Senior Executive Assistant

About the Blavatnik School of Government

Our vision is of a world better led, a world better served and a world better governed. We are a global school committed to improving the quality of government and public policymaking worldwide, through three routes: teaching current and future leaders; generating research with impact; and engaging with governments and practitioners.

What we offer

The School is a collaborative, friendly, and dynamic department based in an award-winning building in Oxford.  As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer, full details of which can be found on our jobs page, (see above).

About the Role

We’re excited to be looking for a Senior Executive Assistant to our Chief Operating Officer (COO) and the Vice-Dean. This is a critical role for the Blavatnik School, sitting at the heart of the School – in the Executive Office – with responsibility for all support to the COO and the Vice-Dean, and for the operations of the School’s governance function.

We are seeking someone with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills. In your work with the COO and Vice Dean, you will be responsible for managing two busy diaries (and the COO’s inbox) and taking forward a wide range of issues on their behaves. You will be someone with a zest for communicating with people from all walks of life, who will inject equal amounts of enthusiasum and diplomacy into each of their interactions – be they with students, administrative colleagues, or senior academics and practitioners from top institutions across the world. In your work on School governance, you will have operational responsibility for the smooth-running of the School’s governance function – to include scheduling the annual governance meeting cycle, writing and collating agendas and discussion papers, and tracking actions and decisions. 

About You

You will have excellent all-round administrative skills and strong track-record of providing outstanding executive support. As a senior member of the Executive Office, line managing 2-3 members of staff (Executive Assistants), you will work with the Head of the Dean’s Office to promote a high-performing team culture in which the people you manage can flourish.

You will work quickly yet meticulously, taking a flexible and pragmatic approach to shifting priorities; using impeccable judgement – be it on a confidential project on which the COO is working, an urgent meeting request, a difficult staffing matter, or an innovative interpretation of a policy. 

Application Process

Please upload a supporting statement that outlines how you meet the selection criteria in your own words, along with your CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application.

The closing date for applications is at 12 noon (UK Time) on Tuesday 6 May 2025.

Interviews will take place during week commencing 12 May with second round interviews taking place during week commencing 19 May and will be face to face at the School

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