Executive Assistant

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

The Wellcome Sanger Institute conducts cutting-edge genomic research on an unprecedented scale and our administration and support staff play a vital role in enabling and supporting our mission and vision.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced and highly skilled individual to provide a first-class and proficient service as an Executive Assistant to the Director of the Genomic Surveillance Unit at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

About the Role

You will deliver a seamless professional administrative service to the Director, ensuring a coordinated and streamlined administrative function that supports the delivery, aims and objectives of the GSU.

You will line manage the Senior Administrator who supports GSU’s Executive Leadership Team, including recruitment, development and performance management, providing direction and supervision to ensure that all administrative processes are managed effectively and efficiently.

About You

To excel in this role, you should have extensive experience in providing high-quality support at the executive assistant level.

You should be a highly organised, efficient, self-motivated and energetic individual who can work independently in a dynamic environment with flexibility, adjusting to varying priorities and finding solutions to challenges that arise.

You will need to be comfortable working in a confidential environment and be skilled at building effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of seniority.

Your personal qualities will include professionalism, personal drive, trustworthiness and the ability to work collaboratively.

Essential Skills

• Experience in providing full administrative support to a high level, including managing complex diaries and inboxes, compilation of correspondence, calendar administration

• Building and maintaining effective professional relationships

• Highly developed communication skills with experience of interacting effectively with people at all levels

• Have a high level of resilience and a proven capability of dealing with sensitive information and upholding absolute confidentiality

• Experience in managing successfully an administrative team and developing staff

• Have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to influence as required

• Ability to put forward and champion the viewpoints of others and provide clarity on specific requirements

• Ability to work independently and in a team setting

• Ability to work collaboratively and/or troubleshoot issues

• High level of presentation, influencing and negotiating skills

• Outstanding organisational skills with the ability to plan, prioritise and schedule own work effectively with a record of working successfully in a constantly changing environment

• Ability to respond flexibly and professionally to frequently changing priorities

• Multi-tasking to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced work environment 

• Experience in managing budgets and expense processes

Additional information

Please note: This is a hybrid role with 3 days per week onsite.

Internal employees interested in applying for this role should apply through the internal Working at Wellcome Sanger:

We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.