Location: Either working from office/venue or Hybrid if desired. There is an office for full time working but you are welcome to split between our temporary offices in Temple Quay and your home or wherever you prefer to work.
We’re happy to support flexible working both through hybrid working and your working pattern. You will need to be available to attend meetings, have some cross-over with the teams and deliver the responsibilities of the role.
Department: Executive
Report to: Chief Executive
Salary: £32,000 per annum
Contract: Fixed term, 12 months (with the potential to extend another year)
Working hours: Full time, 37.5 hours
About We The Curious
We The Curious is an educational charity and one of the UK’s leading science centres.
We produce experiences that bring people together to play, get creative with science and explore different ideas.
We work with partners, locally and nationally, supporting people to be inquisitive, develop new skills and improve their wellbeing.
We are progressive, inquisitive, collaborative, playful and creative.
Our mission
Our aim is to connect and empower people through sharing creative experiences which celebrate unknowns in science.
Our work as a charity is driven by five key pledges:
_Cultivate Curiosity
_Include Everyone
_Open Up Science
_Sustainable Futures
_Build Resilience
You can find out more about these in our Manifesto.
About the role
As Executive Assistant, you will perform a variety of high-level administrative tasks and support the organisation's Chief Executive and Heads of Departments. This dynamic position requires the ability to anticipate needs, think critically, and offer solutions to problems with a high level of professionalism and confidentiality.
You will be collaborative, well-organised, have great time management skills and be able to act without guidance. Ultimately, you will contribute to the efficiency of the organisation by providing support to the Board, executive members and wider organisation.
The executive team defines and amplifies the culture of the organisation – serving to direct and inspire individuals and teams. These individuals articulate purpose, set a clear and actionable strategy for achieving that purpose, and most importantly, motivate and empower everyone else in the organisation to succeed.
In addition, you will also be Company Secretary at the organisation. This role requires that you are responsible for advising the board on all governance matters. As part of this role you will maintain the charity's books and registers, file annual returns and advise directors on their duties, ensuring that they comply with corporate legislation and the articles of association of the company.
What will you do in this role?
Role specific responsibilities
_Provide sophisticated calendar management for CEO. Prioritise inquiries and requests while troubleshooting conflicts and exercising tact; make judgements and recommendations to ensure smooth day-to-day engagements.
_Work closely with the CEO to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately.
_Act as a "barometer," having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment and keeping the CEO updated.
_Anticipate CEO’s needs in advance of meetings, conferences, etc.
_Liaise between the CEO and members of the Leadership Team to ensure regular communications and smooth decision-making.
_Work with the Leadership Team to coordinate the CEO’s outreach activities. Follow up on contacts made by the CEO to cultivate ongoing relationships.
Complete a broad variety of administrative tasks that facilitate the CEO’s ability to effectively lead the organisation, including but not limited to:
Support the CEO to maintain timely internal and external communications.
Make travel arrangements and production of detailed travel itineraries following liaison with relevant partners, team members.
Coordinate external and internal team meetings and events.
Support the CEO with personal expenses and travel claims, and administration of expense cards as required.
Draft correspondence, presentations and briefings on behalf of CEO.
Take notes and write minutes during meetings when required, writing them up subsequently.
Undertake basic research as directed to assist the CEO in preparing for meetings, events, presentation etc.
_Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the CEO, including those of a highly confidential or critical nature.
_Prioritize and determine appropriate course of action, referral, or response, exercising judgement to reflect CEO’s style and the organisation’s values and policies.
_Invest in building long-lasting relationships both externally and internally.
_Act as a liaison and provide support to the Board.
_Arrange and handle all logistics for Board and sub-committee meetings and events: schedule meetings; draft agendas; develop, compile, and distribute presentation materials; and record meeting minutes on behalf of Board Secretary.
_To ensure the organisation complies with financial and legal requirements, as well as maintaining its high standards of charity governance.
_Respond to ad hoc requirements as requested.
General responsibilities
_Embody and demonstrate our values; Collaborative, Creative, Inquisitive, Playful, Progressive.
