Managing key relationships with internal and external stakeholders, coordinating executive meetings, and supporting corporate initiatives. The function facilitates a proactive and responsive leadership approach. Additionally, it supports the implementation of corporate objectives, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and delivering an efficient, well-coordinated approach to council-wide leadership.
About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate
This role provides a unique opportunity to work alongside the CEO and manage a small team of Executive Assistants. You will not only be providing high levelexecutive support to the Chief Executive, but also work alongside the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) in the organisation and management oftheir meetings. You will act as a key link between the Strategic Leadership Team, external partners and Members to manage key issues onbehalf of the CEO and to support the delivery of the council plan.
You will develop and maintain constructive relationships using your own initiative and make appropriate judgements to identify solutions to problems, using tact and diplomacy when working with the public, MPs,Stakeholders, Councillors and Council staff.
You will also need to have an awareness of the wider support required in supporting a CEO in bothlocal and national context. You will also manage the Executive Assistants providing support toExecutive Directors and Directors. You will have outstanding business support and organisational skills, be confident, highly perceptive,discreet and focused on the future of both the organisation and Borough.
Our Offer to You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your
About the Borough
Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work. We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.
About the Service and Team The Chief Executive’s Office team plays a critical role in enabling the smooth operation of the council’s leadership. The team provides high-level strategic and administrative support to the Chief Executive and senior leaders, enabling effective decision-making and governance. This includes, Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.
Additional InformationWe are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups. To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda. We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract. The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case‑by‑case basis.
Benefits
* A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro‑rata if part‑time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
* Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependants leave
* Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
* Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
* Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
* Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
* Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
* Interest‑free season ticket loans
* Local Government Pension Scheme
* Bicycle loan facilities and cycle‑to‑work scheme
* Electric vehicle leasing scheme
* Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support
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