Personal Assistant - Tech & Media Sector - 12 month FTC in London

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world. We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy – and directly advise the owners and management teams leading them.

Playing an important support role at BDO, our Secretarial and Administration team contributes to our success by taking responsibility for planning and organisation. Their proactive approach to what we do ensures our projects operate seamlessly and co-operation remains strong across our firm. Whatever the challenge, they provide the foundations on which we can excel. Joining this team, you’ll enjoy a friendly and supportive environment – and plenty of variety to keep you on your toes.

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships. You’ll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO’s partners to help businesses effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with.

In this role, main duties will include:

• Diary Management: Seeks to understand priorities and reschedule meetings when the need arises with minimal guidance. Proactively assists Partners in managing diary commitments to ensure that internal as well as external reputation is considered when rearranging or cancelling appointments. Keeps partner appraised of changes. Agrees with the Partners when to consult and when to resolve matters independently. Actively assists Partners to prepare for forthcoming meetings eg collates any documents required and has them ready for imminent meetings.
• Events / Meetings: Has some event experience or knowledge of organising large meetings. Will be required to attend meetings and take minutes, create agendas, follow up on actions etc. Must adhere to hospitality and event policies and procedures when required eg documenting hospitality occurrences on the Firm’s register, and be knowledgeable about independence/ethics considerations.
• Email Management: Monitors partners’ email accounts in their absence and provides agreed assistance at other times, for example drafting well written correspondence, or replying on behalf of the partners: maintaining high standards of professionalism whilst doing so.
• Finance: Actively manages the process of getting bills produced on time and liaises with the Business Support Hub. Produces and understands WIP and provision reports. Maintains provisions and project codes as instructed. Offers assistance and reminders on billing deadlines.
• CRM and Pipeline management: Manages partner's CRM contacts: follows up with partner to collect new information after meetings, uses the internet and other external sources to obtain information. Reviews CRM audited entity and contact information on a regular basis. Ensures that audited entity and contact business interests are flagged so that they receive relevant material. Manages the sales and pipeline for each partner, checks their diaries and encourages them to pass on information. Is a confident user of the CRM reporting system and its interconnectivity with other systems and processes.
• Travel: Book (sometimes complex) travel for the Partners and create detailed travel itineraries.
• Audited Entity KYC: Manages Audited Entity or new project onboarding/information updates to ensure we have up to date KYC data in the system. This could include liaising with the Audited Entity legal team to ensure ownership information is obtained.
• Documentation: Produces a consistently high standard of work, at speed and under pressure, delegating to the Business Support Hub as appropriate. Ensures that all documentation is brand and CVI compliant. Seeks input from others to quality control key documents. Able to generate draft responses to routine correspondence. Prompt editing or creation of documents such as proposals, fee letters and agendas.
• Other duties may include: Be a presence in the office to assist with ad-hoc duties as required such as printing, scanning, or arranging couriers. Liaising with delegates, booking boardrooms and arranging refreshments/equipment as necessary. Organise extensive business travel, visas, hotel accommodation, preparation of itineraries, cars etc. Significant liaison with audited entities for meetings, presentations and reports. Confidence to liaise with high level Partners. Acting as gatekeeper for Partners. Responsible to act on the Partners behalf on a range of issues and projects. To maintain confidentiality at all times. Completion of expense reports in a timely manner. Dealing with personal administration as and when required. To provide an exceptional audited entity experience and support audited entity initiatives within the firm, as well as being responsive and helping to create a positive impression at all touch points. Provide secretarial cover within the group as well as providing cover to the group as a whole and assisting other secretaries when necessary.

You’ll be someone with:

• Intermediate to advanced level of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Fast accurate typing skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• To either have previous experience in, or ability to learn Outlook, Workday, CMS, InTapp.
• Ability to manage / prioritise tasks.
• Be a proactive member of the team.
• Ability to readily understand the Group’s and Firm’s environment, the Firm’s structure and culture.
• Ability in exercising initiative, discretion and organisation.
• Be able to identify and evaluate problems and demonstrate the ability to approach and tackle problems effectively.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to our business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer everyone the opportunity to work in ways that suit them, their teams, and the task at hand. At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs. Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work. We know that collaboration is the key to creating value and satisfying experiences at work, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions. We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.