Personal Secretary – Belfast (Gasworks).

Position: Personal Secretary (EO2)

Pay Rate: £15.83 per hour

Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week, 9am – 5pm Mon to Fri

Duration: 29 March 2026 with possibility of extension

Start Date: ASAP

Location: James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, The Gasworks, Belfast BT& 2JA

Job Duties:

The main purpose and objective of a Personal Secretary is to provide an efficient, effective and responsive secretarial support service to the senior officer to ensure that their time is managed and utilised in the most effective manner. This requires proactive planning and managing of tasks within a constantly changing environment, the utilisation of well-developed interpersonal skills and adapting when necessary to changing roles and working patterns.

Key Responsibilities

Diary Management

· Accurately organising the senior officer’s diary on a daily basis. Meeting with the senior officer regularly to discuss, prioritise and action diary commitments, cancellations and rescheduling appointments.

· Liaising with attendees to determine times, durations and venues for meetings. Booking rooms and venues and arranging for or providing hospitality as necessary. Copying and collating papers and ensuring that the required briefing and equipment is available. Making the necessary security arrangements and meeting, greeting and escorting visitors.

· Making cost-effective travel and accommodation arrangements through internal branches or directly with service providers.

Information Management

· Answering and vetting all incoming telephone calls based on knowledge of caller or issue(s) raised. Whenever possible, responding to callers directly by providing information or redirecting to the appropriate departmental official. Taking messages and obtaining contact numbers.

· Proactively manage emails, correspondence, papers, etc on arrival and identifying those requiring urgent action, highlighting deadlines and action points, attaching related papers and passing to senior officer for action. Where appropriate, redirecting to a departmental official for action, either without recourse to senior officer or in senior officer’s absence. Keeping senior officer informed of actions. Bringing important target dates and issues to senior officer’s attention on an ongoing basis, based on knowledge and experience of the subject matter.

· Logging the various information types received and issued into electronic postbook(s), tracking responses through BF systems and chasing up outstanding responses to ensure deadlines are met.

· Typing, compiling and issuing emails, letters, acknowledgements, minutes, memos, tables, presentations, charts, slides and reports. Signing and circulating documents on senior officer’s behalf. Typing and formatting documents from audio tapes and manuscripts.

· Co-ordinating inputs and drafting co-ordinated responses.

· Scanning, reformatting and updating documents, standardising layouts and creating templates and databases. Keeping knowledge and skills in this area up-to-date.

· Managing all emails, documents, correspondence, papers and files, in both paper and electronic filing systems – copying, cataloguing, filing, retrieving, archiving, reviewing and deleting/destroying in accordance with guidelines or protocol. Opening and maintaining registered files.

· Researching information sources such as the intranet/internet, Hansard or press articles for items such as publications, records, press releases, contact details and travel information.

Communciation

· Establish a close working relationship with their senior officer and secretarial/administrative colleagues and communicate effectively in order to meet targets and deadlines.

Miscellaneous

· Maintaining expenditure records, for example in relation to hospitality, stationery, training and mobile phones and processing creditor payments. Preparing expense claims.

· Monitoring the level of stationery supplies and office consumables and reordering as required.

· Secretariat of meetings including recording, producing and issuing minutes.

· Collating, recording and issuing various registers and returns. Proof reading and other tasks as delegated by the senior officer.

Knowledge and Skills

· Effective communication skills to engage with colleagues, often at a senior level in order to meet tight timescales.

· Well-developed organisational skills, for example being able to prioritise effectively and adapt to new situations as they arise.

· Ability to work flexibly on one’s own initiative without direct supervision, to work under pressure, frequently to tight deadlines and to recognise when to delegate, or seek assistance, as required.

· Ability to interpret and analyse information including anticipating and managing problems;

· Ability to work collaboratively; share information, build supportive responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders thereby establishing good working relationships;

· Knowledge of management principles and administrative processes, in accordance with GDPR;

· Sound working knowledge in the use of Windows applications including Word, PowerPoint, Project and Excel.

The above list is not comprehensive but gives a good indication of the main duties of the post. The emphasis on particular duties will vary over time according to business needs.

Essential Criteria:

• 5 GCSE’s A*-C including Maths and English (must be able to show evidence)
• 2 A Levels at a passing grade in separate subjects (must be able to show evidence)
• Equivalents for either also accepted.

Desired Experience: 

• Good organisational and planning skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Have good knowledge of using software packages e.g., Microsoft office

*The successful applicant will be required to complete an Access NI and CTC during registration*

• A criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position.
• The UK Recruitment Co. Ltd has policies on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders and the Secure Handling, Use, Storage, and Retention of Disclosure Information, copies of which can be made available upon request.

If interested, please send across your CV to anna.quinn@therecruitmentco.uk