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This is a unique opportunity to join Practical Action at an exciting and pivotal point in our journey. We are seeking an exceptional Executive Assistant to provide dedicated support to our Interim CEO during a period of transformation, growth and strategic development, while we recruit and appoint our permanent CEO.
Working at the heart of the organisation, you will play a key role in ensuring continuity, maintaining momentum and supporting the successful transition to new leadership. This highly visible position offers the opportunity to contribute directly to the next chapter of Practical Action's impact and ambition.
We are looking for an experienced, highly organised and proactive Executive Assistant who can provide outstanding strategic and operational support to the CEO of a respected international development organisation. Acting as a trusted partner, you will enable the CEO to focus on organisational leadership, external engagement, fundraising and the delivery of strategic priorities.
The role encompasses complex diary and inbox management, preparation of high-quality briefings and correspondence, Board and governance support, and coordination with senior stakeholders across the organisation and internationally. You will work closely with colleagues, partners and supporters across multiple countries, cultures and time zones, ensuring the smooth and effective operation of the Executive Office.
This is a demanding and rewarding role that requires exceptional judgement, discretion and attention to detail. The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, complex environment, able to manage competing priorities with confidence, and skilled at building effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, trustees, partners and external representatives.
If you thrive on enabling others to succeed, enjoy working at the centre of decision-making, and are motivated by the opportunity to support an organisation delivering meaningful global impact, we would love to hear from you.
Accountabilities:
Executive and CEO Office Support
• Proactively manage the CEO's diary, inbox and correspondence, exercising independent judgement in prioritising requests and protecting time for strategic priorities.
• Prepare and commission high-quality briefings, background notes, talking points and presentation materials to ensure the CEO is fully prepared for all meetings and engagements.
• Draft, review and quality-assure outgoing correspondence, reports and communications on behalf of the CEO.
• Coordinate and manage complex domestic and international travel arrangements, itineraries, visas and logistics for the CEO and COO, ensuring efficiency and value for money.
• Manage the CEO and COO’s expense reporting and the Executive Office budget, maintaining accurate records and flagging issues proactively.
• Serve as the first point of contact for the CEO's office, managing enquiries from staff, partners, donors and stakeholders with professionalism and discretion.
• Work closely with the Internal Communications and Social Media team lead to ensure CEO internal and external communications are delivered well.
Board and Governance Administration
• Lead the end-to-end administration of Board of Trustee meetings and sub-committees, including scheduling, preparation of Board papers, agenda coordination and minute-taking, utilising AI. The majority are virtual due to the international nature of the board. In-person meetings take place approx. every 18 months.
• Maintain the governance calendar and ensure all regulatory and statutory reporting deadlines are met in coordination with the Company Secretary, CEO and COO.
• Support the onboarding of new Trustees and maintain up-to-date records of Board membership, terms of office and declarations of interest.
• Build strong working relationships with Trustees, acting as a responsive and reliable point of contact between Board meetings.
• Assist with the organisation of the Annual General Meeting and other governance events.
Leadership Team Coordination
• Coordinate the Global Leadership Team (GLT) meeting cycle, including agenda-setting, papers, actions and follow-up, working closely with the CEO and members of GLT.
• Support the CEO in tracking GLT action items, strategic priorities and key commitments, flagging issues and ensuring accountability.
• Co-ordinate with Regional and Country Directors on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meetings, including agenda-setting, papers, actions and follow-up,
• Assist with the preparation of materials for all-staff communications, leadership away-days and organisational events.
• Build effective working relationships across Practical Action's global offices, navigating time-zone differences and cultural contexts with sensitivity.
Stakeholder and Partnership Support
• Support the CEO's engagement with major institutional donors, trusts and foundations, bilateral agencies and high-value partners, including managing contact records and briefing materials, liaising closely with the business development and philanthropy teams.
• Coordinate logistics for high-level external visits, delegations, conferences and events involving the CEO.
• Assist with donor stewardship activities and the preparation of materials for fundraising and partnership development.
• Represent the CEO's office professionally in interactions with government officials, international organisations and peer NGOs.
Project and Research Support
• Take on research and project management tasks as directed by the CEO
• Continue to test and utilise AI tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness and share learnings with other members of Practical Action
• Support the delivery of special initiatives and cross-organisational projects led from the Executive Office.
