Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff

Job Description

The post holder will provide high quality executive support to the Chief of Staff (CoS) in delivering the objectives of the Archbishop's ministry, helping to ensure the organisation is efficiently run, outward looking and accessible to its wide variety of stakeholders.

The Chief of Staff is the principal adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Alongside administrative tasks such as diary management and correspondence, the post holder will also work on or assist with projects and events and will have the opportunity to undertake some research tasks as needed.

Staff at Lambeth Palace work collaboratively with colleagues throughout the National Church Institutions (NCIs) and beyond, and support each other at busy periods, with flexibility and good humour.

Whilst there may be occasional opportunities to work remotely, because of the nature of the role, you should expect to work at Lambeth Palace for the majority of the time.

Responsibilities

Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Building

• Building and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders including the offices of key external contacts of the Chief of Staff (CoS) such Government Ministers, Royal Households, the Lord Mayor's office, Anglican Communion Office and other external organisations and people from a wide range of charitable and ecumenical organisations.
• Building and supporting relationships with internal colleagues seeking to encourage collaborative working between teams at Lambeth Palace and ensuring visitors receive a warm welcome and good hospitality.

Administration

Proactive, extensive diary management, including room booking, hospitality and travel arrangements where appropriate.

• Coordinating the logistical and practical arrangements for the Archbishop's official engagements for which the CoS has responsibility.
• Planning and organising, and where appropriate, participating in any meetings and events initiated by the CoS.
• Providing general administrative support including filing, minuting, and processing expenses.
• Proactively reviewing systems and processes to enable increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Writing, Research & Documentation

• Drafting letters, agendas, minutes, and briefs, and coordinating reports on research and project work.
• Researching and keeping abreast of developments in project areas across the Church that pertain to the Office of the Archbishops.
• Maintaining an effective records management system for the work of the CoS, following the appropriate policies for this area.

Above all, we are looking for an individual who combines excellent organisation with sound judgement, discretion and resilience. The successful candidate will remain calm under pressure, be comfortable dealing with uncertainty and changing priorities, and approach both routine and complex tasks with equal professionalism and attention to detail.

Lambeth Palace staff work together to support the Archbishop in her ministry.

You will provide cover for colleagues during absences and undertake any duties as directed by the Chief of Staff that are commensurate with the role. Out-of-hours work may be required occasionally and time off in lieu would be given.

All staff working at Lambeth Palace share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture with regard to children and vulnerable adults, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.

Qualifications

Personal Attributes

• Calm, resilient and able to maintain perspective during busy or demanding periods.
• Takes personal responsibility for getting things done and follows tasks through to completion.
• Consistently demonstrates pride in their work.
• Enjoys working with others as part of a team, whilst maintaining individual responsibilities.
• Comfortable working independently while knowing when to seek guidance.
• Positive, adaptable and willing to turn their hand to whatever is needed.
• Comfortable undertaking routine and repetitive administrative tasks to a consistently high standard.
• Curious and eager to learn, with a willingness to develop new skills and knowledge.
• Strong attention to detail and pride in producing accurate work.
• Builds trust quickly through reliability, discretion and professionalism.
• Confident and courteous when dealing with people from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of seniority.
• Possesses emotional maturity and good judgement when handling sensitive matters.

Knowledge And Experience

• Good working knowledge of Office 365, especially Outlook.
• Efficient and diplomatic, with strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently, use initiative appropriately and remain calm and effective when priorities change unexpectedly.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining accuracy, professionalism and attention to detail.
• Good judgement in understanding and dealing with urgent and complex matters across a wide range of issues and stakeholders.
• Discreet and confidential with the ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
• Confident to give and take feedback and raise issues and concerns.
• Ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing.
• Experience of providing administrative or executive support in a busy environment. Experience supporting senior leaders would be advantageous.
• Experience of dealing with a wide range of people in the course of work, including at senior level.
• A proactive approach, identifying issues early and taking appropriate action without needing close supervision.
• Demonstrates perseverance and a willingness to undertake both strategic support activities and routine administrative work as required.

Desirable

• Awareness of, and interest in, national and international politics and societal issues.
• An interest in the work of the Archbishop's ministry and the Church of England generally.

About Us

The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation - a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.

We Include. You Belong.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.

Living out our values in all that we do, we:

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you.

We offer a highly competitive benefits package that supports your health, wellbeing and long-term financial security. This includes annual leave starting at 25 days' plus bank holidays and three additional NCI days, family friendly policies, a wellbeing cashback scheme, an electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, a defined benefit pension with employer contributions of up to 18%, and generous life assurance cover.

Use of AI in your application

We appreciate that you may want to use AI tools to help you with your application. We're happy for you to use AI to come up with ideas and help structure your thoughts, but you shouldn't use AI to fabricate information or write your whole application for you. One of our values is integrity, and although we want you to demonstrate your best self, we don't want an AI-generated persona. If you simply copy and paste AI-generated content into your application, this will reduce your chances of success.

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