Executive Assistant - B1

This opportunity is only open to internal Scottish Government applicants who are currently 'Priority Movers'. Applications from individuals not currently on the Priority Mover list will be rejected and not considered.  

This is an interesting and highly varied post in the Business Support Team (BST) at the Office of the Advocate General (OAG), based at Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh. Along with one other executive assistant, you will be responsible for providing support to the Director and four Deputy Directors (DDs) based in Edinburgh. As part of the Business Support Team, you will also be expected to assist with team tasks where possible, with priority given to tasks related to Director/DD support.

The Office of the Advocate General provides legal services to the UK Government in Scotland.  The office provides Scots law advice to UK government departments; acts for UK Ministers and departments in the Scottish courts and tribunals and provides support to the Advocate General in the performance of her statutory functions under the Scotland Act. The Business Support Team supports approximately 40 solicitors across four divisions and is made up of eight members of staff - the Business Manager (C1), Senior IT Engineer (B2), Assistant Business Manager (B2), IT Engineer (B1), 2 Executive Assistants (B1), and 2 Administrative Officers (A3).

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the Director and/or DD’s diaries, prioritising requests and demands on their time. Proactively review and resolve clashes as they occur and ensure that related meetings happen at the right times to feed into each other.

• Ensure effective management of the Director and/or DD’s inboxes, ensuring that important emails are flagged for attention and monitored.

• Provide secretariat support to meetings as required, including minute taking, organising agendas, updating trackers, commissioning papers and briefings, and supporting with completion of actions. Lead on organising events hosted by the Director and DDs.

• Arrange and book travel, submit expenses claims, and collate and publish related financial and transparency information.

• Monitoring shared mailboxes and working as part of a team to ensure all items that come in are allocated and dealt with. 

• Printing, copying and preparing papers for court in either paper or electronic bundle format using Adobe Pro. 

• Opening and closing electronic files, carrying out electronic filing. 

• Other general admin related tasks as required.

Technical / Professional Skills: 

• Self-starter with the ability to plan and prioritise workloads to meet tight deadlines, managing competing priorities and working flexibly across teams.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team, sharing information and communicating effectively with internal and external stakeholders of a range of grades and seniority, building effective working relationships.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with a proven track record for producing timely, high-quality work, appropriate for a range of audiences.

• Excellent organisational skills with meticulous attention to detail, ability to self-motivate and work autonomously.