SUMMARY:
A fantastic opportunity has arisen at Hooper Quinn for an organised and proactive Office Administrator to join our team.
This is a central role in a dynamic, high-performance environment, supporting the Managing Director and wider team with a blend of administrative, financial, and operational responsibilities. You'll help keep the business running smoothly by managing day-to-day communications, processing financial transactions, maintaining internal systems, and enabling efficient delivery across multiple technical projects.
The ideal candidate will be hands-on, reliable, and confident working across a wide variety of tasks, from diary management and supplier liaison to bookkeeping, document control, and project coordination. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives on variety and wants to be embedded at the heart of a high-performing technical team.
Term: Permanent
Location: On site in Buckingham
Salary: £30,000
PACKAGE:
Rewards & Benefits
* Competitive salary
* 8% pension
* Performance bonus scheme
* Comprehensive healthcare cover (extendible to dependants)
* 36 days' annual leave (inclusive of Bank hols.)
* TOIL policy
* Cycle2Work scheme
Development & Growth
* Significant opportunities for professional development
* Exposure to diverse, cutting-edge projects across multiple industries
* Mentoring and support from senior engineers
Culture & Environment
* Flexitime scheme
* A critical role within a thriving, ambitious, and innovative organisation
* Work alongside a close-knit team of exceptional people who excel in their fields
* Supportive working environment in a modern and inspiring facility situated in the Buckinghamshire countryside
Team & Lifestyle
* Quarterly team days
* Annual company ski holiday
* Dynamic company culture with a balance of hard work and fun
RESPONSIBILITIES:
* Provide executive and administrative support to the Managing Director and wider team, including diary management, travel arrangements, and preparation of reports, agendas, and meeting notes
* Oversee day-to-day finance and bookkeeping tasks such as purchase orders, invoicing, expenses, reconciliations, and simple financial summaries
* Support business operations by maintaining records, contracts, policies, and company registers, managing subscriptions and renewals, and assisting with staff onboarding
* Assist with commercial and project support, including formatting client proposals, tracking project finances, coordinating deliverables, and light contract administration
* Contribute to workflow and process improvements by documenting procedures, identifying opportunities for automation, and supporting internal communications
* Manage access to company systems and tools, monitor usage and renewals, and provide basic troubleshooting support
* Help foster a positive team environment through internal communications, events, and wellbeing initiatives, acting as an ambassador for Hooper Quinn's culture and values
ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES:
* Highly organised, dependable, and proactive, with a solutions-focused mindset
* Strong attention to detail and accuracy across administrative and financial tasks
* Ability to manage multiple priorities independently while maintaining composure under pressure
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a professional and approachable tone
* Commitment to Hooper Quinn's values of precision, collaboration, and continuous improvement
SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:
* Proven experience in a similar administrative, executive assistant, or office coordination role
* Hands-on financial administration experience is essential, including purchase orders, invoicing, expenses, reconciliations, and familiarity with accounting software
* Experience working in a technical, engineering, or project-based environment is essential
* Confident user of productivity tools such as Microsoft Office, cloud storage platforms, and accounting software (e.g. FreeAgent, Xero)
* Comfortable with project/workflow management tools (e.g. ClickUp)
* Strong understanding of commercial documents such as NDAs, contracts, and supplier agreements
* A qualification in business administration, finance, or a related field (e.g. NVQ Level 3, AAT Level 2 or above, or equivalent experience) is advantageous, as is additional training in bookkeeping, project coordination, or office management
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Hooper Quinn is a trusted engineering, technology, and innovation partner, rooted in a legacy of British engineering excellence. Founded in 2016, our team of curious, principled engineers draws on a rich Formula 1 pedigree to bring strategic thinking, high-calibre technical execution, and an entrepreneurial spirit to everything we do. From tackling complex challenges to accelerating breakthrough technologies, we work with resilience, craft, and a relentless drive to push boundaries. Today, we uphold a reputation for solving complex challenges at speed, providing expertise to businesses and entrepreneurs through a range of services that form a complete product and technology development ecosystem.
We welcome you to visit our website at to read more about our history, philosophy, and ambition, meet our team, and explore the diverse projects and services we deliver.
Hooper Quinn is an equal opportunity employer. We actively encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply, and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
HOW TO APPLY:
To apply, please submit the following to, using 'V0625 – Office Administrator' as the subject of your email:
1. CV
2. Cover letter outlining your suitability for this role and your motivation for joining Hooper Quinn
3. Response to the Application Exercises detailed below
You are welcome to include relevant work samples/portfolio in support of your application.
IMPORTANT:
1. Applications will not be considered if any of the three required documents is missing
2. Only applications submitted to the above email address will be considered
APPLICATION EXERCISES:
At Hooper Quinn, we are incredibly proud of our culture and the team we've built. These short exercises are designed to give us an insight into how you think, communicate, and approach challenges, and equally, to give you a feel for the types of situations you may encounter in this role.
We're not looking for "perfect answers." Instead, we're interested in your judgement, mindset, and approach. Please take no more than 1 hour to complete the exercises.
EXERCISE 1
(Culture & Values)
Our values guide everything we do. In your own words, please describe what the following values mean to you, and how you would put them into practice in your day-to-day work:
* Purposeful Collaboration
* Tenacious Curiosity
(Max 200 words total)
EXERCISE 2
(Practical Skills)
(a) Prioritisation
Below is a list of tasks that have landed on your desk this morning. Please prioritise them in the order you would tackle them and explain briefly (1–2 sentences each) why:
1. Chase an overdue supplier invoice (14 days late)
2. Book train tickets for the Managing Director's client meeting tomorrow morning
3. Upload a signed NDA into the contracts folder
4. Using dashboards that you manage, prepare a financial report on a live project in preparation for a meeting with the Project Manager next week
5. Circulate meeting notes from yesterday's project review
6. Set up a new contractor with access to email and project management tools
7. Format and send out a client quotation draft
8. Reconcile staff expenses submitted yesterday
9. Settle a supplier invoice that is currently blocking engineering work
(b) Document Formatting
Below is a short draft excerpt from internal meeting notes. Please tidy it up into a professional, easy-to-read document with headings, clear bullet points highlighting actions where possible, and corrections to grammar/spelling.
MD said finance need to chase a client payment (Q2 invoice outstanding). Deadline nxt week for Innovate grant submission. Need final doc versions checked by friday (OW). Marketing want images for new landing page w/ shortlist of keywords for associated ad campaign. We agreed to get staff feedback on the wellbeing programme. Actions: RE to send email reminder to client, OW finish grant draft, EW source photos, give feedback (all).
(c) Professional Communication
A supplier has emailed you chasing for payment of their invoice which has fallen through the cracks and is now 14 days overdue.
1. Draft a short, professional reply to the supplier
2. Explain the next steps you would take internally
Thank you for taking the time to complete these exercises. We appreciate the effort you put into your application and look forward to learning more about you.