Executive Assistant to CPO job at Save the Children

Background

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for Executive Assistant to CPO to join our global team.

Team Purpose

The People Team exists to ensure Save the Children International has the talent, culture, and organisational capabilities needed to deliver positive, lasting change for children. We do this by attracting and developing high performing, diverse teams; fostering an inclusive, values driven culture; strengthening leadership and organisational effectiveness; and ensuring fair, safe, and supportive working environments across all our offices and country operations. Our purpose is to empower colleagues to thrive, so that together we can maximise our impact for children around the world.

Role Purpose

The Executive Assistant to the Chief People Officer (CPO) plays a pivotal role in enabling the success of the People Department by providing comprehensive executive, administrative, organisational, and coordination support. Working closely with the CPO and the wider People leadership team, the postholder will ensure the efficient and effective management of priorities through proactive diary and inbox management, meeting and governance coordination, travel planning, and the smooth delivery of day-to-day operational activities.

The role exists to maximise the CPO’s capacity to focus on strategic priorities by autonomously managing administrative and logistical requirements with a high degree of professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality. As a trusted partner, the Executive Assistant will facilitate effective communication, maintain strong stakeholder relationships, support the preparation and coordination of key meetings and governance processes, and contribute to knowledge management across the department.

In addition, the role will support wider People team initiatives, including onboarding new direct reports of the CPO, fostering departmental connectivity and engagement, and helping to coordinate departmental activities that strengthen organisational effectiveness. Through exceptional organisation, collaboration, and attention to detail, this role contributes to the successful delivery of the People strategy and, ultimately, Save the Children’s mission and objectives.

Job Details

• Job Title: Executive Assistant to CPO
• Reports To: CPO
• Work Pattern: Remote with flexible working options available
• Location: Any approved SCI office location within 3 hrs of UTC. For a full list of locations that Save the Children International can hire in, please visit: SCI Careers
• Contract Length: Permanent
• Right to Work: The successful candidate must have the right to work in the country where the role is based, for the duration of employment.
• Language Requirements: English (additional languages desirable)

Principal Accountabilities

Core Executive Assistant Responsibilities

• Provide proactive, high-quality executive support to the Chief People Officer (CPO), enabling effective management of priorities and ensuring their time is focused on strategic leadership and organisational objectives.
• Manage a complex and dynamic diary, coordinating meetings, appointments, and events while balancing competing priorities and ensuring all logistics, briefing materials, and preparatory information are provided in advance.
• Manage and monitor the CPO’s inbox, responding, redirecting, escalating, and prioritising communications as appropriate, while maintaining an effective and well-organised filing system.
• Coordinate domestic and international travel arrangements, including flights, accommodation, visas, itineraries, logistics, and related documentation, ensuring efficient and cost-effective travel planning.
• Handle highly sensitive and confidential information with the utmost discretion, professionalism, sound judgement, and integrity.
• Anticipate the CPO’s requirements and priorities, identifying upcoming issues, risks, deadlines, and opportunities to ensure effective forward planning and decision-making.
• Prepare agendas, briefing packs, presentations, reports, and correspondence to a consistently high standard, ensuring the CPO is fully prepared for meetings and engagements.
• Track actions, decisions, and follow-up activities arising from meetings, correspondence, leadership discussions, and key stakeholder engagements, ensuring progress is monitored and deadlines are met.
• Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, managing enquiries and communications efficiently while fostering positive and collaborative working relationships.
• Prepare and submit expense claims on behalf of the CPO and review expenses requiring approval, ensuring compliance with organisational policies and procedures.
• Process invoices and procurement-related transactions within delegated budgets, ensuring adherence to financial controls, procurement requirements, and organisational policies.
• Maintain accurate departmental distribution lists, contact databases, records, and information management systems to support effective communication and knowledge sharing across the People function.
• Build strong and collaborative relationships with Executive Assistants and support staff across the organisation, ensuring effective coordination, cover arrangements, and alignment of leadership activities.
• Undertake Officer related duties for the SCA/SCI People Leads group.

Additional team support responsibilities:

• Coordinate and manage People Leadership Team meetings, departmental forums, town halls, workshops, and other key People function meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation, collation of papers, distribution of pre-reading materials, note-taking, and action tracking.
• Support effective communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the People function by maintaining clear information flows, managing shared documentation and resources, and ensuring colleagues have timely access to key departmental updates and materials.
• Assist in maintaining departmental communications, including newsletters, team updates, people announcements, organisational charts, and other communications that support employee engagement and awareness of People initiatives.
• Support departmental recognition and appreciation activities, helping to promote a culture of inclusion, wellbeing, collaboration, and celebration across the People function.
• Maintain awareness of key People priorities, initiatives, and organisational developments, ensuring the CPO is supported with relevant information and that departmental activities remain aligned to strategic objectives.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of departmental processes, administrative systems, and ways of working to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and service delivery across the People team.

