JOB DESCRIPTION

POST TITLE: Chief of Staff/Senior Adviser to the Chief Executive

RESPONSIBLE TO:Chief Executive

RESPONSIBLE FOR: CEO’s Office and two Executive Assistants

JOB SUMMARY:

Management and coordination of the day-to-day operations of the Chief Executive’s office to ensure a high performing team, smooth processes and highly professional approach. High quality, strategic and politically savvy advice to the Chief Executive with a focus on priority issues and activities for the sector and organisation. Oversight, planning and support for CEO engagement with external stakeholders.

Main responsibilities

  • Senior adviser to the Chief Executive
  • Management of the CEO’s office and 2 Executive Assistants,with the potential for additional line management responsibilities in the future as the organisation evolves
  • Drafting speeches, presentations and other papers for the CEO
  • Ensuring strong information flows from all parts of the organisation to and from the CEO
  • Member of UUK’s Senior Management Group (SMG). Observer at UUK’s monthly Directors’ meetings, with responsibility for capturing action points and following up agreed actions with MT members
  • Maintaining a strategic overview of the external environment and the sector landscape, working with the relevant UUK teams, to support the CEO with external engagement
  • Taking the lead on a number of organisationally cross-cutting projectsand undertaking special projects as delegated by the CEO
  • Providing advice and counsel to the CEO, anticipating developments and future consequences, in coordination with the policy and political affairs teams
  • Preparing for the CEO’s key meetings, attending preparatory meetings and following up with actions afterwards
  • Working with the policy team on research and analysis to support the CEO’s work
  • Regularly liaising with staff at Universities Scotland and Universities Wales to ensure the UUK properly reflects the differences across the 4 nations and properly considers the devolved implications of policy and our work
  • Working with the member services team to support the CEO’s engagement with Vice-Chancellors and sector leaders
  • Drafting a range of outputs, in a variety of writing styles, on behalf of the CEO including internal and external blogs, letters and articles
  • Mapping and tracking the organisation’s contact with key external stakeholders
  • Attending external stakeholder meetings to represent UUK / CEO
  • Building good relationships with senior staff in member universities, advisers to VCs and senior staff in partner organisations
  • Ad hoc support for the UUK President and board members (as required)

Further duties may be added as the priorities of the new CEO evolve and the organisation is developed to deliver the new (2018-23) strategic plan

This job description will be reviewed and amended in the light of changing professional demands.

A job description is not a rigid or inflexible document but acts to provide guidelines to the duties expected while in post.

Person Specification

POST: Chief of Staff/Senior Adviser to the CEO

GRADE: Senior Manager/Adviser

DIRECTORATE: CEO’s Office

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA / ASSESSED
Essential / Experience of working in the higher education sector / CV/interview
Essential / Strong strategic understanding of the national political environment and issues that have an impact on universities / Interview
Essential / Demonstrable experience of writing speeches, presentations papers and articles / CV/interview
Essential / Exceptional relationship building skills / Interview
Essential / Demonstrable experience of working successfully with a diverse range of people, including those at a senior level / CV/interview
Essential / Politically savvy, demonstrating exceptional levels of political judgement / Interview
Essential / A track record of working with senior figures / CV/Interview
Essential / Ability to manage a demanding workload and to make judgements about competing priorities / Interview
Essential / Highly skilled in spoken and written communication / CV/interview
Essential / Possesses gravitas, diplomacy and tact / Interview
Essential / Excellent analytical skills with the ability to identify the salient points / Interview
Essential / Confident and capable in taking decisions and tenacious in seeing them through / Interview
Essential / Highly organised and excellent attention to detail / Interview
Essential / Excellent timekeeping and able to work flexibly to meet the demands of the fast moving 24/7 political world / Interview
DESIRABLE
Desirable / Experience of managing an office of the leader of an organisation / CV/interview
Desirable / Degree educated / CV

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