Executive Assistant

Pavers, our family-owned-and-run footwear retail business, is expanding rapidly and we are looking for an experienced Executive Assistant to support our Group Managing Director at our Head Office in York.

Jason, our Group MD, is in his late-30s and very ambitious. He is looking for a precise, fast-paced, and diligent Executive Assistant who he can build a strong, intuitive partnership with and who will support him, and the business, for many years to come.

To succeed in the role, you will need to be highly skilled at both Personal and Executive Assistant functions. From being comfortable influencing Directors to ensure pre-work is completed and subsequent actions are progressed in a timely manner, representing Jason when he’s not available in internal meetings, through to taking ownership of our company-wide quarterly strategy process, there will be significant responsibility given to the executive function of the role. Experience using automation tools to facilitate this would be a plus. Equally from a personal perspective you will ideally be skilled at researching and booking personal and professional events and travel in a wide variety of cities (particularly York and London). There is a good chance you like lists and are excellent at prioritising You will need to be self-starter who is pro-active in ensuring progress without prompting. Clearly there will be a requirement to provide general administrative support, take meeting notes, manage diaries and appointments, and occasionally organise business events too.

Given the importance of managing competing demands and influencing in this role it is likely to best suit a warm, friendly individual with high EQ who naturally builds close relationships. Over time the role could broaden or specialise, depending on your skillset and ambition. A job well done will be ensuring the Managing Director is able to maximise their efficiency (both inside and outside work) in a fast-paced retail environment, and that the business makes progress on our key strategic objectives.

This is a full-time opportunity (part time over 5 days considered), which, due to the nature of the role, may occasionally require out of hours work and/or working pattern flexibility to meet the requirements of the business. Work-from-home is offered 1 day per week.

As our Executive Assistant you will:

Coordinate and support delivery of the company strategy on a quarterly basis, overseeing data collation, querying incomplete submissions, and ensuring sensible prioritisation in line with the goals of the senior leadership team

Manage the central calendar used to coordinate the senior leadership team and highlight high priority upcoming tasks / events

Coordinate and prepare relevant materials for key meetings, including agendas, pre-reading and updating actions, including monthly board meetings.

Act to support aims and objectives, proactively anticipating issues and acting on their behalf as required. Using initiative and responding to/directing queries as appropriate

Support the MD in personal tasks including booking travel, tickets, entertainment and personal hobbies

Highlight issues that need immediate attention, respond to requests, consult and advise as well as delegating as appropriate

Support and arrange occasional external events

Provide a friendly interface to colleagues throughout the business

Work collaboratively, compassionately, and empathetically to establish and maintain good working relationships with the senior leadership team and across the wider business

Support senior level meetings as required, occasionally attending meetings and acting on  behalf of the MD

Support other members of senior management with diary management

Act as a primary point of contact

Full responsibility of diary and travel management to make the most efficient use of the MD’s time.

What you’ll need to be our Executive Assistant

Previous Executive Assistant experience required at board or director level

Very high levels of organisation, speed of execution, disciplined prioritisation, and excellent IT skills

Ability to work to very tight deadlines and manage conflicting demands, whilst maintaining a positive and friendly outlook

Willingness and eagerness to undertake any task – however big or small, and confidence to deliver

Able to demonstrate resilience, patience, professionalism, and pragmatism

Be cost-conscious and never spend money unnecessarily e.g. through use of avios or Membership Reward points, and have a good sense of monetary value

Good working knowledge of hospitality options in York and London

A professional, humble and trustworthy individual who can work with and manage confidential information discretely and maintain confidentiality in all scenarios

Pay & Benefits you’ll get as our Executive Assistant:? 

Salary: £Competitive depending on experience plus;

Discretionary annual bonus?

Generous Staff Discount? 

Free onsite parking? 

Holiday Entitlement (Increases with service)? 

Company Contribution Pension? 

Free access to?RetailHUB?(Wellbeing & Financial Support)

Access to Pavers Academy our online learning platform

Access to Pavers Foundation: employee-led grant application and charitable giving scheme

About Us

At Pavers we are passionate about providing comfort and happiness to our customers, and we make sure to employ people who are as passionate as we are. We always look for happy, confident, upbeat people, and we provide great jobs in a supportive family environment for them. We know that without our colleagues there is no business, and so the better we look after you, the better service you will provide our customers. We always try and do the right thing by our people.

Pavers has been trading for over 50 years and is a highly profitable family owned-and-run retail business with a strong balance sheet, over 180 retail locations, and a rapidly expanding digital presence. We also own the Jones Bootmaker and Herring Shoes footwear businesses, remain acquisitive, and employ over 1800 people. We were recently recognised by Best Companies as one of the UK’s Top 5 Retail Employers, are Carbon Neutral, have donated more than £2m to charity in the past 5 years, and are imminently undertaking a significant expansion and modernisation of our Warehouse, Head Office, and Retail estates.

We strive for diversity of thinking across the business and believe strongly in supporting our local communities. In 2018 we donated over £2.2m to establish the Pavers Foundation, with the specific purpose of providing grants for causes important to all our colleagues in the areas of health, education, and community. In terms of the environment, we are constantly seeking to reduce our impact. Since 2020 we have been fully carbon neutral, and we also have one of the largest solar arrays in the North-East of England on our warehouse generating clean energy. Because every year we give a percentage of our annual profits to our Foundation, our overarching aim is to be financially successful, but to achieve this in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

If this sounds like the kind of business?you’d?like to know more about, we’d love to hear from you - please apply today to be?our Executive Assistant?