On behalf of the MOD, we are looking for an Executive Assistant (Inside IR35) for a 6 month contract based in London ideally or Portsmouth up to 3 days a week onsite.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a central government department with a mission to protect our country and provide the ultimate guarantee of its security and independence, as well as helping to protect its values and interests abroad.
The MOD is one of the biggest public procurement organisations in Europe and the single largest customer for UK industry. It currently manages approximately £20 billion of spend on capital investments in equipment and infrastructure every year. Over the next decade the MOD is committed to spending over £190 billion on equipment and support. The MOD’s customers include both the armed forces and national security agencies, and it has a diverse range of requirements, including military fighting vehicles, education services, nuclear submarines and facilities management.
The MOD’s aim is to provide its armed forces with the best capabilities to enable them to protect the UK’s security and advance national interests, both now and in the long term.
To do this the MOD has an annual budget of almost £53 billion and a workforce comprising 197,000 people. of which 54,000 are civilians working for the UK MOD.
The work really matters; the MOD offers a range of engaging roles which have a direct impact on the quality of services they provide, in many locations across the UK. We support teams working in HR, Primary Health Care, Corporate Services, and many others.
As an Executive Assistant your main responsibilities will be:
- Provide comprehensive administrative and organisational support to senior leaders, ensuring priorities and commitments are managed effectively.
- Manage complex diaries, coordinate meetings, arrange travel, and organise events and logistics.
- Prepare agendas, briefing papers, presentations, reports, and meeting minutes, ensuring actions are tracked and completed.
- Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, managing communications and building effective working relationships.
- Coordinate recruitment and onboarding activities, including interview scheduling, candidate communications, and maintaining accurate records.
- Support workforce planning activities through the maintenance of staffing, vacancy, and resource trackers.
- Coordinate training and development requests, maintain learning records, and support reporting on workforce capability activities.
- Maintain SharePoint sites, document repositories, and management information, ensuring records are accurate and up to date.
- Monitor and produce reports on recruitment, workforce, and administrative activities to support decision-making.
- Manage correspondence, inboxes, and enquiries, ensuring timely responses and appropriate escalation where required.
- Support governance activities by coordinating meetings, preparing documentation, and tracking actions and decisions.
- Assist with procurement administration, financial records, and purchase requests as required.
- Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency, organisation, and service delivery.
- Provide flexible business support and contribute to the successful delivery of Directorate objectives.
Essential:
- Active Sc Clearance
- Experience of providing administrative or business support within a busy team environment.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.
- Experience of maintaining accurate records, trackers and management information.
- Good written and verbal communication skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft 365 applications, including Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams and SharePoint.
- Experience of working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.
Desirable:
- Knowledge of the Civil Service recruitment principles
- Knowledge of CP&F
Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.
Disability Confident
As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, the MOD guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group.
This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.
Armed Forces Covenant
The MOD guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.
In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.
