View Vacancy - Executive Assistant/Brexit support officer

Main purpose of job:

The British Embassy is looking for a dynamic and capable Executive Assistant and Support Officer to provide support to the Brexit Counsellor overseeing/coordinating the overall embassy response to Brexit, and spearheading the work of explain Brexit to the US; and to the two teams with which she works most closely on Brexit related issues – the political team, leading on engagement with US contacts on Brexit; and the trade and agriculture team promoting UK-US trade and investment, including to build support for a US-UK Free Trade Agreement, once the UK has left the EU. On the latter, this will include working to deliver a trade influencing campaign focussed in 12 priority states across the US. This will be a busy and interesting job involving work with colleagues across the embassy and US network, and some external stakeholders; with scope to use judgement and initiative; and to develop networking and drafting skills.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

Managing the Counsellor’s schedule, including contacts with external stakeholders, diary planning, organisation of meetings, travel and other logistics

Managing the Counsellor’s share of the EU Exit travel and entertainment budget, keeping track of expenditure, providing returns as necessary, to avoid over or underspend.

Developing constructive relations with the staff and offices of the Counsellor’s key stakeholders and contacts in the Embassy, in Washington and across the US network, and in London

Managing the counsellor’s workflow, exercising judgement to ensure priority issues are attended to, particularly when the Counsellor is on work related travel

Provide research assistance, including trip and meeting preparation and background

Coordinate embassy wide Brexit stocktake meetings, and conference calls, including with London, do write up of key points, and help to keep track of any follow up.

Provide similar administrative support to the Political and Trade teams as they require, to help with their travel, meetings and logistical requirements, especially in regards to keeping track of our engagement activity with priority US contacts on Brexit related matters, and delivering the trade influencing campaign across the 12 priority states.

Excellent organisational skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Ability to multi-task, prioritize and exercise judgement in the face of conflicting priorities and competing demands

Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to be professional, courteous and deal directly with key players at senior level inside and outside the embassy

Proficiency with spreadsheets, Microsoft office, excel