– Drive Excellence and Make a Difference with Oakdale
Location: Harrogate
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Salary: Band C: £30,822.75 – £39,042.15 per annum
Shape Services, Support People, Deliver Impact
For over 25 years, Oakdale has been delivering high-quality, evidence-based therapies and assessments for children, young people, and adults. As a not-for-profit, values-driven organisation, we partner with the NHS, schools, local authorities, and private clients to provide care that changes lives. We are now seeking a proactive and experienced Executive Assistant to join our operational team. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who thrives on organisation, collaboration, and driving continuous improvement. You’ll play a key role in ensuring Oakdale runs smoothly, efficiently, and in line with our mission to help people thrive.
The Role – What You’ll Do
We are seeking a highly skilled, proactive individual with a positive attitude to join our team at the Oakdale Centre in Harrogate as an Executive Assistant (EA). This dual role requires you to be responsible for providing support to Oakdale’s directors and to manage the day-to-day operations and facilities at the Centre.
In this role, you will work closely with the executive team, managing complex diaries, organising events, and serving as an ambassador for our leadership team. This is an exciting and interesting opportunity for someone who would like to be part of an organisation with an excellent reputation that is working hard to make a difference to people’s lives.
Key Responsibilities
Executive & CEO Support
* Provide comprehensive Executive Assistant support to the CEO and Board, ensuring their time and priorities are effectively managed.
* Manage complex diary scheduling for the CEO and Board, coordinating meetings across senior leaders while proactively resolving conflicts and adapting to changing priorities.
* Work closely with the CEO to understand organisational priorities and ensure their time is aligned with strategic and operational needs.
* Anticipate the needs of the CEO and prepare relevant information, documents, and briefings in advance of meetings.
* Ensure the CEO and other senior leaders are appropriately prepared for meetings, coordinating briefing materials and supporting information where required.
* Manage and prioritise the CEO’s inbox, ensuring urgent matters are flagged and correspondence is handled in a timely and professional manner.
* Draft correspondence, briefing notes, and other documentation on behalf of the CEO where required.
* Act as a trusted and professional point of contact for internal and external stakeholders interacting with the CEO and Board.
Board & Governance Support
* Organise and coordinate Board meetings, ensuring agendas, papers, and supporting documentation are prepared and distributed in a timely manner.
* Record accurate minutes during Board and executive-level meetings and track actions to ensure follow-up and accountability.
* Support the coordination of meeting structures across Board, Executive, and Senior Management Team levels, ensuring governance processes operate smoothly.
* Work closely with governance colleagues to ensure meeting membership, attendance, and documentation align with Oakdale’s governance framework.
* Assist in preparing Board reports, presentations, and meeting packs.
Internal Communications & Coordination
* Support internal communications across the organisation, working with colleagues across support services including IT, HR, Finance, Technology, and Business Development.
* Coordinate the preparation and distribution of internal updates or bulletins to ensure communications are engaging, clear, and relevant to staff.
* Help ensure key organisational information is shared effectively and consistently across teams.
Events & Organisational Coordination
* Coordinate and organise internal events such as executive away days, Senior Management Team meetings and whole-staff events.
* Support the planning and coordination of Oakdale’s presence at conferences and exhibitions.
* Work closely with the Senior Office Manager and Marketing team to ensure equipment, merchandise and branded materials are prepared and available for events.
* Manage logistics for events including venue coordination, communication with attendees, and event planning.
Professional Representation
* Act as an ambassador for the CEO and Board, representing Oakdale with professionalism, warmth, and responsiveness.
* Maintain strict confidentiality when handling sensitive organisational or personnel information.
* Build effective working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and external stakeholder.
About You
This role requires a highly organised, proactive and trustworthy individual who can work closely with senior leaders, manage sensitive information with discretion, and anticipate the needs of the CEO and Board. The Executive Assistant plays a key role in supporting effective governance, coordinating executive-level meetings and events, and facilitating communication across Oakdale’s divisions and support services.
The postholder will act as a trusted partner to the CEO and Board, helping ensure priorities are managed effectively, information flows efficiently, and senior leaders are well prepared for key meetings and decision-making.
Personnel Specification
Essential
* Experience working as an Executive Assistant or in a similar senior administrative support role.
* Experience managing complex diaries and coordinating senior-level meetings.
* Demonstrable experience of minute-taking with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
* Excellent organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands.
* Strong written and verbal communication skills.
* Ability to anticipate needs and proactively support senior leaders.
* High level of discretion and ability to manage confidential and sensitive information.
* Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build effective relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.
* A proactive, solution-focused approach with a positive and professional attitude.
Desirable
* Experience providing Executive Assistant support at Executive or C‑suite level.
* Experience supporting Board or governance processes.
* Experience coordinating organisational events or conferences.
* Experience supporting internal communications or organisational updates.
Personal Qualities
* Highly trustworthy, with strong professional integrity and discretion.
* Warm, approachable, and able to build positive relationships across the organisation.
* Calm and reliable when managing competing priorities.
* Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
* Positive and collaborative approach to supporting others.
Why Join Oakdale?
At Oakdale, Your Well‑being And Growth Matter As Much As The Clients You Support. We Offer a Package Designed For Balance, Flexibility, And Long‑term Career Satisfaction, Including
* 33 days’ annual leave (including bank holidays), increasing with service
* Flexible and agile working from day one
* SimplyHealth: 24/7 GP access, counselling, physiotherapy, and more
* Exclusive, heavily discounted rates for you and your family on private ADHD and autism neurodevelopmental assessments, through our own expert service.*
* Fully funded flu vaccines
* Employee Wellbeing Initiative with trained mental health champions
* Smart Pension & Rewards: plan for your future with discounts and cashback
* Enhanced Occupational Sick Pay
* Cycle to Work & Technology Salary Sacrifice schemes
* Employee discount schemeProtected CPD days, annual away days, and high‑quality training
* Professional registration fees covered (where applicable)
* Opportunities to influence service improvement and innovation
* Laptop, monitor, keyboard, and any additional equipment you need to do your best work
* Discounts apply to dependants living within the same household.
Apply Today
This is more than an operational role, it’s an opportunity to make a tangible difference every day, in a role where your organisational skills directly support people to thrive.
Apply now and help us keep Oakdale moving forward
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