Executive Assistant to the Head of School

Job Description

Job Title: Executive Assistant to the Head of School

Posting Start Date: 18/11/2025

Job Id: 1933

School/Department: Information, Journalism & Communication

Work Arrangement: Full Time (Hybrid)

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary per annum (£): £32,080 - £36,636

Closing Date: 04/12/2025

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.

Overview

As Executive Assistant, you will provide executive level support to the Head of School and School Manager to ensure they are fully supported in their day-to-day roles and on projects and activities related to the School, Faculty and University. Due to the complexity of the Head of School's role, it is essential that the post-holder is able to work quickly to meet deadlines, to balance competing priorities and to be proactive, forward planning to anticipate requirements and put in place arrangements. Strong team-working skills are required, along with excellent written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail. Much of the business of the Head of School's office is highly confidential and sensitive and may have human resources or public relations implications, and so the ability to act with discretion and sensitivity is critical.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Provide professional and confidential Executive Assistant support to the Head of School and School Manager, supporting them in their day-to-day roles and on projects and activities related to the School, Faculty and University.
• Be the first point of contact for enquiries to the Head of School, which will require dealing effectively with a wide range of enquiries and daily liaison with colleagues at all levels across the University and with external organisations.
• Deal with high volumes of correspondence (incoming and outgoing) on behalf of the Head of School and School Manager.
• Undertake diary and event management and coordination for the Head of School ensuring appropriate travel and catering arrangements are in place (also includes making arrangements for external visitors to the School as required).
• Support Head of School and School Manager in the drafting and preparation of correspondence, reports and presentations, undertaking some initial analysis of information and collation of materials for inclusion.
• Maintain document filing systems (electronic and hard copy) for critical Departmental documents and logs, ensuring they are kept up to date and maintained in line with information security requirements.
• Support the HoD and School Manager by overseeing Human Resources related administrative processes (including resources, staff recruitment processes, SRDS organisation, academic probation organisation, academic visitor processing, mandatory training logs, etc.) for the School Office to maximise efficiency.

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Criteria

Essential or desirable

Stage(s) assessed at

Educated to A-Level standard (or equivalent qualifications /experience)

Essential

Application

Experience of working in a senior secretarial / PA role

Essential

Application/interview

High level IT skills, including advanced use of internet and email, as well as the Microsoft Office suite and/or Google Apps

Essential

Application/interview

Experience of motivating and communicating with a team of staff

Essential

Application/interview

Experience of delegating work to others and monitoring work to ensure it is completed to standard and within timescales

Essential

Application/interview

Excellent organisation and time management skills to prioritise own workload and work accurately to tight deadlines with minimal supervision

Essential

Application/interview

Ability to operate effectively under pressure

Essential

Application/interview

Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, working with accuracy and attention to detail; experience of communicating with a range of audiences

Essential

Application/interview

Experience of working as a team member to collaborate, co-operate and participate with others to achieve common objectives and to share experience and ideas

Essential

Application/interview

Ability to analyse and solve problems creatively with an appreciation of longer-term implications

Essential

Application/interview

Further Information

Grade

6

Line manager

Operations Manager but with input from the Head of School

Direct reports

N/A

Grade

6

Our website

For informal enquiries about this job contact Michelle Nicholson, School Manager: on

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place week commencing 15 December. This will consist of an interview and test. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage on the week commencing 8 December. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: ().

What we offer

• A minimum of 41days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
• Generous pension scheme.
• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women's and Parent's networks).
• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Professional Services Shared Skills Framework

• A range of generous family-friendly policies

• paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies

• support for those going through the menopause
• paid time off and support for fertility treatment
• and more

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision ) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.