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Demonstrable track record in providing executive support to a senior leader.
• Proven experience managing complex and frequently changing diaries, coordinating meetings across multiple time zones, and balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrable experience managing high-volume inboxes, exercising sound judgement to prioritise, redirect and respond appropriately to communications on behalf of senior leaders.
• Extensive experience planning and coordinating complex domestic and international travel arrangements, including visas, accommodation, itineraries and logistics.
• Experience in supporting meetings instigated by the CPO, including agenda preparation, coordination of papers, minute-taking and action tracking.
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple activities simultaneously while maintaining high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to draft, edit and proofread a wide range of documents, presentations, reports and correspondence to a professional standard.
• Demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive information with discretion, professionalism and sound judgement.
• Strong stakeholder management and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships with colleagues, senior leaders and external partners at all levels.
• Proven ability to work independently, anticipate needs, identify potential issues and implement practical solutions in a proactive manner.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams and Excel, together with confidence working across a range of digital collaboration and business systems.
• Comfortable learning and using organisational systems and technologies, including financial management, procurement, travel booking and workflow management platforms.
• Strong digital confidence and a willingness to embrace new technologies, including an interest in leveraging AI and digital tools to improve productivity, efficiency and ways of working.

Desirable

• Experience supporting a Chief People Officer, HR Director, or equivilent within a People or Human Resources function.
• Experience working within a complex, global, matrixed or international organisation.
• Familiarity with People (HR) practices, organisational development, employee engagement or culture-related activities.
• Experience of working within a charity
• An interest in the work undertaken by Save the Children International.

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to degree level and/or holds a relevant professional qualification, or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to executive support, administration, business operations or governance.

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world’s leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children’s voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

• Provide proactive, high-quality executive support to the Chief People Officer (CPO), enabling effective management of priorities and ensuring their time is focused on strategic leadership and organisational objectives.
• Manage a complex and dynamic diary, coordinating meetings, appointments, and events while balancing competing priorities and ensuring all logistics, briefing materials, and preparatory information are provided in advance.
• Manage and monitor the CPO’s inbox, responding, redirecting, escalating, and prioritising communications as appropriate, while maintaining an effective and well-organised filing system.
• Coordinate domestic and international travel arrangements, including flights, accommodation, visas, itineraries, logistics, and related documentation, ensuring efficient and cost-effective travel planning.
• Handle highly sensitive and confidential information with the utmost discretion, professionalism, sound judgement, and integrity.
• Anticipate the CPO’s requirements and priorities, identifying upcoming issues, risks, deadlines, and opportunities to ensure effective forward planning and decision-making.
• Prepare agendas, briefing packs, presentations, reports, and correspondence to a consistently high standard, ensuring the CPO is fully prepared for meetings and engagements.
• Track actions, decisions, and follow-up activities arising from meetings, correspondence, leadership discussions, and key stakeholder engagements, ensuring progress is monitored and deadlines are met.
• Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, managing enquiries and communications efficiently while fostering positive and collaborative working relationships.
• Prepare and submit expense claims on behalf of the CPO and review expenses requiring approval, ensuring compliance with organisational policies and procedures.
• Process invoices and procurement-related transactions within delegated budgets, ensuring adherence to financial controls, procurement requirements, and organisational policies.
• Maintain accurate departmental distribution lists, contact databases, records, and information management systems to support effective communication and knowledge sharing across the People function.
• Build strong and collaborative relationships with Executive Assistants and support staff across the organisation, ensuring effective coordination, cover arrangements, and alignment of leadership activities.
• Undertake Officer related duties for the SCA/SCI People Leads group.
• Coordinate and manage People Leadership Team meetings, departmental forums, town halls, workshops, and other key People function meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation, collation of papers, distribution of pre-reading materials, note-taking, and action tracking.
• Support effective communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the People function by maintaining clear information flows, managing shared documentation and resources, and ensuring colleagues have timely access to key departmental updates and materials.
• Assist in maintaining departmental communications, including newsletters, team updates, people announcements, organisational charts, and other communications that support employee engagement and awareness of People initiatives.
• Support departmental recognition and appreciation activities, helping to promote a culture of inclusion, wellbeing, collaboration, and celebration across the People function.
• Maintain awareness of key People priorities, initiatives, and organisational developments, ensuring the CPO is supported with relevant information and that departmental activities remain aligned to strategic objectives.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of departmental processes, administrative systems, and ways of working to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and service delivery across the People team.

• Demonstrable track record in providing executive support to a senior leader.
• Proven experience managing complex and frequently changing diaries, coordinating meetings across multiple time zones, and balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrable experience managing high-volume inboxes, exercising sound judgement to prioritise, redirect and respond appropriately to communications on behalf of senior leaders.
• Extensive experience planning and coordinating complex domestic and international travel arrangements, including visas, accommodation, itineraries and logistics.
• Experience in supporting meetings instigated by the CPO, including agenda preparation, coordination of papers, minute-taking and action tracking.
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple activities simultaneously while maintaining high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to draft, edit and proofread a wide range of documents, presentations, reports and correspondence to a professional standard.
• Demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive information with discretion, professionalism and sound judgement.
• Strong stakeholder management and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships with colleagues, senior leaders and external partners at all levels.
• Proven ability to work independently, anticipate needs, identify potential issues and implement practical solutions in a proactive manner.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams and Excel, together with confidence working across a range of digital collaboration and business systems.
• Comfortable learning and using organisational systems and technologies, including financial management, procurement, travel booking and workflow management platforms.
• Strong digital confidence and a willingness to embrace new technologies, including an interest in leveraging AI and digital tools to improve productivity, efficiency and ways of working.
• Experience supporting a Chief People Officer, HR Director, or equivilent within a People or Human Resources function.
• Experience working within a complex, global, matrixed or international organisation.
• Familiarity with People (HR) practices, organisational development, employee engagement or culture-related activities.
• Experience of working within a charity
• An interest in the work undertaken by Save the Children International.

• Educated to degree level and/or holds a relevant professional qualification, or equivalent experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to executive support, administration, business operations or governance.