We are looking for an Operations Executive Assistant to join our Operations Team. This is a varied role at the heart of the organisation, combining operational coordination and executive support. Working across every part of Purposeful Ventures, you will help ensure colleagues have the systems, processes and support they need to do their best work.
Working closely with the Director of Finance and Operations, you will coordinate operational priorities, anticipate issues before they arise, and ensure the organisation runs smoothly, enabling senior leaders to remain focused on strategic work.
No two days will be the same. You might be coordinating a new starter's first day, overseeing office operations, preparing papers for senior meetings, implementing a new operational process, coordinating organisational compliance activities, supporting grant administration, or resolving an operational issue before it becomes a problem.
This is a role for someone who enjoys making things work well. You will be trusted to take ownership, build strong relationships across the organisation and continuously improve how we operate. You'll need to be equally comfortable supporting senior leaders, coordinating projects, solving practical problems and paying close attention to detail.
This role sits at the centre of Purposeful Ventures. You will work with colleagues across the organisation, gaining a broad understanding of how we operate while taking ownership of the systems, processes and coordination that help enhance how the organisation works. If you are someone who enjoys understanding how organisations work and finding practical ways to make them work even better, you will have plenty of opportunities to make a difference.
Job Description
Purpose
The Operations Executive Assistant plays a central role in the efficient running of Purposeful Ventures by providing operational management, executive support and administration across the organisation.
The role is varied and post holders are expected to have, and will be supported to continue to develop, expertise across a broad range of operational activities.
Responsibilities and duties
Executive support
Working closely with the Director of Finance and Operations and Management Team:
- Monitoring operational priorities and proactively following up actions on behalf of the Director of Finance and Operations.
- Preparing briefing notes, reports and background information to support decision-making.
- Coordinating cross-organisational activity on behalf of the Directors, ensuring actions are progressed and deadlines met.
- Providing proactive executive and administrative support to members of the Management Team.
- Managing diaries, scheduling meetings and coordinating logistics where required.
- Providing holiday and absence cover for the Executive Assistant to the CEO, ensuring continuity of support.
- Preparing agendas, coordinating papers and tracking actions from meetings.
- Organising meetings, workshops and events.
- Anticipating administrative requirements and proactively resolving issues to enable senior leaders to focus on strategic priorities.
- Coordinating operational issues across the organisation, using judgement to resolve matters independently and escalating where appropriate.
- Handling confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
Operations and Business Administration
- Working closely with colleagues across operations, communications, philanthropy, finance and project teams:
- Being a first point of contact for enquiries, correspondence and shared mailboxes, ensuring a consistently high level of customer service.
- Managing calendars, room bookings, registering and greeting visitors, organising meetings and organisation wide events.
- Ensuring the effective management of organisational documents, templates and operational systems.
- Maintaining CRM records and contributing to operational reporting.
- Coordinating document administration including agreements and approvals.
- Driving continuous improvement of organisational systems and processes, for example:
- Leading small operational improvement projects.
- Coordinating the implementation of new systems and operational processes.
- Support organisational change initiatives.
- Acting as first point of contact for our external IT provider (Penelope), managing internal IT operations
- Coordinating our operational compliance calendar, ensuring key activities are completed on time, including:
- Supporting the implementation and review of organisational policies and operational procedures.
- Coordinating annual policy reviews and maintain version control.
- Monitoring mandatory organisational compliance activities and escalating any risks.
- Maintaining relationships with operational suppliers; coordinating contract renewals; monitoring service delivery and escalating issues.
- Coordinating office health and safety arrangements, working closely with the building management company. Coordinating workplace risk assessments, maintaining accident records and coordinating fire marshal/first aid arrangements. Acting as Fire Marshal following appropriate training
People operations and onboarding
Working closely with the People Coordinator and colleagues to deliver an outstanding onboarding experience by:
- Carrying out Right to Work and DBS identity verification processes through our Due Diligence Checking platform, including video identity checks where required.
- Managing IT onboarding requests, including Penelope onboarding forms.
- Coordinating system access including EdCity passes and user set up.
- Preparing first-day arrangements including laptops and merchandise; welcoming new starters including building orientation, team introductions, and IT set up.
- Scheduling induction meetings, one-to-one introductions and team coffees.
- Setting colleagues up on the compliance learning system and assigning mandatory training. Monitoring new starter and refresher training to ensure completion and compliance.
- Maintaining organisation charts and onboarding documentation.
Office and Facilities
Ensuring that Purposeful Ventures provides a welcoming, productive and well-organised working environment by:
- Coordinating the day-to-day running of our fully serviced office at EdCity.