_Responsible for carefully following safeguarding policies and procedures and raising any concerns to manager/Designated Safeguarding Officer.
_Collaborate with the Development team on any funding bids and reports relating to your area of work; where applicable as project lead.
_General responsibility for departmental compliance with GDPR.
_Support the rest of the organisation and We The Connectors with projects when required.
_Occasional out of hours work and travel to events.
What we're looking for from you
_You have a minimum of 3 years of progressively responsible and diversified administrative experience, experience as an Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant or similar experience.
_You have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including ability to effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
_You have the strong ability to execute work with a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens.
_You have proven experience of being able to work independently and to carry out assignments to completion within parameters of instructions given, prescribed routines, and standard accepted practices.
_You have exceptional organisational skills and impeccable attention to detail.
_You have expert proficiency with Microsoft Office and desktop publishing software; ability to design and edit graphic presentations and materials.
_You have outstanding organisational and time management skills.
_You can maintain a high level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.
_You have a flexible attitude.
_You can demonstrable commitment to We The Curious' values and mission.
_You are culturally sensitive and ability to adapt easily.
_Non-profit board and company secretary experience is preferred but non-essential.
Application process
Deadline for applications: Sunday 7th May 2023, midnight
Interview date(s) and location: 25th & 26th May 2023. Interviews will be held in-person at our temporary offices at Temple Quay, Bristol.
Start date: Tuesday 1st August, depending on notice period
Application process: If you would like to apply, please complete the application form. It contains questions designed to assess your experience and suitability for the role.
Please don’t send a CV or covering letter as we will not review them.
We appreciate interviews can be stressful, so if you are invited for interview, we’ll send you the interview questions that you’ll be asked before hand so you have time to prepare.
If you have any particular needs or requirements, please do let us know so we are able to make the required adjustments.
If you would like to talk about the role or the application process, please email people@wethecurious.org
Support during the process
We want to work with you to ensure the recruitment process is accessible for you.
If you are disabled, neurodivergent, or if you have a long-term health condition, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to our processes for you.
You’ll have the opportunity to let us know about any adjustments you may need throughout the application and selection process. We’ll continue this conversation if you join us as a staff member, and we’ll work with you to make sure you have the adjustments you need to succeed in your role.
Examples of adjustments could include:
_providing alternative formats at every stage
_options to apply
_extra time for tasks
_providing some extra information about what to expect
_office orientation before an in-person interview.
Including everyone
We value the positive impact greater representation will have on our organisation, programmes and culture. It’s our goal to become an inclusive place to work and for our teams to better reflect our city and the people who visit us.
We welcome applications from people of all lived experiences and particularly those that are not well represented* in the science centre sector.
We want to work with you to ensure the recruitment process is accessible for you, please contact us if you have questions about We The Curious, our accessibility or recruitment process at people@wethecurious.org
*By not well represented we mean people with lived experience including but not limited to:
_African and African-Caribbean heritage
_South Asian and East Asian heritage
_Other minoritised ethnic groups
_Disabled
_Neurodivergent
_Visually Impaired
_Deaf community
_LGBTQIA+ and/or non-binary
_Working class background
_Didn’t go to university or first in your immediate family to attend University
Working with us
We value the people that work with us. Our staff have access to the following:
Wellbeing & support
_Flexible working
_Hybrid working (if suitable and stated for role)
_Mental Health First Aiders
_Confidential advice & counselling through the Employee Support Programme
Leave
_25 days holiday in addition to bank holidays (all pro-rata).
_Enhanced new parent package:
Facilities & discounts
_Free entry to the venue at any time with up to four guests, plus 12 additional entry tickets per calendar year to give away.
_20% off in the We The Curious café plus £3 lunch deals
_20% off in our shop
_Range of discounts with local businesses and free entry to other local attractions.
_Free parking
_Secure cycle storage
Pension
_We offer a pension scheme with 5% company contributions.
Death in service benefit
_Four times your annual salary.