Executive Assistant to Director, Finance & Partnerships (Parental Leave Cover)

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Location: London (remote working within the UK is possible)

Hours: Full-Time or Part-Time (5 or 4 days per week)

Remuneration: FILE salaries and benefits are benchmarked appropriately to the location where our staff are based

Contract: Fixed Term 10 months contract

Reports to: Business Manager

The Role

We are seeking an experienced and proactive Executive Assistant to the Director of Finance and Partnerships. This role requires an individual with exceptional ownership skills, capable of independently managing the Director's diary and daily operations with minimal guidance. You will be the backbone of efficient communication, seamless scheduling, and the coordination of essential tasks, ensuring the Director's time is optimised and processes run smoothly. This is an opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment where taking initiative and demonstrating strong leadership support skills are essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Comprehensive diary management: manage a complex, multi-time-zone schedule for the Director, arranging internal and external meetings, and ensuring any logistical details, attendees, materials, and communications are thoroughly organized well in advance.
• Document preparation: Collate and prepare high-quality presentations, reports, proposals, and contracts using tools like Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe, DocuSign, and other relevant platforms.
• Email management: Manage the Director's inbox, prioritising correspondence efficiently and responding on behalf of the Director with professionalism and poise.
• Time management: Organise the Director's calendar to ensure that they are able to meet key internal and external organisational deadlines.
• Leadership support: Ensure the Director is well-prepared to support their team and collaborate effectively with Senior Leadership Team colleagues. Represent the Director in team meetings when appropriate, providing key updates and tracking priorities. Ensure the Director meets deadlines for key team tasks and is well prepared for one-to one meetings.
• Board Meetings: Coordinate between the Director, their teams and the EA to the ED to manage timelines and ensure the timely submission of board meeting papers.
• Meeting coordination and planning: Lead the co-ordination and planning of cross departmental and external meetings ensuring all logistical aspects are in place.
• Budget Assistance: Support the Director with budgeting and financial reporting tasks as needed. Provide cross team support to ensure expense approvals are ready for Director input by deadlines. Work with the Finance team to ensure key finance deadlines and approvals are scheduled.
• Administrative support: Provide essential admin functions such as booking meeting rooms, arranging catering, filing, processing expenses and invoices, and coordinating new hire inductions within the Directors team.
• Travel Arrangements: Coordinate the Directors (and those travelling in the Directors teams) travel plans including flights, accommodation, restaurant bookings, transfers, visa applications, travel packs and risk assessments.
• Convenings: Provide Director with full convening support including liaising across teams to ensure the Director is prepared for any side or donor meetings.
• Special Projects Support: Contribute to special projects, such as process improvements or new policy implementations
• Team Collaboration: work cohesively with other EAs, providing support and back-up when needed, sharing best practices, and helping build a robust, clear communication network.
• Primary point of contact: Act as an ambassador for the Director and Senior Leadership Team, providing advice and guidance to staff and stakeholders, and maintaining a professional, positive presence. Ensure Directors teams feel supported and create space for the team to request ad hoc and urgent asks.

About you

We know that long lists of criteria can be discouraging and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you feel you meet at least some of the essential criteria, we still encourage you to apply. We also recognise that skills and experience can be gained in unexpected places, so we welcome applications from candidates who feel they have relevant skills for the role, gained from a wide range of professional, lived and learned experiences.
• Demonstrated success in a similar Executive Assistant role, ideally supporting a senior or c-suite leader.
• A pro-active self-starter mindset with the ability to take initiative and operate independently.
• Commitment to accuracy and a meticulous approach to tasks.
• Exceptionally organised with the ability to pre-empt needs and to manage and prioritise a varied workload, delivering on time with minimal oversight.
• High regard for the importance of privacy and sensitivity in handling information. Knowledge of GDPR, data and privacy laws beneficial. Experience in working in a confidential / privileged setting advantageous.
• Proven experience in establishing and managing positive professional relationships with a diverse group of key stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Flexible and dynamic approach to work, ability to work in a fast paced, agile and evolving environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a natural ability to connect, build and maintain relationships both internally and externally.
• Highly collaborative with a partnership mindset, excellent verbal and written communications skills.
• Innovative and able to find solutions quickly.
• Proficient in Microsoft office suite and other relevant software (Miro, DocuSign, Pleo).
• Experience of working in a not-for-profit organisation would be desirable but not essential.

About FILE

The Foundation for International Law for the Environment (FILE) was set up in 2018 to be the major philanthropic re-granter scaling up legal action globally to tackle the climate and the biodiversity crises.

We work as movement enablers, campaign strategists, and impact funders, using the law in pursuit of three interconnected system-level goals:

• Reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to protect the climate
• Safeguarding nature
• Delivering climate and environmental justice

We pursue these goals not just by supporting legal action directly. We believe in growing the strength of the climate and biodiversity legal movement globally, and in enabling people and movements to use legal action to shift narratives. As movement enablers, campaign strategists, and impact funders, we at FILE do not ourselves bring litigation. As a regrantor, FILE is not an endowed foundation, but rather we engage in fundraising to secure resources to support our partners globally.

Location

FILE has offices in London and the Netherlands, and a small hub of staff in Australia, US East Coast, South Africa and Brazil. We are advertising this role for candidates based (and with the right to work) in the UK.

Working for FILE

FILE is a collaborative community of individuals who share a passion for climate, nature, and justice. We bring together knowledge and experience to support our mission.

Our people are empowered to lead their work both individually and as part of a wider team in order to make impactful change. As a relatively young organisation with the ambitious mission to change global systems, our roles are ideally suited to those who are highly strategic, flexible and adaptable, and open to growing in line with the Foundation.

FILE is committed to challenging inequality and values diversity, equity and justice in all areas of life. Our mission, work and impact is global, with staff and partners from across the world and a range of lived experiences. We firmly believe that we are strengthened by the diversity of our partners and staff.

At FILE, we actively work to create an inclusive culture where colleagues feel welcomed, heard and supported to succeed and thrive.

How FILE supports its staff

FILE is committed to creating a workplace that supports our staff to do their best work and develop professionally. FILE offer a generous annual leave policy and additional time-off work to support wellbeing. Amongst other benefits, FILE offers private healthcare and a contribution to a pension scheme.

FILE is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and encourage candidates who can contribute to the diversity of our team to apply.

Join us in making a tangible difference in the fight against climate change by creating spaces where diverse voices come together to drive impactful solutions.

Applications

Please apply on our website and upload your CV. This role is open for applications immediately and we accept applications on a rolling basis. If you are interested, we encourage you to submit your application as early as possible. The role will close on the 18th of February with interviews expected to take place on 21st February and w/c 24th February. If you have any questions about the role please contact careers@filefoundation.org.

Diversity & Inclusion

As an equal opportunities employer, FILE is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.