- Welcoming visitors and supporting colleagues in the office.
- Managing office supplies and equipment.
- Liaising with building management and external suppliers.
- Coordinating office IT equipment and ensuring new and existing colleagues have the equipment they need.
- Supporting the organisation of internal events and team activities.
Supporting Incubating Organisations and New Projects
Working with organisations that Purposeful Ventures is incubating by:
- Providing ad hoc administrative support to them and new projects.
- Assist with processes, communications, and administration.
- Support teams with coordination and project delivery activities.
The job description is subject to change and the postholder may be required to undertake tasks not specifically referred to above. Such duties, however, will fall within the scope of the job description.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for a highly organised, proactive and collaborative professional with experience providing executive and operational in a fast-paced environment. You will take ownership, build trusted relationships across the organisation, and be passionate about creating efficient systems and delivering an outstanding experience for colleagues and stakeholders.
You will bring an appreciation of the charity and social impact sector and a commitment to Purposeful Ventures' mission and values, recognising the importance of working for the good of the wider system.
Key requirements
The successful candidate will have:
- A strong understanding of office, operations and business administration, with an appreciation of how effective operational processes enable organisations to deliver meaningful outcomes and impact.
- Knowledge of executive support and the principles of providing proactive, high-quality support to senior leaders and management teams.
- An understanding of employee onboarding, colleague experience and the importance of creating a welcoming, well-organised and inclusive environment for new starters.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and confidence using and administering a range of digital systems, with the curiosity and agility to learn new technologies quickly.
- An understanding of organisational policies and procedures, and the importance of maintaining compliance, consistency and good governance within a charity.
- An understanding of the role of the Charity Commission and Companies House, and an appreciation of the governance and compliance responsibilities of charitable organisations.
- An understanding of information governance, confidentiality and UK data protection legislation (including GDPR), and the importance of handling sensitive information with integrity and professionalism.
- Right to work in the UK
Experience
The successful candidate will have demonstrable experience of:
- Providing proactive executive or senior administrative support to senior leaders or management teams, anticipating needs and enabling others to focus on strategic priorities.
- Coordinating complex diaries, meetings, events and logistics while balancing multiple competing priorities.
- Managing office operations or business administration within a busy, collaborative and fast-paced environment.
- Coordinating multiple operational priorities while exercising sound judgement and working with a high degree of autonomy.
- Delivering a positive onboarding experience through coordinating new starter administration, systems, induction activities and colleague support.
- Taking ownership of operational processes and continuously identifying opportunities to improve systems, simplify ways of working and enhance the experience of colleagues.
- Building positive and trusted relationships across teams and with external suppliers, partners and stakeholders.
- Working with confidential and sensitive information, consistently exercising sound judgement, discretion and high ethical standards.
- Working collaboratively across functions to achieve shared objectives and support organisational success.
Desirable:
- Experience within the charity, education or social impact sector.
- Experience supporting governance, Board or senior leadership meetings.
- Experience coordinating compliance processes such as Right to Work, DBS checks or mandatory training.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Who we are:
Chefs in Schools exists to improve children’s health and futures through improving school food and food literacy.
We work alongside schools and catering teams to transform what children eat every day, particularly in communities facing the greatest barriers to good health. We combine practical support, training, operational expertise and sector influence to help schools serve fresh, nutritious food that children want to eat.
We are ambitious about both impact and scale. We want every child to have access to excellent school food and a real food education, regardless of background.
We are a values-led organisation. We are bold, honest, collaborative, innovative and focused on solutions.
About you and the role
We are looking for an enthusiastic and proactive Fundraising Officer to join our Partnerships and Engagement team. This is a brilliant opportunity to support a broad portfolio across income streams including Trusts and Foundations, Corporate Partnerships, and Major Donors.
You will play a crucial role in our fundraising efforts by leading prospect research to identify new funding opportunities to build a strong pipeline. You will support the Senior Partnership Manager and Philanthropy Manager to grow a portfolio of trusts, corporate partners and philanthropists. You will also be responsible for maintaining the CRM database (Beacon) and administrative tasks. This varied role is perfect for someone who enjoys building relationships and coordinating meaningful supporter engagement opportunities. You will work with colleagues across Chefs in Schools to gather compelling stories and impact data that demonstrate the difference our funders make.
The responsibilities, skills and experience listed below are intended to give you an idea of what we need for this role. If you don’t meet every requirement but feel you would be able to work with us to deliver the majority of them, we urge you to apply anyway. We’re dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and for us the most important ‘experience’ is passion for our mission. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
You will have excellent organisation skills, with good attention to detail and the ability to prioritise a varied workload. You will have strong communication skills and be able to build relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
We want to get to know you at the interview and understand we can do this best if you’re at ease. We’re an inclusive employer and are passionate about creating a welcoming working environment for everyone. We’re continually updating our DEI policy and have a neurodiversity champion. If you need adjustments to the interview process please let us know.
