PA to Director of Finance & Corporate Services

Contract Type: Permanent

Work Pattern: 37 hours Monday to Friday  

Post Number: 202402

As an organisation we support flexible working. This role allows hybrid working (a mix of home and office working) and a working pattern suitable for you can be discussed on appointment if you are successful.

You will be contracted to the nearest NRW office to your home, of which you will be required to attend for regular meetings, training and for one-to-one meetings with your manager. These will be planned in advance.

Job Description

This is a great chance to combine your professionalism, attention to detail and strong organisational skills with your passion for the natural environment of Wales and desire to make a real difference to the future management of our natural resources.

In this role, you will provide the highest level of secretarial and operational support to the Director of Finance & Corporate Services, helping them to perform their duties and deliver objectives in a timely and effective manner. You will work with other PAs to ensure support to the Director and Leadership Team is responsive, efficient and resilient. This may include supporting other Leadership Team members within your directorate and occasionally in other directorates, as part of your wider role in the Enabling Services PA team. 

Your role will be busy and wide-ranging, focused on mailbox management, meeting organisation and correspondence with internal and external partners and stakeholders. You will be adept at building trust and relationships, while keeping an eye on the detail and thinking ahead to anticipate problems. You will need to be resourceful and flexible in response to changing circumstances, discreet and diplomatic when necessary, and able to see the bigger picture when conflicting priorities arise.

In time, there may be an opportunity for workstream and project-focused activities, to further develop your business awareness and organisational skills.

Responsibilities

• You will provide professional support to your directorate using strong organisational skills, reliable efficiency and a high standard of customer service.
• You will manage the mailbox and diary for the Director of Finance & Corporate Services, and others within the Leadership Team when needed, acting as gatekeeper, handling routine email correspondence and organising meetings and visits.
• You will build and maintain relationships to facilitate smooth and effective administrative support for the Director of Finance & Corporate Services and others within the Leadership Team.
• You will create and maintain a range of business documents which may entail gathering, interpreting, analysing and presenting information from a range of sources.
• You will support effective governance of the business of your directorate and contribute to risk management and business continuity planning.
• You will maintain a forward look and proactively identify and resolve potential issues.
• You will work with confidential / business sensitive data and will take responsibility for the appropriate, safe and effective use of NRW equipment and information.
• You will work towards continuous improvement of processes and procedures to promote greater efficiency and coordination within your directorate and across the organisation.
• You will realise your contribution by applying the principles of SMNR to your work, in how you think, plan and deliver activities.
• Required to take part in incident response activities.

Qualifications, Experience & Knowledge

1. You will possess excellent literacy, numeracy and communication skills, including strong accurate written skills and the ability to communicate professionally at all times.
2. At minimum, you will hold four GCSEs at grade A* - C (including Maths and English / Welsh) or NVQ Level 2 in Administration or other equivalent.
3. You will have relevant experience of working in a busy administration or PA role supporting senior-level managers, including experience of dealing with confidential and sensitive matters.
4. You will have strong organisational skills including the ability to plan and prioritise your own work, manage conflicting priorities and keep multiple tasks moving at the same time.
5. You will have excellent customer service and people skills, including tact, diplomacy and the ability to build beneficial relationships and networks within and outside the organisation.
6. You will have strong IT skills and be a proficient user of Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
7. You will possess a good knowledge of business systems, the ability to collate and organise information effectively, and a good understanding of data protection and security.
8. You will demonstrate a positive mindset, resilience and the ability to deal with changing circumstances in a responsive and accommodating way.
9. You will demonstrate curiosity, a growth mindset and a desire for ongoing development.
10. You will have a good understanding of the work of NRW and an ability to make connections across workstreams to facilitate closer working and more effective communication and delivery.

Welsh Language Requirements:

Essential Level 1 – Able to pronounce Welsh and use basic phrases

Please note if you do not meet the level 1 requirement (ability to understand basic phrases and ability to pronounce Welsh names correctly), NRW offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal requirements during the course of your employment with us.

Competencies

Please note - Applications to this role will be assessed based on the following competencies, both at shortlisting and interview. Please give examples of how you demonstrate these competencies when completing your application form.

Benefits of Working for us

This role will offer a range of benefits, including:

• Agile and Flexible Working (role dependent) 
• Civil Service Pension Scheme offering employer contributions of 26.6% to 30.3%
• 28 days Annual Leave, rising to 33 days
• Generous Leave entitlements for all your life needs
• Health and Wellbeing Benefits and Support
• Weekly Well-being hour to use at your choice

See full details for all the employee benefits you will receive.

How to Apply

Please send a completed Application form to Applications@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk using the post number as the email reference

Before completing your application, please read our Guidance on completing a job application form

Application closing date 12 February 2023

Interviews will take place through Microsoft Teams.

If you have any queries about the role, please contact Tamana Tomlinson on tamana.tomlinson@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk or 07815 976932

Natural Resources Wales embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunity. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented, including women, black and ethnic minority groups and people with a disability. We have a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.