Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Strategy and External Affairs

Role: Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Strategy and External Affairs

Location: Bedford College – Cauldwell Street Campus

Salary/Benefits: £28,325 – £32,000 per annum DOE and Qualifications, 27 days annual leave plus Bank holidays, People’s pension, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses.

Hours/Weeks: 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time

About the role:

We are currently seeking An Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Strategy and External Affairs to join our Marketing department at The Bedford College Group.

As an Executive Assistant, you play an important role in the success of our students through:

• Overall Responsibilities – Provide high-level support to the Executive Director of Strategy & External Affairs, ensure effective planning and administrative systems, and align with TBCG culture and values.
• High-Level Administrative Support – Act as first point of contact, manage email inbox, handle correspondence and calls, manage diary, submit expenses, arrange meetings and appraisals, maintain filing and data storage, service meetings, plan key events, create presentations, organize business planning and performance reviews, manage key documents, support stakeholder engagement, run errands.
• General Responsibilities – Participate in achieving personal objectives, attend meetings, undertake tasks, attend training events, complete mandatory training, maintain professionalism and confidentiality.
• Group Wide Responsibilities – Attend other campuses, support exam invigilation, participate in recruitment and stakeholder events, demonstrate professional behavior, work flexibly.
• Statutory Duties – Promote and safeguard welfare, ensure equality and diversity, follow health and safety requirements, participate in training and development.

About you:

• Qualifications – English and Maths GCSE (A-C) or equivalent (Level 2).
• Experience – Working as a Personal Assistant, diary management, admin and secretarial skills, dealing with queries/people.
• Skills – Excellent IT skills (Microsoft Office), good verbal and written communication, organizational, customer service, interpersonal, prioritization, planning, decision-making, numeracy, confidentiality, teamwork, working under pressure, building professional relationships, proactive planning.
• Attributes – Work in line with College values, willingness to develop skills, ability to travel to all campuses, adapt working hours, maintain professional boundaries with children and young people.

For a more detailed breakdown of the job role and the requirements, please see the Job Description attached to this vacancy.

Interviews to be held: 29 May 2025

Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisationalVISION values:

• Valuing Teamwork – We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
• Improving Continuously – We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
• Student Centred – At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
• Inclusive – We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
• Open and Caring – We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
• Nurturing Education Excellence – We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.

About The Bedford College Group
The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year.

Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.

Safeguarding our Students
The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. The Bedford College Group’s policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy.

Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.

Documents

TBCG Ex-Offenders Policy.pdf

JDPS – EA to ED of Strategy and External Affairs.docx