Personal Assistant
Southwark Council
Why Southwark?
Are you highly organised, proactive and confident working in a fast-paced senior leadership environment?
Do you have the skills to provide high-level executive support while managing complex, competing priorities with discretion and sound judgement?
If yes, this is an excellent opportunity to join Southwark Council’s Chief Executive team as our next Personal Assistant!
About the role
You will provide high-level executive and administrative support to the Director of communications and Director of people and organisational development.
This is a shared support role, requiring you to balance competing priorities and support effective coordination across senior leadership.
You will act as a key point of contact, ensuring excellent communication, strong organisation and effective prioritisation across a complex and demanding environment.
What You'll Be Doing
- Provide executive support, including complex diary and inbox management, triaging and prioritising enquiries using sound judgement
- Balance competing priorities while supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced environment
- Organise meetings, including agendas, papers, minutes and action tracking
- Coordinate internal and external meetings, events and recurring forums
- Prepare briefing materials to ensure the Director is fully informed
- Support engagement with senior officers, elected members and external stakeholders
- Handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism
Benefits and more information:
In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
Key Benefits:
- Competitive Salary & Pension: Rewarding your hard work with a great package.
- Growth Opportunities: Access extensive training and development, both internally and externally to progress.
What We're Looking For
You will be an experienced PA or executive support professional with:
- Experience supporting senior leaders, ideally within local government or a complex public sector organisation
- Strong experience managing busy diaries, inboxes and competing priorities
- Experience filtering and prioritising enquiries using sound judgement
- Strong minute-taking, meeting coordination and action tracking skills
- Excellent communication and organisational abilities
- High level of IT literacy (Microsoft Office)
- Ability to work independently, use initiative and perform well under pressure
- Strong discretion when handling sensitive information
If you choose to apply, please complete your Supporting Statement focusing on the criteria contained within the Job Description’s Person Specification that is marked as ‘S’ for ‘Shortlisting’.
Contact details:
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Sophie Szuman , sophie.szuman@southwark.gov.uk.
Additional Information
Recruitment Timetable
Closing Date: 15/10/2026
Shortlisting Date: 20/10/2026
Interview Date: 27/10/2026
Hours of Work: Monday to Friday (36hrs per week)
Location: 160 Tooley Street, SE1 2QH
Type of Contract: Fixed Term Contract until 29th February 2028
DBS: A Standard DBS is Required for this role
Ideal Start Date: W/C 16th November
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Southwark Council will only contact candidates through official Council recruitment channels. We will not ask you to provide passport details, proof of address, National Insurance number, bank details or payment at application stage. These checks are only requested at the onboarding process – once an offer of employment has been made. If you’re unsure whether a communication you’ve received is genuine, please contact the Resourcing team directly on recruitment@southwark.gov.uk before sharing any personal information.
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
Be a part of something bigger and more rewarding! apply now to transform lives in your community. Click the 'apply now' button to start your journey with Southwark Council.
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