Personal Assistant / Executive Assistant in London

As an Arcadian, you help deliver world leading sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. You are part of our global business comprising 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life.

This Executive Assistant position provides comprehensive administrative and organisational support to senior leaders and programme teams, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations through proactive diary, meeting, and communication management. It plays a key part in coordinating teams, supporting onboarding, and delivering internal engagement activities, while contributing to a professional, well-structured office environment that demonstrates strong stakeholder focus and operational excellence. You will be required to attend project site 3 days per week, so you must be located within commutable catchment area of Dartford / Lakeside / Grays / Chafford Hundred.

Role accountabilities:

• Executive & Team Support: Manage complex diaries for the Programme Services Director, including meeting preparation, prioritisation, and forward planning. Organise and coordinate meetings for PSD, the PMO Team, People Team, and Integration Team, ensuring agendas, logistics, and materials are prepared in advance. Provide PA cover for the PA to the Programme Director and PA to the Executive Director as required.
• Office Operations & Communications: Lead office communication activities including surveys, monthly health MOT updates, and Lunch & Learn sessions. Check in guests to the office and act as a welcoming point of contact for external visitors. Manage the Essex Meeting Room, including scheduling and oversight of bookings for the PSD and Programme Director. Provide printing and document management support.
• Onboarding & Staff Engagement: Facilitate introductions and office tours for new starters. Support People Team activities, including scheduling inductions and coordination of onboarding tasks. Serve as Social Ambassador on the Health and Wellbeing Committee, helping plan and deliver engagement initiatives. Lead organisation of key social events, including the annual Summer BBQ.
• Documentation & Systems: Create and maintain organisational charts, ensuring accuracy and version control. Produce PowerPoint slide decks and meeting packs to a high professional standard. Manage ad hoc domestic and international travel bookings as required.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Demonstrated experience as an Executive Assistant, Team Assistant, PMO Administrator, or similar administrative support role.
• Proven track record in diary management for senior leaders or multiple stakeholders.
• Experience organising meetings, events, and office-based activities.
• Previous involvement in onboarding processes, team engagement, or wellbeing-focused initiatives.
• Experience producing polished PowerPoint presentations and documentation.
• Familiarity with office management responsibilities and customer-facing reception-style tasks.
• Experience coordinating travel arrangements (UK and international) is desirable.

Skills:

• Exceptional organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to multitask and prioritise effectively.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with confidence interacting across all levels of the organisation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Attention to detail for document formatting, organisational chart management, and meeting preparation.
• Proactive problem-solving ability, anticipating needs and identifying solutions ahead of time.
• Stakeholder management skills, maintaining professionalism with senior leaders and external partners.
• Event coordination capabilities, from planning to execution.
• Discretion and confidentiality when handling sensitive information.

PLEASE NOTE APPLICANTS MUST HAVE RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging: We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.