings are overseen and updated on relevant systems/sites.

Participate and contribute, as required, to support implementation of corporate change projects, including (but not limited to) Transformation.

Relationship and Stakeholder Management

Build good relationships across the regional team and key external suppliers and service providers, making sure appropriate and efficient support is provided to any regionally-led initiative initiated by the RD/RET.

Develop understanding of the wider context of the British Councils work and priorities to ensure smooth and efficient management of the diary and the flow of information, briefs and correspondence.

Provide consistent cover or ad-hoc support within the RET where necessary.

Financial management

Manage the collation, validation, and proper submission of the RDs expenses, in line with corporate policy and local requirements. Keep the gifts & hospitality register updated.

Make sure the process to make payments linked with the RDs expenses take place timely and effectively. This might include raising purchase orders.

Ensure that any regional policies involving the provision of equipment, IT consumables and other supplies are in place and demonstrate value for money and good cost effectiveness.

Role specific knowledge and experience:

Track record of office administration in busy, ambiguous, and complicated environments, prioritising multiple tasks and deadlines.

Experience of high-level diary management and scheduling, with fast-moving deadlines and working under high pressure (preferably experienced with MS O365 applications)

Proven capacity as a strong team player, willing to jump in and support other members of the team where needed, and a solutions-focused approach.

Experience of working effectively with individuals at all levels (particularly senior leaders), both internally and externally.

Experience of holding people to account especially in eliciting responses

Experience of working across multiple teams with different needs, across different time zones, and working with cross-cultural teams

Experience of minute-taking and editing

Further Information

Pay Band: 6 / G

Contract Type: Indefinite

Location where the role could be based: Singapore (Hybrid)

Requirements:

• The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required.

Conditions of Employment: Local Direct Hire

• Applications are welcomed from candidates currently in this location with a natural right to work.
• Applications are also welcomed from candidates currently based in other British Council country offices. However, please note candidates must have a natural right to work in the country, on a permanent basis, as immigration clearance and/or on-going visa support is NOT provided by the British Council for this role. Relocation support is also NOT provided.

Closing Date: Tuesday, 07 November 2023 at 11:59 PM SGT (GMT+8)

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Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion(EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

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