Executive Assistant

Barclays Overview

Barclays is a British universal bank. We are diversified by business, by different types of customers and clients, and by geography. Our businesses include consumer banking and payments operations around the world, as well as a top-tier, full service, global corporate and investment bank, all of which are supported by our service company which provides technology, operations and functional services across the Group.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we are opposed to discrimination on any grounds.

Working Flexibly 

We’re committed to providing a supportive and inclusive culture and environment for you to work in. This environment recognises and supports ways to balance your personal needs, alongside the professional needs of our business. Providing the opportunity for all our employees, globally to work flexibly empowers each of us to work in a way that suits our lives as well as enabling us to better service our customers’ and clients’ needs. Whether you have family commitments or you’re a carer, or whether you need study time or wish to pursue personal interests, our approach to working flexibly is designed to help you balance your life.  If you would like some flexibility, then please discuss this with the hiring manager, and your request will be reviewed subject to business needs.

Hybrid Working 

Structured hybrid role:At Barclays, we offer a hybrid working experience that blends the positives of working alongside colleagues at our onsite locations, together with working from home. We have a structured approach where colleagues work at an onsite location on fixed, ‘anchor’, days of the week, for a minimum of two days a week or more, as set by the business area (or nearest equivalent if working part-time hours). Please discuss the working pattern requirements for the role you are applying for with the hiring manager. Please note that as we continue to embed our hybrid working environment, we remain in a test and learn phase, which means that working arrangements may be subject to change on reasonable notice to ensure we meet the needs of our business.

About Legal

Managing Barclays' legal risk is the fundamental responsibility of the Legal function. Our mission is 'to protect and create value for Barclays by managing legal risks and advancing opportunities', i.e. to protect and build the bank.

About Legal Function Management (LFM)Legal Function Management helps shape and support the strategic direction and management of the function.

Overall purpose of role

The candidate will be responsible for providing professional and efficient EA/PA support to the Managing Directors / Directors (MD/Ds) within Legal. The successful candidate will need to take an active interest in understanding the environment they work in, building an understanding of the bank’s processes and objectives so the MD/Ds they support can rely on their judgment to understand relative priorities and how the various appointments, meetings and outputs contribute towards that.

Key Accountabilities

• Providing administrative support to 3-4 Managing Directors and/or Directors.

• Maintaining multiple calendars, organising and scheduling meetings, and arranging video conferences / meeting rooms, where required.

• Tracking of acceptances and declines for internal and external meetings and taking necessary follow up steps.

• General administrative duties, including maintaining holiday records, creating and maintaining team distribution lists and ordering stationery. 

• Solving simple IT issues and liaising with the IT Desk and Go-To Team to resolve day-to-day issues.

• Raising Gift and Entertainment requests using GEPOC, where required.

• Managing and organising the on-boarding of new joiners and off-boarding of leavers for the team.

• Booking and managing all travel arrangements, accommodation, visas, and preparing travel business itineraries.

• Processing expenses ensuring they are reconciled in a timely manner ahead of deadline and adhering to Barclays Global Travel and Expense Policy.

• Maintaining confidential and sensitive information – acting with discretion and integrity at all times. 

• Working closely with other EAs in Legal to provide full extensive administrative support and coverage to the team, ensuring workload is covered during absences and busy periods.

• Working with Legal COO Cost & Workforce Management team and/or Chief of Staff regarding various business management requirements, where required.

Stakeholder Management and Leadership 

• Confidence and experience required to interact with senior stakeholders both as internal clients and with senior partners as external clients.

• Work as part of the broader Legal UK EA Hub to ensure that appropriate cover is available during times of absence and lean in to support other EAs as needed.

Decision-making and Problem Solving 

• Resolving logistical issues arising in the role (such as room bookings, diary clashes, etc.).

• Co-ordinate and manage requests and IT support issues.

• Must be able to use initiative and prioritise own work to meet deadlines.

• Positive and solutions orientated approach.

Risk and Control Objective 

• Take ownership for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work you do.

Person Specification

• Ability to take responsibility for a number of tasks and to carry them out with minimum supervision.

• Proven ability to confidently engage with a variety of stakeholders at all levels within the bank, from peers to Senior Management and Senior External Stakeholders.

• Excellent communication skills and telephone manner.

• Strong organisational skills and high attention to detail, achieving high pace whilst maintaining accuracy.

• Must be aware of, and sensitive to, confidentiality issues.

• Highly proactive and forward thinking individual with a hardworking, committed, flexible and self-motivated attitude.

• Must be a strong and adaptable team player who sees the role as invaluable to the effective and smooth running of the extended team.

Essential Skills/Basic Qualifications:

• Proven track record of providing administrative support to Managing Directors and Directors is essential for this role.

• Ability to provide administrative support in a location agnostic environment, potentially supporting one or more stakeholders based in a different office location.

• High level of skill/competency in IT– relevant packages e.g. Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

• Able to work seamlessly with other Executive Assistants as and when required but also to be able to work on their own to achieve deadlines and business goals.

• Proven experience of working within a fast paced and demanding environment within professional service organisations, a corporate or financial institution.

• Adaptable and resilient. 

• Knowledge of office administration procedures.

• Excellent written and communication skills with a high-level of attention to detail and accuracy, and the ability to prioritise and operate under pressure in a fast-moving environment.

Desirable skills/Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous Personal Assistant / Executive Assistant experience in a Legal environment (law firm or in-house).

• Experienced in using Coupa and Concur systems.

Purpose, Values and Mindset

We deploy finance responsibly to support people and businesses, acting with empathy and integrity, championing innovation and sustainability, for the common good and the long term.

Our values underpin everything we do: Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship.

Respect

We harness the power of diversity and inclusion in our business, trust those we work with, and value everyone's contribution.

Integrity

We operate with honesty, transparency and fairness in all we do.

Service

We act with empathy and humility, putting the people and businesses we serve at the centre of what we do.

Excellence

We champion innovation, and use our energy, expertise and resources to make a positive difference.

Stewardship

We prize sustainability, and are passionate about leaving things better than we found them.

Our Mindset shapes how we take action, living by our Values, driven by our Purpose, always with our customers and clients at the heart of what we do; our Mindset is to Empower, Challenge and Drive.

Empower 

Trust and support each other to deliver. Make decisions with those closest to the topic. Include diverse perspectives. Celebrate success and learn from failure.

Challenge

Question whether things can be done better. Use insights based on data to inform decisions. Be curious about how we can adapt and improve. Speak up and be open to alternative viewpoints.

Drive

Focus on outcomes. Deliver with pace. Be passionate and ambitious about what we do. Take personal responsibility. Actively build collaborative relationships to get things done.