View Vacancy - SRR - Personal Assistant to the Director for Trade & Investment for Saudi Arabia & Deputy Trade Commissioner for the Middle East A2(L)

The British Embassy Riyadh has a vacancy for a Personal Assistant to the Director for Trade & Investment for Saudi Arabia & Deputy Trade Commissioner for the Middle East (PA to DIT Director).

As the Personal Assistant, you will provide secretarial, administrative, and organisational support to the DIT Director based at the British Embassy Riyadh and to the wider team.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Responsible for the Director’s schedule, diary, inbox management, and travel arrangements.
• Proactively manage Director’s meetings to include the preparation of relevant briefs and reading material.
• Liaise with a wide range of Departments within the British Embassy’s Saudi Arabia Network.
• Build relationships with a wide range of commercial-related contacts in Saudi Arabia; meeting and greeting visitors of all seniority. Arrange refreshments for meetings as required.
• Support Senior Trade & Investment visits, including arranging meetings and visit logistics.
• Liaise with Senior British Embassy Management team and PAs to organise and communicate the Embassy meeting calendar for larger Network meetings, e.g. Post Management Board, Post Delivery Board, Project Board, all staff meetings and Crisis Committee.
• Where appropriate, assist in the drafting of routine correspondence for the Director, to include being the lead for the social elements of senior visitors’ programmes.
• Provide support to the PA for Her Majesty's Ambassador (HMA) and Deputy Head of Mission (DHM) where appropriate.
• Coordinate with the Residence and Events Manager to ensure receptions, meetings, and events are well planned and delivered efficiently.
• Maintain registers, diaries, and databases. In particular, be the subject matter expert (SME) for the Section’s on-line filing system.
• Auxiliary support to the Trade & Investment Section as part of its work to the Crisis Committee.
• Take minutes of Director’s meetings and distribute as required.
• Run leave chart for the Director and coordinate with other Section members.
• Manage the Commercial inbox and allocate enquiries to the appropriate teams.
• Provide administrative support to the wider team.
• Where appropriate, take part and assist in duties for the wider Embassy.

Key competencies required:

• Delivering at Pace - Focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes. Working to agreed goals and activities and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way.
• Managing Effective Decisions - Being objective; using sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert and professional advice. Showing clarity of thought, setting priorities, analysing and using evidence to evaluate options before arriving at well-reasoned justifiable decisions.
• Leading and Communicating - Leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction, and enthusiasm. Managing and engaging with people with honesty and integrity. Displaying enthusiasm around goals and activities and adopting a positive approach when interacting with others.
• Demonstrating Resilience - Helping our people to build resilience in international roles, supporting their ability to adapt to working in difficult and varied international environments; and to bounce back from crises and setbacks in these contexts. Being aware of the impact you have on yourself and on others, and showing support for others with a pragmatic attitude, perseverance and resolve.

• Minimum of three years’ experience as a Personal/ Executive Assistant
• Excellent English Language skills, both written and spoken and holder of a suitable B1 Level or higher qualification 
• Ability to prioritise own workload and meet deadlines, without compromising the quality of the work
• Excellent planning and organisational skills
• Ability to work closely with senior staff and their contacts
• Being a strong team player
• Ability to maintain a range of contacts to build effective working relationships
• Courtesy and consideration in dealing with telephone callers and others
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools, particularly Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint