Executive Operations Partner in Birmingham

The Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD), established in 2013 as an award-winning Strategic Business Unit, aims to enhance knowledge and skills in the humanitarian sector through capacity building, applied research, and leadership development. Originating from Islamic Relief (IR), a global NGO serving humanity for over 40 years, HAD initially supported the IR Family but now strives to develop the wider NGO sector. HAD envisions itself as a hub for humanitarian and development studies, training future leaders, undertaking applied research, and advocating for effective aid and development from an Islamic perspective.

Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD) is actively recruiting for the position of Executive Operations Partner to be based from its office in Birmingham, UK. The organisation currently operates to a hybrid working model.

Purpose of the role :

The Executive Operations Partner provides high-level executive, operational, and administrative support to the Managing Director (MD) and ensures the smooth and efficient running of HAD Academy.

This role combines administrative responsibilities with operational coordination, process management, and service oversight to enable the Academy to deliver its strategic objectives effectively.

Working closely with the MD and wider leadership team, the post holder acts as a trusted partner—anticipating needs, managing priorities, coordinating information flow, and supporting the implementation of key projects and business processes.

The successful candidate must have or be :

• Degree-level education or equivalent professional qualification
• Any professional or other qualification relevant to executive office support, business administration, or NGO management
• Training in executive assistance, office administration, or project management advantageous
• Proven experience supporting senior executives or directors
• Experience coordinating operational processes, reporting, or strategic projects
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and deliver to deadlines
• Experience liaising across departments and engaging diverse stakeholders
• Experience in budget monitoring and administrative financial tasks
• Strong resource, budgetary, and financial management skills
• Experience influencing and implementing strategies aligned to organisational objectives
• Ability to guide staff development toward achieving key performance indicators
• Consultative approach to decision-making and team motivation
• Strong oral, visual, and written communication skills
• Analytical skills to interpret data and provide recommendations
• High digital literacy : Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams), collaboration platforms
• Awareness of the external environments within the humanitarian sector to support the impact of the work and the changing needs of HAD
• Project management and financial budget management experience to allow the Division to deliver on its strategic objectives
• Additional languages (Arabic, French, or others) beneficial
• NGO, education, or professional services sector experience desirable