Executive Officer

DEFRA - PERSONAL ASSISTANT

Are you a multi-tasker? Great at organising and able to prioritise tasks? This could be the ideal role for you!

Brook Street are looking for a temporary Personal Assistant to work at an Executive Officer level, for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, based in either Bristol or Warrington. The ideal candidate will provide high-level diverse secretarial and administrative duties for the Deputy Director, exercising independent judgement and discretion in performing tasks.

An excellent package is offered, including:

• £15.39 per hour pay rate
• Starting as soon as you have passed clearance checks for four months
• Accrual of up to 33 days paid annual leave pro rata available (inclusive of bank holidays)
• Working 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm with some degree of flexibility
• This role can be based in either Bristol or Warrington
• There is a permanent recruitment campaign currently running for the role, which you could also apply for.

• general administrative support
• reviewing and managing mailboxes and Teams messages
• diary, calendar and email management
• prioritising the booking of/rescheduling of meetings
• may be some capturing actions/minute taking
• transcribing dictation
• preparing documents and reports
• handling enquiries and requests
• composing no-routine correspondence
• screening and directing manager's telephone calls
• maintaining records, requesting updates on finances or statuses of pieces of work
• arranging meetings or travel, including hotel accommodation
• acting as an administrative liaison with internal and / or external sources

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, working effectively with team members and external contractors/suppliers
• A can-do attitude and a real passion for supporting people and sustaining working relationships
• Well-organised, able to manage yourself and your own workload effectively whilst working under your own initiative
• Ability to pick up new IT systems quickly and be capable using IT services such as Microsoft Office programmes (for example MS Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and SharePoint etc.).
• Previous experience of excellent customer service as either a PA or similar is desirable

Candidates applying must be able to pass a clear Basic DBS check and provide proof of Right to Work in the UK.

Please apply online with your current CV in WORD format. Due to the high number of applications we receive it may not be possible to respond to all applications.

Brook Street is proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant and as such, we guarantee to interview all candidates who are veterans or spouses/partners of military personnel, and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy.

As a Disability Confident Leader, and holder of the Gold Award status from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, Brook Street, as a supplier to the Public Sector Resourcing Framework (PSR), will offer you a guaranteed interview with a PSR Sourcer.

Should you identify as a candidate with a disability and/or as a veteran or spouse/partner of military personnel and meet all the essential criteria for the role, we encourage you to reach out to us via the Brook Street website. Here you will find a link to register your interest and state the role that you are interested in. We are committed to engaging with you.

In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates/military spouses/partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, Brook Street will interview the best candidates from within that group.