• Maintain confidential files and records management systems for the CEO's office, ensuring compliance with GDPR and information governance policies.
To be successful in this role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:
Essential
• Significant experience (typically five or more years) as an Executive Assistant or Personal Assistant supporting a Chief Executive or equivalent senior leaders in a complex and or charitable organisation.
• Demonstrable experience of Board and governance administration, including minuting meetings and managing trustee or director-level relationships.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft high-quality correspondence, briefing papers and presentations to Board or senior stakeholder standard.
• Outstanding organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines and maintain quality under pressure.
• High degree of discretion, confidentiality and professional judgement in handling sensitive information about people, partners and organisational matters.
• Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, with the ability to build trust and credibility with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of coordinating complex international travel and managing logistics across multiple time zones.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams), AI tools and the ability to learn new digital tools quickly.
Desirable
• Experience working in an international NGO, development organisation or comparable mission-driven environment.
• Familiarity with funder relationships
• Experience supporting or working in an organisation with offices or programmes in the Global South.
• Knowledge of charity law and UK charity governance, including Charity Commission requirements.
• A second language relevant to Practical Action's programme geographies (e.g. French, Spanish, Arabic).
• Experience with CRM or stakeholder management systems.
Skills, Abilities and Competencies
· Problem-Solving
· Strong Communication & Diplomacy
· Adaptability
· Proactive organisation skills
To apply please submit a copy of your CV (no more than 3 pages) and a supporting statement/letter that includes the answers to the following questions:
- Tell me how you build relationships in fast-paced environments taking into account those stakeholders being located in different countries and having different cultural background?
- Practical Action has a very experienced and diverse board of trustees. Can you give an example of when you have had to build relationships with these types of people. Please describe your approach to having the most effective interactions?
- Tell us about the most complex project, event, or initiative you have coordinated?
- Describe a situation where you made a significant decision on behalf of a senior executive. What was your thought process and outcome?
Closing date for applications: 17th June 2026. Should we recruit a suitable candidate before the closing date, we will close applications earlier than the specified date.
Interviews: It is anticipated that interviews will take place W/C 22nd June 2026
If you do not hear from us within five weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Our vision is for a world that works better for everyone. We believe where there’s action, there’s hope.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
If you are a forward thinking professional with exceptional judgment, emotional intelligence and excellent communication skills, this might just be the role for you. Join ClientEarth, a globally respected environmental law charity driving real impact across climate, nature, health, and justice. We are hiring a Chief of Staff to the CEO (Strategy, Planning & Internal Communications)!
In this role you will play a pivotal role in shaping strategic priorities and organisational alignment, ensuring seamless information flow to inspire a diverse, global workforce around key priorities, and enabling effective and timely decision-making from the CEO’s office.
This is a rare opportunity to work at the heart of a purpose-led organisation, partnering directly with the CEO and senior leadership. You will operate as a trusted advisor at the highest level, reporting to the Chief Strategy & People Officer, with close collaboration with the CEO.
This role is based in our London office. ClientEarth has a Flexible working policy, however this post is expected to work from the office at least 2 days per week.
Key Responsibilities
- Sets and delivers the strategic approach for CEO Office coordination and leadership communications (internal), aligning leadership rhythm, decision flow, and engagement to organisational priorities. This includes line management of the PA to the CEO, and close working with the CEO's external communications advisor
- Provides timely counsel to the CEO, flagging up risks and opportunities, and acting with discretion and diplomacy across the organisation to resolve challenges and provide solutions
- (Where required) Leads on the delivery of key strategic projects for the CEO/Chief Strategy and People Officer, and / or engage to trouble-shoot on existing projects, depending on business need; this could be related to organisational effectiveness, collaboration and engagement, or internal services to the organisation
- Oversees ClientEarth’s Global Internal Communications & Engagement Programme - including the line-management of our internal communications advisor - to connect colleagues across our offices, promote effective information flow, champion an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture, and embed ClientEarth’s values
- Support the professional development of line reports through ongoing supervision, influencing them to take positive action and to be accountable for their work and contribution to the smooth-running of the organisation.
See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.
