Executive Assistant

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the role outlined in this job description are indicative of the currently envisaged scope and may be added to or altered as required, in line with the requirement of SEAI across Business Units/Department.

They will include, but not limited to, the following:

• Diary management and arranging daily operations of the Director of Research & Policy Insights.

• Scheduling and liaison on behalf of the Director of Research & Policy Insights with internal stakeholders, supporting coordinated, professional and dynamic interactions within the directorate team, and across the organisation.

• Liaising with a wide range of external stakeholders and delivering exemplary customer service as a point of contact for the Directorate, processing representations, escalations, and queries.

• Coordinating and managing special projects and crossorganisational committee work as assigned, against timelines. These committees may change as required, but initially include:

o Co-leading and supporting our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Committee.

o Supporting the delivery of the Public Sector Duty Implementation plan.

o Executive support to co-ordinate meetings, action plans and enable delivery of the various committees chaired by the Director of Research and Policy Insights. Following up on actions and outcomes on the committee work.

• Delivering and supporting relevant research, reporting, activities and project support requests across the Research and Policy Insights Directorate, and liaison with the Office of the CEO and Executive Assistants to other Directorates.

• Management and coordination of cross-Directorate team reporting and meetings, setting systems to track and report on KPIs and actions with a focus on a dynamic, professional, and collaborative culture.

• Preparation of travel arrangements for the Director, and Heads of Departments where appropriate.

• Assistance at external organisation events as required.

• Provide cover for and assistance to other Directorates and Executive Assistants as and when required.

To ensure that activity peaks within the Directorate are addressed in a proactive manner, it is expected that the candidate appointed to this role will need to be flexible in terms of working hours during these periods.

Knowledge & Skills

The knowledge and skills required include but are not limited to the following:

• Ability to prioritise and complete work effectively, within deadlines and to a high standard.

• Is personally trustworthy and can be relied upon, with strong experience of dealing with a wide range of confidential information and interactions.

• Ensures that customers and stakeholders are at the heart of all services provided.

• Strong relationship manager, building effective and trusting relationships across the organisation and externally.

• Upholds high standards of honesty, ethics, and integrity.

• Ability to quickly understand and anticipate the changing needs of the Director and team.

• Effective communicator.

• Ability to be a team player and take direction, together with having the ability to work on their own initiative as appropriate.

• Ability to exercise sound judgement, diplomacy, and tact.

• Strives to perform at a high level, investing significant energy to achieve agreed objectives.

• Demonstrates resilience in the face of challenging or changing circumstances and high demands.

• Exceptional attention to detail

Experience and Qualifications

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate:

• A Level 8 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) (e.g., Honours Degree or higher) or equivalent in Business, Marketing, Public Policy, Social Science, or a related discipline, alongside a minimum of 3 years’ directly relevant experience providing Executive Assistant support at the C-suite level (or equivalent).

OR

A Level 7 qualification on the NFQ (e.g., Ordinary Degree) or equivalent in Business, Marketing, Public Policy, Social Science, or a related discipline, alongside a minimum of 5 years’ directly relevant experience providing Executive Assistant support at the C-suite level (or equivalent).

• Technical Proficiency: Highly developed IT skills, including proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and SharePoint), with a proven ability to leverage these tools to optimise team performance and communications.

• Experience in stakeholder, committee and working group support, co-ordination and administration.

• Experience in handling sensitive and confidential information with a high level of integrity and professional discretion.

• Strong experience in complex diary management and coordinating large-scale team gatherings, events and meetings.

• Experience of driving and supporting initiatives that promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the workplace.

• Experience in coordinating and supporting the delivery of strategic implementation plans.

• Experience of report writing and presenting.

• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment, subject to high degree of flexibility and adaptability.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

• A passion for sustainability and climate action.

• A knowledge or experience in application of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty.

• Experience in international collaboration.

• A flexible approach to problem solving and decision-making, with an ability to be proactive.

• A broad knowledge of the Irish Public Sector and relevant policy areas.

• Proficiency in the Irish Language.

• Experience or knowledge of delivering positive customer experiences.