The PA to the Group Operations Director plays a central role in ensuring the smooth operation of the Group Operations Division through high-level administrative support and strategic coordination. This includes full ownership of diary management, scheduling regular and ad hoc meetings, securing meeting rooms, communicating with attendees, and preparing presentation materials. The PA provides the Director with a forward-looking quarterly view of priorities such as Town Halls and Appraisal Meetings.
This role requires polished communication, acting as the first point of contact internally and externally, handling inquiries with professionalism and discretion, and also involves preparing and distributing accurate meeting minutes and assembling briefing documents with relevant background research, often coordinating across departments to ensure completeness.
Crucially, you will be responsible for coordinating governance cycles and the preparation and distribution of governance papers - tasks that require excellent attention to detail, strong organisational skills, and consistency in documentation. This includes ensuring briefing materials are clear, well-structured, and delivered on time for internal decision-making forums.
Travel planning is another key responsibility, requiring timely and cost-effective arrangements for flights, visas, accommodations, and logistics for the Director and senior leadership, along with ongoing oversight of expense claims and travel spending. The PA also monitors annual leave requests to maintain team coverage and gives the Director visibility for leave authorisations.
We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office however give the nature of this role, we expect more frequent days in the office would be beneficial.
About You
Essential:
Significant experience of working as a senior EA/PA
Proven track record of providing a high level of secretarial/administrative support
Excellent computing skills including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
Good time management and organisational skills
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Discretion in the handling of confidential information
Self-motivation and flexible team-player who can relate positively to a wide range of people
Ability to work well under pressure, operate independently and prioritize effectively between tasks
Solid understanding of working across different time zones
Desirable:
Experience within a financial environment
Knowledge of the publishing industry, production processes, and terminology
Benefits
We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.
We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.
This role comes with the added benefit a discretionary annual payment.
Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.
We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.
