View Vacancy - Executive Assistant (DBT Africa) AO - (40/24 JHB)

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Department for Business and Trade roles (DBT)
Department for Business and Trade (DBT)

Main purpose of job:

The UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Africa is one of nine international regions and is led by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC), John Humphrey. The Department’s role is to increase prosperity in the UK and overseas through increasing trade and investment. The Trade Commissioner’s role is to lead the pan-African trade and investment team to increase the value of the commercial relationship between Africa and the UK.

The Africa Region is exciting and energizing and UK firms have a strong presence here, making the UK the third largest foreign investor on the continent. With some of the fastest growing economies in the world and booming population growth there are numerous more opportunities for UK firms; from tech start-ups in the West to infrastructure in the East and everything in between. The DBT Network’s role is to promote these opportunities to UK businesses and position the UK as a key trading partner.

We are looking for an Executive Assistant, to work within the DBT Africa Hub team in Johannesburg. The Executive Assistant will provide support to the HMTC in all their activity. The role will be varied and fast paced, requiring the job holder to demonstrate skills across budgets, writing and verbal communications. S/he will need to be able to undertake multiple tasks concurrently and priorities.  This is an exciting role that sits at the heart of the Department for Business and Trade in Africa.

You will ensure delivery of a high-quality service to HMTC y, including secretarial support, setting up internal and external meetings, planning functions and events on their behalf, planning trips and managing their diaries; ensuring their time is used effectively. You will need to take initiative and use your judgement to make decisions when necessary to adjust HMTC’s schedule in the light of events.  

Roles and responsibilities:

Executive Officer:

  • Organize, manage and prioritize the HMTC's diary of programmes and commitments.
  • Plan, coordinate and execute all HMTC’s external and internal activity, including prioritization and meeting recommendations; diary management; room bookings and inviting meeting attendees; scheduling internal meetings and taking minutes where required.
  • Ensure all HMTC correspondence, travel arrangements and logistics and diary are effectively managed and draft and dispatch official communications, letters and emails on behalf of HMTC and forward correspondence received by official methods
  • Manage HMTC’s expenses budget, ensuring spend is value for money, within guidelines and budget. Complete expenses on behalf of the HMTC.
  • Manage, triage and run multiple email inboxes.
  • Provide secretariat duties for HMTC’s key engagements and meetings, commissioning and collating necessary briefing and papers from teams; organizing programmes and entertainment or events; and building and maintaining a wide network of professional contacts.
  • Provide ad hoc admin support to the Deputy Trade Commissioner and Hub Team as needed.
  • Run, oversee and support ad hoc events at the HMTC’s residence as needed.
  • Various other admin/support tasks to support the HMTC and the DBT Africa Network.

You will be self-starter, enthusiastic, resilient and flexible with an ability to prioritize tasks and manage the Trade Commissioner’s diary with a proactive ‘hands on’ approach.  This busy, interesting and challenging role will require strong organizational skills and an ability to think ahead and use your initiative.  Key to this is Delivering at Pace and Working Together.

  • 1-3 years' work experience in a similar administrative role
  • Diary Management
  • Excellent interpersonal, communication, planning and organizational skills, self-motivated and results driven
  • Great team player, able to build enduring and strong working relationships with a wide variety of people and work very well across teams 
  • Good client engagement skills
  • Strong IT skills in Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Able to adapt to a quick changing and evolving business environment
  • Deliver in the face of uncertainty and work proactively and autonomously
  • Ability to work with people at all levels of seniority in an international environment and within a fast paced, results oriented organization 
  • Experience of working with Government departments and/or public-sector agencies
Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Working Together
23 September 2024
Administrative Officer (AO)
Permanent
36.5 hours
Africa
South Africa
Johannesburg
British High Commission
1
R 296 469,38 (per annum)
yearly
1 November 2024

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The successful applicant will have access to a range of Learning and Development opportunities with in-house and e-learning, with the potential for overseas training. From time to time there will be requirements to assist other teams within the Department, working with other members of the team to build overall experience through delivery of training and awareness sessions.

Working patterns:

  • Flexible Work with minimum three days in the JHB office.

The British High Commission pays in full for the Key Care Plus option on Discovery Health for staff including spouses/partners and dependents.

  • Once you have successfully completed your probation the British High Commission will contribute 9% of your monthly salary to a Provident Fund.
  • Annual leave entitlement of 25 days
  • Working hours per week of 36.5 hours
  • Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
  • Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
  • The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
  • Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa.
  • It is essential that the applicants already have the right to live and work in South Africa without the need to apply for a work permit.
  • Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.   
  • Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. Please note:  AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5 
  • Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
  • Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.
  • Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’.  If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate”.
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This opportunity is closed to applications.