Administrative Assistant at The Admiralty University of Nigeria

Job Type: Senior Managerial/ Administrative and Support Staff
Department: General Administration

Overall Purpose

• The purpose of this role is to provide high-level and comprehensive secretarial and administrative support to the members of the Senior Management, ensuring they are fully briefed and prepared for all activities and to ensure the smooth, efficient and effective running of their agendas, diaries and meetings.
• As well as encompassing the traditional responsibilities of a Senior Administrative Assistant role, the postholder will be expected to contribute more broadly to ensure that members of the Senior Management are able to operate effectively.
• This role will provide a central point of contact for the Senior Managers’ team and therefore will be expected to represent the institution in a professional, efficient and courteous manner. The post holder is expected to maintain complete confidentiality at all times.
• The post holder will engage daily in activities to support the smooth and efficient running of the overall office. The post holder may also act as Secretary to groups related to the Senior Managers’ team as appropriate. This is a wide-ranging role, which will allow the appointee to develop a broad range of skills and experiences as a platform for career advancement.

Role Specification

• Responsible for the provision of an efficient, high quality and confidential business, administrative and personal assistant support service to the Senior Managers’ team.
• Manage sensitive and often complex business on behalf of the Senior Managers’ team. This will entail solving problems, taking responsibility and thinking independently, and responding to sudden unexpected demands on the Senior Managers’ team.
• Act as a first point of contact for all communication and personal contacts for the Senior Managers’ team and use judgement and initiative to manage responses to the Senior Managers’ team incoming correspondence and telephone calls, identifying those that are a priority and handling them accordingly, including drafting responses, redirecting to appropriate persons for action, and sending responses to a range of colleagues/organizations for information/action.
• Manage and maintain a complex appointment system and electronic diary for the Senior Managers’ team, using independent judgement when necessary to prioritise their work schedule in accordance with changing priorities, liaising and negotiating with all relevant parties in an efficient and effective way.
• Ensuring regular liaison with the Senior Managers’ team and their supporting teams around diary management and routine day-to-day activity and the use of bring forward systems, taking the opportunity to highlight any areas of concern and potential conflicts and to ensure they are properly briefed for their meetings.
• Organise meetings, book venues, arrange hospitality, transport, and accommodation on behalf of the Senior Managers’ team and be responsible for the distribution of agenda and supporting papers as appropriate and required.
• If required, provide an administrative/secretarial service for meetings, to include preparing agenda papers, accurately taking and transcribing formal minutes and following up actions.
• Manage, provide and maintain a high level of support to the Senior Managers’ team in the production of reports, business papers, spreadsheets, presentations and other documents.
• Develop effective networks and effective communications with individuals and other organisations regarding the activities of the Senior Managers’ team.
• Act as a focus for a wide range of queries about the University from internal and external sources, ensuring that all enquiries are personally handled in a professional, courteous and effective manner, or redirected as appropriate.
• Undertake financial administration (including procurement, raising purchase orders and processing expenses claims) for and related to the Senior Managers’ team, ensuring compliance with the financial regulations.

Duties Relating to support of the Office of the Senior Managers’ team:

• Work as part of a small and integrated team to ensure the highest standards of operation in a busy environment. Help to ensure that the Office is always adequately staffed and that the
• Senior Managers’ team are supported by cooperating with the other PAs in the Office, under the direction of the Office Manager.
• Undertake a number of activities on a regular basis that are distributed amongst the PA team to enable the smooth running of the Office. This includes: undertaking ad-hoc projects and
• tasks; processing invoices and other financial administrative duties; collecting post; providing reception cover on a rota basis; ensuring office supplies are maintained; covering for colleagues who are absent; maintaining and sharing relevant knowledge with PA colleagues and the Office Manager as appropriate.
• Manage and maintain high standards of office systems, both electronic and manual, including maintaining an up-to-date filing system of all correspondence, for the Senior Managers’ team.
• Provide support for arrangements in relation to the Graduation Ceremonies and assist with other special events as required (e.g. official visits, major dinners and receptions for external guests, away days, VIP funding raising events).
• Undertake other duties that may be reasonably required of the post

Further Information

• Accountability In undertaking these responsibilities the postholder will clearly be able to delegate specific functions, but not accountability for them, to other individuals.
• Hours: This is a full time post. The nature of the post is such that the post holder will be expected to work flexibly and for such reasonable hours (minimum 40) as are necessary in order to fulfil the duties and responsibilities of the post.
• Leave: 25 days per annum.

Person Specification (Experience & Knowledge)
Candidates for the role will be expected to demonstrate evidence of the following knowledge, skills, and attributes:

Qualifications:

• Degree holder or equivalent relevant experience
• 4 years relative experience

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Experience of managing sensitive diary and business management activities in a complex environment, including experience in a senior admin/personal assistant role.
• Experience of working independently on non-routine matters and exercising judgement and decision-making skills across the work area.
• Excellent organisational skills with ability to prioritise diverse and busy workloads without
• supervision in order to meet deadlines, using initiative to anticipate requirements of the Senior Managers’ team and other colleagues as required.
• Ability to produce high quality work with strong attention to detail while under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Experience in the organisation and servicing of meetings of a significant nature, including the preparation of papers and taking and writing up minutes.
• Excellent standard of oral and written communication skills, drawing on strong knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation and composition.
• Excellent analytical skills and numeracy.
• Excellent IT skills, with good familiarity of diary management systems, Excel, Powerpoint, Word, Email Systems.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and able to establish good working relationships with both staff and students and also with a wide range of external agencies.
• Ability to handle difficult situations with tact and sensitivity and to maintain absolute confidentiality when required.
• Ability to solve problems, take responsibility and think independently and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Ability to organise often complex itineraries and associated tickets/documentation for travel in Nigeria and internationally.
• An ability and willingness to develop a clear understanding of Higher Education policy.
• Able and willing to work as part of a team covering responsibilities in a proactive and
• professional manner where required.
• Willingness to work flexible hours at short notice on occasion