Skills, Knowledge & Expertise
- Substantial experience of managing upwards and guiding senior leaders, trustees/directors and other high level internal and external stakeholders (essential)
- Experience in copy-writing for senior leadership, drafting high-quality copy tailored to the relevant audience within tight time-frames (essential)
- Experience in developing internal communication and engagement strategies for medium to large organisations (essential) within an international organisation (desirable)
- Strong understanding of the external context in which ClientEarth operates, including the wider NGO landscape and political awareness (essential)
- Strong alignment with ClientEarth’s Values and commitment to our Vision, Mission and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy objectives (essential)
See the job description for a full list of duties for this role.
Job Benefits
Flexible working: We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. Visit our Flexa Employer page for more information on our approach to flexible working. Our flexible working policy allows our people the choice to decide to work from home/another location in the country where their contract of employment is issued for 80% of their month, with the other 20% of their month being office-based. See our benefits page for more: Benefits | ClientEarth Careers as well as our flexible working FAQ.
ClientEarth values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We aim to appoint the most suitable candidate at all times and welcome applications from people from all different backgrounds. See our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at ClientEarth | ClientEarth journey page for more.
Please note that ClientEarth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in the UK.
ClientEarth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Using the power of the law to protect life on Earth.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Using Anonymous Recruitment
This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.
You’ll carry out key administrative tasks, growing the support and development function of the Charity. This is an exciting opportunity to help Cambridge City Foodbank realise its vision of ending the need for foodbanks, through an ambitious strategy operating through networks of affordable food clubs, foodbank welcome centres, holistic support projects, and campaigning to change current systems which contribute to food insecurity.
Your tasks will include stewardship communications with individual donors and creating assets for community supporters to generate food and financial resources. You will assist the securing of income from grant giving trusts and foundations, and will undertake key executive assistant duties on behalf of the Development Director and CEO.
Main Duties:
● Develop strong individual donor relations through regular stewardship communications and powerful fundraising appeals, alongside establishing the associated data and systems;
● Create community development assets, which enables community groups to engage with and provide resources for the Charity, such as for charitable fundraising / food donation events.
● Together with the Development Director and CEO, secure income from, and maintain relations with grant giving trusts and foundations.
● Together with the Development Director and CEO, develop a team of volunteers who can support the work of the Charity’s development function.
● Support the Development Director and CEO, in their communication with supporters and corporate partners, to build good relations, gain and maintain corporate partner support.
● Liaise with colleagues across the Trussell Trust network; sharing best practice and participating in learning opportunities, to further the work of Cambridge City Foodbank.
● Other administrative activities may be requested from time to time by the CEO and Development Director, consistent with the needs of the Charity and role of Executive Assistant.
Personal Specification:
Technical skills and minimum knowledge:
● Strong administrative experience, highly organised, and able to effectively juggle multiple administrative tasks at the same time!
● Competent in the use of Zoom/Teams and MS Office software. Training will be provided to upskill in the use of Canva, Mailchimp, donor databases and social media (such as LinkedIn and Instagram).
● Excellent written and verbal communication and relationship management skills, you will inspire and motivate existing and prospective supporters, providing excellent stewardship and crafting compelling donor updates, applications and appeals.
NB. Experience of charitable fundraising is not essential when demonstrating the strong transferable skills above. Training will be provided.
Behaviours and competencies:
● Friendly, trustworthy and able to maintain confidentiality.
● Able to demonstrate empathy for people from disadvantaged, marginalised or socially-excluded backgrounds.
● Be committed to the vision, respect the ethos and uphold the values of Cambridge City Foodbank and Trussell Trust.
Our Vision, Ethos & Values:
Our Vision is to end the need for UK food banks. Each day we meet the need for emergency and affordable food, and tackle the causes of poverty, by harnessing the power of the community. We are an independent local charity and member of the Trussell Trust network.
We value dignity, justice, compassion, community and impact, in all that we do. We serve local people regardless of background, inspired by our Christian ethos and values.
As part of our commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity actively encourage applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions and those with a lived experience of poverty as well as any other under-represented group in our workforce. We are committed to ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm.
In 2026: our team of over 200 volunteers, will provide 250,000 meals to people across Cambridge through our network of Foodbank Welcome Centres and Fairbite Food Clubs.
Registered Charity
0
We meet the need for emergency and affordable food, and tackle the causes of poverty, by harnessing the power of the community.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.