Executive Administration Officer – Agrifood Futures

The closing date for applications is 23.59 on 27^th October 2025

Interviews will be held: 13^th November 2025

Due to the complexity of the Skilled Worker Visa route and eligibility criteria, applicants requiring sponsorship are recommended to check their eligibility on the Home Office website. We cannot provide advice to candidates at the application stage and will only discuss visa routes with candidates who are invited to interview.

We are looking for a candidate to join the new Agrifood Futures team and play a key role in supporting the implementation of this exciting programme of work.

This role is focused on providing administrative support to the new Agrifood Futures team. This will be a team of 7 senior academic and professional services colleagues, responsible for delivering a major programme of investment in agrifood research. Recruitment is underway for five senior posts, who will form the Agrifood Futures leadership team together with the Agrifood Strategic Programme Manager and Systems and Futures Hub Director that are already in post. You will be joining this team as it forms, with the nature of your role evolving as the team becomes established.

In this role, you will help to support delivery of this exciting programme of activity through the high-quality administrative support services you provide, establishing new ways of working for the team and refining these as the team’s work matures. You will have the opportunity to build strong and effective relationships with the Agrifood Futures leadership team, senior colleagues across the University, and make to make a difference to our work related to food and agriculture.

The role will be managed through the Executive and Governance Office (EGO), with the focus of your work on supporting Agrifood Futures. As part of EGO, you will be joining a welcoming and inclusive professional team at the heart of the University of Reading.

This role will work with colleagues in many different parts of the University, based at a range of locations across the Whiteknights Campus. While your main location will be with the EGO team in Whiteknights House, you may need to spend a proportion of your time working from the locations in which other members of the Agrifood Futures team are based. There may also be opportunities to work from home for part of your working week, should you wish to.

In this role you will:

• Take initiative within the Agrifood Futures team, providing proactive administrative assistance to senior members of the team.
• Confidently engage with internal, external and senior stakeholders and partners through in-person meetings, phone calls, and other communication channels.
• Coordinate key documents and handle email correspondence on behalf of senior colleagues.
• Proactively manage complex and dynamic schedules to ensure senior colleagues can work efficiently and effectively.
• Support delivery of events associated with Agrifood Futures, such as conferences, seminars and meetings, playing an active role in their success. You will also contribute to other University events as part of the wider EGO team, such as Open Days and Graduation.

Contact Name: Polly Tudball

Contact Job Title: Executive and Governance Manager

Contact Email address: p.tudball@reading.ac.uk

The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and champions LGBT+ equality. We are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2)

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