Secretary to Executive

The Nationwide Foundation is looking for a motivated and flexible individual to support our CEO and other team members. Everyone deserves a place to call home – somewhere decent, affordable, stable and safe. The charity invests in new models of housing, publishes pioneering research and funds powerful coalitions and campaigns to create a better housing system for all of us.

To support our work, you’ll need to be proactive, have strong communication skills, and the ability to work at pace as part of a team.

The Nationwide Foundation is a charitable foundation funded by Nationwide Building Society. We are committed to improving the lives of people in need in the UK by funding charitable causes and influencing change.

At the heart of the Nationwide Foundation’s approach is a commitment to tackling the root causes of the social issues that lead to disadvantage, poverty, and inequality. Since 2013, our Decent Affordable Homes strategy has been supporting the Nationwide Foundation’s vision for everyone in the UK to have access to a decent home that they can afford.

We do this through influencing systemic changes to the housing system. Our activities include:

• Engaging with Government and cross-party policymakers to advocate for change
• Convening coalitions to bring different voices and call for change
• Building an evidence base by commissioning ground breaking research
• Investing long-term in campaigning groups
• Testing new ideas to build understanding of what works
• Build new narratives to change how people think about housing (public and policymakers)

We are happy to consider flexible working approaches to help you perform at your best.

The working hours (per week) for this role can be between 28 and 35.

Located in Swindon with generous access to home working. The role will also involve travel to London for meetings. We value our time in the office to solve problems and there will be a need to regularly connect with colleagues for collaboration in one of our office sites, particularly Swindon and London. The team work together in Swindon on Tuesdays. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works.

If we receive a high volume of relevant applications, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so please apply as soon as you can.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide comprehensive diary and inbox management for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), including scheduling, prioritising, coordinating internal and external meetings and complex travel arrangements.
• Support the CEO in preparing for meetings (e.g. board of trustees, funders, sector partners, MP’s), including agenda planning, briefing preparation, logistics and follow up actions. Organise and coordinate stakeholder engagements and internal functions.
• Draft, review and manage correspondence on behalf of the CEO, ensuring tone and messaging with the Charity’s values. Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, maintaining professionalism and confidentiality.
• Manage the flow of information to and from the CEO, ensuring accuracy, timelines and appropriate confidentiality. Prepare and format reports, presentations, and briefing documents for internal and external use.
• Support Operations Manager with governance processes, including Board and Committee meeting preparation, action tracking and maintaining accurate records in line with regulatory and organisational standards.
• Process CEO expenses and invoices ensuring compliance with internal policies and charity sector best practice.
• Provide IT support to the CEO and maintain key organisational systems such as shared drives and structure charts.
• Provide support to internal meetings where needed including formatting information, taking minutes and tracking progress of action.
• Provide a highly professional service.

About you

We\’d love to hear from you if you have:

• Recent experience in secretarial or administrative roles.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint, with a solid understanding of Excel.
• Strong ability to prioritise tasks and manage multiple responsibilities effectively.
• Clear, confident communication skills, both written and verbal; you\’ll be building relationships with stakeholders across the business and assisting with the collation of documentation.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• A collaborative team player who actively contributes and is adaptable to taking on ad hoc tasks.
• A genuine interest in the charity’s cause.

Our customer first behaviours put customers and members at the heart of how we work together. They are the set of behaviours that every colleague needs to display, in every role:

• Feel what customers feel – We step into our customers’ shoes, using their feedback and insights to empathise with them and to understand their needs, so that every decision we make starts and finishes with our customers in mind
• Say it straight – We are brave in speaking out and saying what we think – we’re honest and direct with good intent, openly sharing diverse perspectives to reach the best conclusions and using language everyone can understand
• Push for better – We don’t settle for mediocrity, we challenge the status quo, taking responsibility for continuous improvement and personal development
• Get it done – We prioritise what will have the greatest impact, we are decisive, and we take accountability for delivering brilliant customer outcomes

You can strengthen your application by showing how our customer first behaviours resonate with you, and where you may have already demonstrated these.

The extras you’ll get

There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:

• A personal pension – if you put in 7% of your salary, we’ll top up by a further 16%
• Up to 2 days of paid volunteering a year
• Life assurance worth 8x your salary
• A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme
• Wellhub – Access to a range of free and paid options for health and wellness
• Access to an annual performance related bonus
• Access to training to help you develop and progress your career
• 25 days holiday, pro rata

Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society

We forge our own path at Nationwide.

As a mutual, we’re owned by our members – those customers who bank, save or have a mortgage with us. We challenge the financial sector status quo. We don’t see customers as the engine of our own profit. We share our profits with them and put their needs first. Always there when they need us. Supporting them and their lives.

If you’re inspired by fairer finances, passionate about making a meaningful impact, and truly care about our customers, you’re one of us.

At Nationwide, you are challenged to grow and rewarded for doing so. Valued. Recognised. Inspired to be your best. As a community we want our working lives to count. As a team, we celebrate what we achieve. As a standard-setter, we work for the good of customers, communities, and broader society.

We are Purpose-driven. Uncompromisingly Customer. Unstoppably Nationwide.

What to do next

If this role is for you, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button. You’ll need to attach your up-to-date CV and answer a few quick questions for us.

We respond to everyone, so we will be in contact shortly after the closing date to let you know the outcome of your application.

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