Senior Administrator and Executive Assistant

Job description
Are you a great communicator (verbally and digitally) with fantastic organisational skills and a proactive approach to office administration?

The Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU) is seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Administrator / Executive Assistant to provide comprehensive operational assistance, administrative and secretarial support to the Director, Associate Directors, and Communications and Engagement Manager.

We work at the forefront of innovative clinical research, taking discoveries from the laboratory into the clinic to provide the treatments and medical interventions of the future. Our team has expertise in the design, conduct and analysis of multi-centre, interventional clinical trials and other well-designed studies. We work in partnership with investigators to deliver high-quality trials that will directly influence clinical practice. We are a UK Clinical Research Collaboration registered CTU that receives core funding from Cancer Research UK with additional funding from the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and is part of the South Central NIHR Research Support Service (RSS).

Working from our SCTU offices, based at Southampton General Hospital, you will be responsible for providing administrative support to the Director and senior staff including diaries, meeting organisation and travel arrangements. You will be proactive and computer literate, able to produce digital documents for internal and external presentation. You will need to be able to work well as part of a team, with excellent communication skills and the ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining close attention to detail along with an interest in supporting the development of health research and professionals in the UK.

Acting as the first point of contact for all visitors to the SCTU you will provide a full range of confidential administrative support, including scheduling diaries, arranging meetings, organising travel arrangements and responding to routine communications, as well as drafting replies or offering advice in more complex matters.

You will have relevant qualifications and substantial experience in similar roles in complex organisations. With high level IT skills, excellent accuracy, communication and organisation skills, you will be able to independently organise activities and refine processes according to strategic and management plans, accompanied by the ability to prioritise workload. The ability to use your own initiative is essential. You must have experience of handling highly confidential and sensitive information and dealing effectively with a range of external stakeholders including students, patients, and members of the public. As a university we aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive and are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We believe that we can only truly meet our objectives if we are reflective of society, so we are passionate about creating a working environment in which you are free to bring your whole self to work.

As part of our commitment to your wellbeing, we offer an occupational pension scheme and generous holidays.

The Faculty of Medicine holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award demonstrating commitment to equal opportunities and gender balance in the workplace. The Faculty recognises that applicants may seek flexible working patterns which will be considered as part of the recruitment process. For further information including key benefits designed to help maintain and support employees' well-being and work-life balance, please see our working with us website pages.