PA / Administrator in Cambridge

We have a fantastic opportunity for a proactive Administrator/ Office Manager to join the Building Services and Building Surveying team. This is a very busy and varied new role and ideal for someone who thrives in delivering a high level of support within a dynamic and driven team. You will be working closely with the Office Partners as well as the wider Cambridge teams and business. Our team is a specialist in the delivery of high quality, highly sustainable developments, which spans Education and Residential sectors, amongst others. We are industry leaders in the development of Net-Zero Carbon schools and academies. We are passionate about what we do, and we are looking for someone to join our team to help in the wider delivery of those projects. Please note that this role is office based.

What you need to do to be effective in this role:

• Office Management Elements:

• Establishing yourself as a key central contact within the office, acting as a source of guidance, advice and information for our teams and maintaining approachability to all.
• Supporting the facilities management aspects of the office, maintaining compliance records & notice boards, liaising with the wider business on compliance issues and ensuring our teams are aware of key information and changes.
• Leading administration across the office, including stationery ordering, business cards, incoming and outgoing post, purchase orders & invoicing, devising & maintaining filing systems for the office etc.
• Leading the coordination of office events & socials.
• Maintaining a safe and comfortable working environment for our teams and their guests.
• Leading our receptionists / administrators and building a connected, efficient administrative team.
• Raising and managing invoicing and liaison with clients over payment.
• Creation of bids and bid management along with binding and photocopying of documents.
• Ensure that all correspondence and documents that are produced are accurate, grammatically correct, error free and comply with the Ridge Style Book.

• Provide administrative support to the key leaders of the Cambridge office, and members of the wider senior team as required.
• Managing inboxes – sorting & responding to emails as appropriate, highlighting items for urgent attention and fielding speculative approaches.
• Screening and handling phone calls, enquiries and requests.
• Meeting and greeting internal & external guests at all levels of seniority.
• Processing expenses and corporate expenditure.
• Producing documents, reports and briefing papers – preparing hard & soft copy packs as required & in line with meeting schedules.
• Minute and action taking in meetings, and sharing post meeting as required.
• Providing extensive diary management, ensuring that current organisational priorities are understood to ensure diaries are aligned and prioritised against the business needs.
• Organising meetings and events, coordinating with clients, suppliers and other parties and ensuring that the logistics are in place and that everything runs smoothly.

Be flexible to support the changing priorities of the business, the team and particularly the key leaders. Maintain confidentiality, trust and integrity at all times, including in the management of sensitive documents, communications and enquiries. Be confident in working closely with the key office leaders and senior team, pre-empting their needs and understanding how they like to operate within the business. Provide confidential project support, ensuring that governance and actions are managed, and that the relevant stakeholders are well supported and managed.

Experience and Skills Required:

• We place huge importance on people, and it is really key to us to find someone who reflects the values & culture of the business we are striving to become.
• A passion for supporting people, with kindness, compassion and empathy.
• A confidence to establish yourself as a central presence, and natural key point of contact within the office, for anything and everything!
• An energetic character, with the ability to uplift, engage and motivate our teams creating positive experiences and impressions.
• Wellbeing focused – with a willingness to become (if not already) a Mental Health First Aider & First Aider.
• A proactive approach, with the ability to pre-empt the needs of your key leaders and allow them to focus solely on the tasks in front of them.
• A naturally organised approach, with the agility and ability to manage multiple inboxes and balance multiple challenging diaries.
• An ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality and trust.
• Proven previous experience in an Office Management role, ideally with dual experience as a Personal Assistant or Secretary within a high-pace environment.
• A good working knowledge of facilities management and the construction/property industry would also be advantageous, but not essential.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, notably Word, PowerPoint & Excel, and an ability to work with high attention to detail, particularly in report writing, minute capturing and written communication.
• Ability to use InDesign would be preferred but not essential.