Working Pattern: Typically 5 days in office, with core hours flexible between 8am-6pm.
The Role
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Next Sourcing team for a Personal Assistant to provide exceptional, high-level support to our Director.
Operating in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, you will be the backbone of the department, keeping our leadership organised, efficient, and focused. You will work closely with stakeholders at all levels across the business, as well as providing essential cover for Director PA duties when required.
Next is the biggest fashion and lifestyle retailer within the UK & Europe’s largest online clothing retailer. With over 500 stores in the UK (representing 8.3 million square feet of retail space) and around 45,000 employees, our brand is highly trusted. We serve 8 million digital customers across 72 countries, selling 280 million products each year—all while ensuring everything we do represents genuine value for money.
What You’ll Take On
- Manage Calendars & Communications: Oversee the Director’s diary, manage their inbox, screen calls, and handle daily correspondence efficiently.
- Coordinate Meetings: Organise high-level meetings and capture accurate minutes and actions
- Handle Systems & Administration: Manage and approve requests through NEXT systems (including NEP, FCM, Service Now, NIA, and Concur) with absolute discretion.
- Deliver Personal Support: Assist the Director with personal arrangements, including travel, healthcare, expenses, and hospitality.
- Lead Event Coordination: Plan and execute onsite/offsite meetings, away days, and annual focus events, including venue liaison and budget management.
- Oversee Budgets & Reporting: Monitor department budgets, manage cost centre reports, recharges, and maintain the department Gift Register and NSOB process.
- Support HR & Departmental Processes: Coordinate vacancies, manage budget approvals, maintain the 9-box grid, oversee work experience placements, and keep critical path and risk registers updated.
- Run the Office Smoothly: Act as the main point of contact for the department, maintain meeting rooms, order supplies, and manage the physical office space.
What You’ll Bring
- Senior PA Experience: Proven track record of supporting senior leadership within a fast-paced, corporate environment.
- Discretion & Integrity: A deep understanding of confidentiality, with the ability to handle highly sensitive data with complete professionalism.
- Tech Savviness: Strong PC literacy, with specific expertise in Google/G Suite and the ability to quickly adapt to internal management systems.
- Calm Under Pressure: An assertive, composed, and controlled demeanor when managing competing priorities and tight deadlines.
- Exceptional Organisation: Meticulous attention to detail and accuracy in everything you do, ensuring no detail is overlooked.
- Strong Relationship Building: Outstanding communication skills, with a diplomatic and tactful approach to collaborating with stakeholders at all levels.
Sponsorship
Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements. For further information please see: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa .
We encourage early applications for our roles, as our recruitment process begins as soon as the role is advertised. If we successfully fill the position, this advert may close earlier than planned.
At NEXT, we believe the best work happens when there are no barriers to collaboration. That’s why we are a Google-powered workspace. From your very first day, you’ll be using the full Google Workspace suite; Docs, Drive, and Meet, to stay connected and move fast.
If your previous experience is rooted in other software suites, don’t worry! We’ll point you to a digital Google toolkit the moment you join, packed with handy guides and insider tips to help you transition smoothly and hit the ground running.
#LI-Onsite
You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 44,000 people across the Next group. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 450 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 80 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!
