Job Summary
Reporting to the Business Operations Manager, the Executive Assistant is responsible for providing comprehensive high calibre administrative support to the Approvals Service Directorate, and EA support to the Director, Deputy Director and senior management team. The postholder will undertake multiple requests relating to work activities and manage deadlines appropriately. This will include providing effective, proactive diary management and prioritising high level competing demands. The postholder will organise travel, accommodation and events for the Directorate and provide support to recruitment processes and external stakeholder events. They will also provide secretariat support to a variety of internal and external meetings, producing agendas and high-quality minutes, monitoring risk registers and action and decision logs and liaising with action or risk owners. The role will require collaborative working with a range of internal and external stakeholders in areas that may be sensitive, confidential and complex and the post-holder will be required to work under their own initiative and to problem solve under general oversight and direction from their line manager, displaying a high level of tact, diplomacy, sound judgment in when to seek further opinion.
Main Duties of the Job
* Providing comprehensive high calibre administrative and executive assistant support to the Director, Deputy Director and wider Approvals Management team. Proactively managing diaries, anticipating and addressing conflicts
* Providing secretariat support to a wide variety of meetings, drafting agendas, circulating papers, taking minutes and following up on actions.
* Interpreting complex and sensitive requests for information, ensuring these are answered appropriately and promptly, prioritising where urgent contact needs to be made with the Director, Deputy Director or other managers.
* Liaising with HRA colleagues and communicating with a variety of stakeholders and organisations, often at high level, on behalf of the Directorate management team.
* Supporting the face‑to‑face event programme for REC members, organising venues, materials and catering alongside other ad hoc tasks relating to the event programme.
* Booking travel and accommodation as required for the Approvals Directorate.
* Supporting the management team, and working with colleagues to ensure that the business and administrative aspect of Approvals Directorate work is sustained at all times.
* Supporting the Business Operations manager in facilitating the recruitment process for staff across the Approvals Directorate.
About Us
Working at the HRA, we are reminded daily of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for you, not just us and the work we do.
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that helps us to deliver the best services. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community: age, disability, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and other diverse characteristics, and we have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.
When applying to work here, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement - if it works for us, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Please note, if applying to our Manchester, Nottingham or Bristol locations, we are only able to offer the role as home based.
Details
Date posted: 07 November 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £31,049 to £37,796 a year
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 980-HRA7591901-A
Job locations: HRA Bristol, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN
Person Specification
Qualifications (Essential)
* Degree, or portfolio of evidence demonstrating ability to work at this level
Knowledge, skills and expertise (Essential)
* Excellent keyboard skills and competent use of MS Office 365
Experience (Desirable)
* Experience of working within the NHS, higher education, and/or clinical research
* Experience of organising events
Organisational and diary management skills (Essential)
* Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise against a background of change and frequently changing demands
* Strong communication and influencing skills with the ability to communicate complex and/or sensitive information in a diplomatic and effective manner
Experience with senior teams (Essential)
* Experience of providing support to senior teams, including compiling agendas and taking minutes to a high standard with the ability to record detailed complex and sensitive information accurately and clearly
* Excellent organisational skills with extensive complex diary management skills and experience
Analytical and judgemental skills (Essential)
* Ability to manage a complex workload with competing priorities, using own initiative to take decisions and actions in line with the business aims of the organisation
* Experience of communicating verbally and in writing with a wide range of stakeholders, with the ability to understand and interpret complex and potentially sensitive information and make decisions accordingly
Interpersonal skills (Essential)
* Ability to work as part of a team, building strong working relationships within and across organisations
* Excellent interpersonal skills to include diplomacy, tact and sensitivity, negotiating and influencing and the ability to work well with others at all levels in an organisation, including senior staff
Other (Essential)
* Commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
* This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer Details
* Employer name: Health Research Authority
* Address: HRA Bristol, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN
* Website: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
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