Executive and Project Assistant to the HoS

Do you have significant experience of working as an Executive Assistant and/or Project Assistant to senior management? Do you want to be part of a vibrant School working on pioneering internal and external projects with global reach and impact?

As Head of School of Design, Professor Maria Lonsdale has an entrepreneurial leadership style and in addition to being Head of School she is Head of key projects and initiatives. She is therefore seeking a highly motivated and experienced person to provide professional high level administrative, business and project support to help achieve her day-to-day tasks and committed longer-term plans.

On this basis, you will serve as a very visible representative of the Head of School and be an integral member of the School of Design administrative team. To take on this post, you must be prepared to work in a very busy and fast-paced environment and possess the ability to act without guidance when needed to deal effectively with complex situations, as well as being able to work independently and find resolutions under tight deadlines.

You will be highly organised and flexible in many different situations to keep operations flowing smoothly, including flexibility in working hours, juggling many tasks and large quantities of information, and be ready to pivot at a moment’s notice when an urgent need arises. This requires excellent time management skills, the ability to establish efficient workflows, and a good sense of managing workload. All this while inputting information with a high degree of speed and accuracy, paying thorough attention to detail to ensure total accuracy.

Communication skills are also crucial. You will have diplomatic and insightful communication skills and work with a wide range of people. You will liaise with executives, business partners, and high-level clients. Tone is important and most situations will call for strict formality, as is the length and medium used to share information efficiently and effectively.

Change is constant in the School of Design where we embrace cutting-edge opportunities, iterate on a regular basis and pioneer at many levels. Sometimes you will need to change course mid-task and be asked to try new approaches for the sake of experimentation. You will need to be able to adopt a positive attitude, welcome and embrace change and rise to the challenge.

You will also be pro-engaged and self-motivated whilst being able to work in a team. As a high-level assistant, you should be experienced and exhibit high performance in a professional manner.

This role requires experience in a similar role. You may also have knowledge and experience of working in industry and some/good understanding of the Design industry you will be working in. You will have technical and digital design skill, knowing how to use Adobe Creative software. The post will require you to be on campus every day.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Professor Maria Lonsdale, Head of School

Email: m.lonsdale@leeds.ac.uk 

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