Executive Assistant to Assistant Directors/Team Assistant

Communities and Skills

Collaborative, open, inclusive and fair - we work with and through partners to ensure Londoners can shape healthy, empowered and productive lives. Communities and Skills is led by Executive Director, Tunde Olayinka and is comprised of the following units: Civil Society & Sport, Communities & Social Policy, Group Public Health Unit, Skills and Employment and Health, Children and Young Londoners.

About the role

To provide secretarial, administrative and research support services to the Assistant Directors - Skills & Employment, which are responsive to their needs and contribute to making their roles effective. Provide support for a team of over 150 people which includes clerking senior management team meetings and leading on team events such as unit away days.

What your day will look like

You will:

Provide high level secretarial support to the Assistant Directors, including:

• Diary management, email monitoring and assisting with prioritising activities
• Arranging meetings, collating agendas, distributing papers and taking minutes
• Ensure the Assistant Directors are properly briefed on and familiar with the agenda in advance of all meetings.
• Act as the first point of contact, responding to queries and producing draft correspondence on behalf of the Assistant Director/Head of Unit.
• Maintain key lines of communication and working relationships with Senior Managers and other staff across the organisation to support the Assistant Directors in their roles.
• Provide high quality secretariat support for regular meetings with Deputy Mayors and relevant Senior Managers/staff
• Undertake research, fact-finding and analysis activities in support of the team's work and to support team member development and assist in procuring consultants, event space and training.
• Arrange meetings, including finding suitable dates, booking rooms, ordering catering and equipment; produce and circulate meeting documentation such as agendas, minutes and presentations and noting and following up on any actions agreed as required.
• Liaise with stakeholders including London Councils, boroughs, representative bodies of the skills sector, business and other key partners and maintain excellent working relationships.
• Co-ordinate, manage and plan consultation and stakeholder events and communications activities.

Skills, knowledge and experience

To be considered for the role you must meet the following essential criteria:

• Experience of providing high-level secretarial support to a senior leader.
• Experience of providing supporting a large team including onboarding of new staff and implementing processes to support staff.
• Experience of using IT systems including MS Outlook, word-processing, spreadsheets and databases.
• Strong communication skills and experience of working to demanding deadlines and working with a range of stakeholders.

How to apply

If you would like to apply for the role you will need to submit the following:

• Up to date CV
• Personal statement with a maximum of 1500 words. Please ensure you address how you demonstrate the essential criteria outlined above in the advert.

Please note all applications for this vacancy must be submitted via our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs alone for this role. Please upload a personal statement to the 'Additional Documents' section of the form. Word or PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images.

Please ensure your CV and cover letter/supporting statement documents are saved with the job reference number as part of the naming convention (E.g. "CV - applicant name - 012345)

Please note, if you do not provide both a CV and a covering letter, you will not be considered for the role so please ensure the above has been submitted before the deadline.

If you wish to speak to someone about the role, Ann-Marie Soyinka the hiring manager would be happy to speak to you about the role. ().

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, contact the who support the GLA with recruitment.

Assessment process

Once you have submitted an application, your details will be reviewed by a panel.

If shortlisted, you'll be invited to an interview/assessment.

The interview/assessment date is: 7 & 8 August 2025

Equality, diversity and inclusion

London's diversity is its biggest asset and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share.

Please note we are a Disability Confident Employer so for candidates who wish to be considered under the scheme and meet the essential criteria, they will automatically be invited to interview. Please note, should you require any adjustments through the process, we will accommodate as much as possible. Please contact the recruitment team for further information if required.

GLA staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office. In addition to a good salary package, you will be paid every four weeks, providing frequent salary payments. We also offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days' annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme.

Additional Information

Please note, all candidates will need to confirm that the information provided in this application form is true and correct. Should a candidate deliberately give false information, including the use of AI software, they understand that this would disqualify them from consideration.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record (DBS) check but some roles may require additional security screening.

Secondment Opportunity

If you are a GLA employee applying for an internal fixed-term position, as an internal secondment opportunity, you must ensure you satisfy the following secondment policy criteria listed below before applying

• On a permanent contract or a fixed term contract where the time left on the contract at the point at which you apply for secondment is longer than the secondment period;
• successfully completed your probation period and are performing to the required standard for your current role; and
• at least 18 months service with the GLA

If you do meet the criteria listed above, you will need to complete the Approval for secondment application form and gain line manager approval, before emailing the fully completed form to the Resourcing Assistant who is managing the vacancy. This form must be received by the closing date of the vacancy. Failure to provide this form will mean your application cannot be progressed.

If you are unable to satisfy all of the criteria, unfortunately, you are not eligible to apply for this vacancy as an internal secondment. For further information, please see Secondment Policy and Procedure .

IMPORTANT: If you are a current GLA employee on a fixed-term contract, which is due to end BEFORE the end date of this vacancy, you DO NOT NEED to complete the Approval for secondment application form as it is not a secondment.

If you are successful in securing this secondment opportunity, you will need to be released from your existing role, so please ensure that you make your line manager aware of your application.

More Support

If you have a disability which makes submitting an online application form difficult, please contact .

The GLA is proud to be a Level 2: Disability Confident employer. We are committed to becoming a more inclusive and accessible organisation and creating a truly inclusive and accessible workplace and culture for our disabled staff. We have named Disability Equality as a key corporate priority within our EDI Strategy. We welcome and encourage applications from disabled applicants. Should you wish to opt into the scheme, please let us know during your application.