Executive Assistant and Deputy Head of Director’s Office

The British Museum is the oldest national public museum in the world. Its mission is to house, curate, conserve, research and exhibit a collection that spans the history of humanity. With a collection of around 8 million objects, the British Museum is a museum of the world for the world. It brings together under one roof the cultures of the world, allowing people to explore the extraordinary diversity of human culture, to discover the many forms and expressions human beings have given to every aspect of life, and to realise how closely they are interconnected.

About the role:

The Director of the Museum, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, is its Chief Executive. He is responsible for the strategic direction and the overall running of the Museum, and he is its principal representative in public. The role of Executive Assistant to the Director is essential to ensuring that his time is managed efficiently; that he is appropriately briefed for all engagements and meetings; that the speeches and talking points that are drafted for him are appropriate to the occasion and reflect his voice; that the events he hosts within and outside the Museum meet his standards and support the Museum’s strategic objectives; and that he has the support he needs to engage and maintain relationships with a wide range of important stakeholders, including donors and supporters.

The Executive Assistant is part of the Director’s Office team. The Executive Assistant is the second most senior role in office, but they will spend more time with the Director than anyone else in the team. They must have the skills, the dedication and the confidence needed to able to build the trust of the Director, to understand how he works, and to proactively ensure that he has the support he needs.

Key areas of responsibility:

Communications

Taking lead responsibility for all the Director briefings, working with colleagues across the Museum to ensure that they are well-researched, informative and digestible.
Researching and drafting the Director’s speeches and talking points to ensure that they reflect his voice and that they are appropriate for the occasion, and working with the Director to hone them until he is comfortable with delivering them.
Dealing with complex correspondence, providing the Director with high quality draft responses which meet his requirements and have been properly researched.

Time Management

Developing and delivering a strategy for ensuring the Director is using his time effectively, including ensuring that his diary is being managed to a suitable standard.

Secretariat

Acting as Secretary to the Directorate Group (the Museum’s senior executive team), ensuring that the agenda and papers for weekly meetings are prepared on time and to a high standard.

Management

Line management of the Diary Manager to ensure effective and efficient diary and office management, providing advice and guidance as required.
Managing performance effectively, ensuring career reviews are completed on time and that personal development needs of staff are met.
Providing effective support and advice to the Head of the Director’s Office on all aspects of the team’s responsibilities.

Stakeholder engagement and event management

Lead responsibility for the Director’s external relationship management (including donors and supporters), and responsible for maintaining the Director’s contact lists.
Lead for Director events and engagement coordination (working with closely with the Museum’s development team).
Lead for Director international engagement (including international stakeholders and museum peers) and for the planning of the Director’s international visits.

About you:

Educated to degree level or with equivalent experience.
Previous experience as an Executive Assistant, or Personal Assistant working at a senior level.
The ability to work unsupervised under pressure, to take the initiative and lead, and to plan work schedules, prioritise, work to deadlines and to review and maintain effective administrative procedures.
Experience of line management and in handling confidential information.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, ideally with experience of drafting or supporting the drafting of speeches or speaking notes.
The ability to act with tact, diplomacy and sensitivity.
A flexible approach to changing priorities and requirements.

Knowledge of and experience in the museum sector is welcome but our priority is experience as an EA or PA. It is not essential that this experience was in the museum sector.

For more information about this role, please see the job description.

Museum Website: https://bmrecruit.ciphr-irecruit.com//templates/CIPHR/jobdetail_7800.aspx