As we work with children and young people, an offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS clearance, in line with our safeguarding policy.
Key responsibilities
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Lead prospect research to build a strong pipeline of trusts, corporates and major donors which align with our mission. This includes network mapping to identify existing connections and relationships.
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Act as the CRM champion for fundraising, ensuring all donor interactions and details are accurately recorded and updated.
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Support in developing and maintaining inspiring stewardship and engagement plans for funders and supporters.
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Provide events support; logistics, guestlist management and other duties where required.
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Prepare insightful briefings for the Senior Leadership Team ahead of key funder meetings.
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Work with the communications team to create engaging end of term/ annual reports for key funders and donors.
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Monitor sector trends and newly launched funding rounds to ensure we never miss an opportunity.
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Work with the finance team to process donations and Gift Aid declarations, ensuring thank-yous are sent out promptly.
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Pull regular financial and pipeline reports from the database to assist with team forecasting and planning.
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Provide warm supporter care as the first point of contact for public fundraising inquiries.
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Support the delivery of digital appeals, regular giving, and community fundraising initiatives.
Essential skills & experience
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You have at least 1–2 years of experience in a charity fundraising environment.
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You have interest and belief in our mission, to improve child health through improving food and food education in schools.
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You are an excellent writer and communicator with strong presentation and communication skills.
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You have experience of using CRM software.
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You have strong research skills and experience synthesizing complex information into succinct and accessible copy.
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You are highly organised and can juggle multiple deadlines while maintaining a sharp eye for detail.
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You are a natural relationship builder, comfortable interacting with a diverse range of stakeholders.
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You demonstrate self-motivation, flexibility and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing, growing organisation.
Desirable skills & experience
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Experience using tools like Canva or Mailchimp to create engaging fundraising content.
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Experience in planning and delivering fundraising events.
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Familiarity with fundraising regulations and data protection laws regarding donor privacy.
What success looks like
Within the first 12 to 18 months, success in this role is likely to include a comprehensive knowledge of our existing fundraising model and key funders, taking the lead in prospect research, leading on account management of restaurant partners, small to medium scale fundraising campaigns, and supporting with event organisation. You will also have gained a comprehensive knowledge of the organisational strategy and the wider school food system.
Our commitment to inclusion
We know that strong candidates may not meet every single requirement listed in this job description.
If this role excites you and you believe you could make a strong contribution to our mission, we would encourage you to apply.
We are committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation where people from different backgrounds, experiences and communities can thrive. If you require assistance or reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please let us know.
Benefits
You would be joining a friendly, supportive team who works hard but believe in a healthy work/life balance. We were voted one of CODE Hospitality's happiest places to work in 2024. We seek a diverse range of perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. Joining a small, collaborative team means you'll be able to contribute to and draw on various projects and strategic insights.
We offer 33 days of holiday per year including bank holidays, 3 additional office closure days over the Christmas period as well as wellbeing days over the summer school holidays. We also have a Cycle to Work scheme, hybrid working, enhanced parental leave, and free access to the CODE app for discounted restaurants & hospitality venues. We are committed to developing our team and will support you with relevant training opportunities including £250 towards elective training and development of your choice.
We also offer Bupa Dental Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, as well as access to the Aviva Smart Health Platform which offers health benefits including free rapid access online GP appointments, free counselling and wellbeing support.
Application process
In line with our commitment to ensuring a fair and unbiased recruitment process, we invite candidates to answer a series of questions related to their day-to-day job.
Each question has a 250-word limit. We recommend that you develop your answers offline and copy them in when you're ready, to make sure you don't lose your work if interrupted.
All communication about your application, other than a verbal job offer, will be sent through the Applied platform - please check your Applied account regularly (as well as your spam folder) for updates.
Your answers will go through our sifting process: all answers are anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers. A longlist of candidates will then additionally have their CVs reviewed. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a 30 minute online interview. Successful candidates will be invited to attend a second, in-person interview at our office in Brixton, London.
Expected duration of this application process: 4-6 weeks
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online 30-minute competency based interview, held in the week commencing 7th September.
Successful candidates will be invited to an in-person second interview at our office in Brixton, London w/c 14th September. The interview overall will take a maximum of one hour.
We’re on a mission to transform kids’ health through food – plate by plate, class by class, school by school.


