Advisor, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Funding & Communications

This role provides comprehensive administrative and organisational support to the Funding & Communications Executive Director, ensuring efficiency in diary management, meeting preparation, and travel arrangements. The Advisor plays a pivotal role in supporting senior leaders, managing day-to-day operational tasks autonomously while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism, contributing to the success of Save the Children's mission and objectives.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex diary schedules and organise meetings, ensuring all logistics are coordinated and preparation materials are available in advance.
• Plan and arrange comprehensive travel itineraries, including ticketing, accommodation, travel documents (incl. visas) and necessary currencies.
• Review and manage the Executive Director's inbox, responding to or flagging emails as appropriate, and maintaining a well-organised email filing system.
• Handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism, sound judgement, and discretion at all times.
• Track actions and follow-ups arising from meetings, correspondence, and key engagements, supporting timely progress and accountability where required.
• Anticipate priorities and administrative needs by identifying upcoming requirements, potential issues, and opportunities to support effective planning and decision-making.
• Prepare and submit expense reimbursement requests for the Executive Director in the financial management system in accordance with organisational policy; and review expense reimbursement requests sent for the Executive Director’s approval to ensure they are in line with policy before requesting final approval.
• Process invoices for procurements paid directly from the Executive Director / central budget, always ensuring compliance with procurement policy.
• Maintain and update departmental mailing lists and contact lists.
• Provide occasional administrative support to the Executive Director’s direct reports, especially when they are acting as Officer-in-Charge.
• Ensure effective collaboration with peer Executive Assistants, including mutual support and efficient coordination of joint meetings.
• Manage and efficiently direct ad hoc queries; and manage questions submitted via internal employee channels.
• Organise and manage departmental and leadership meetings, preparing agendas, pre-reads, and ensuring all relevant updates and feedback are incorporated. Includes the coordination of the Global Programme Directors monthly meeting.
• Actively support collaboration and knowledge management within and across teams and functions by maintaining clear channels of communication, proactively sharing information, managing documentation and knowledge systems, and supporting onboarding and monitoring processes.
• Schedule and manage independently the department meetings and connection opportunities.
• Manage the monthly department updates and keep organisational charts updated.
• Maintain awareness of departmental priorities and initiatives relevant to the Executive Director and Global Head of Operations.
• Ad hoc administrative support to projects the Executive Director and/or Global Head of Operations are directly responsible for.

Requirements

• Proven track record of managing complex schedules and organising meetings at various levels of an organisation and across multiple time zones.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and arrange comprehensive travel itineraries across multiple regions.
• Ability to review, manage, and maintain a high-volume email inbox, flagging and responding to emails as appropriate.
• Competence in preparing agendas, collating pre reads, and incorporating relevant updates and feedback for departmental and leadership meetings.
• Ability to prioritise tasks effectively, manage multiple activities simultaneously, and ensure all logistics are coordinated seamlessly.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, exercising sensitivity, judgment and discretion.
• Approachable, a good listener, and able to build and maintain relationships with team members, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Attention to detail for maintaining departmental records, organising meetings, managing complex travel itineraries, and drafting, proofreading and editing documents.
• Ability to anticipate issues, troubleshoot problems independently, and offer creative solutions.
• Skilled in drafting, editing, and proof-reading a variety of professional documents, including with senior leadership and governance as key audience.
• Microsoft 365 proficiency; comfortable across a range of digital and collaboration platforms; proactively adopts emerging tools and brings genuine innovation curiosity to improving efficiency and productivity.
• Comfortable with learning to use and navigate standard ERP system tools (financial management system, procurement system, online travel booking system, IT ticketing system etc.)

Skills

• Schedule Management
• Meeting Organization
• Travel Itinerary Planning
• Email Management
• Meeting Agenda Preparation
• Document Drafting
• Document proofreading
• Task Prioritization
• Logistics Coordination
• Written Communication
• Verbal Communication
• Relationship Building
• Records Keeping
• Problem Solving
• MS Office 365
• Online Collaboration Platforms
• ERP Systems
• Financial Management Systems
• Procurement Systems
• Online Travel Booking Systems
• IT Ticketing Systems

Languages

English, French, Spanish, Arabic