Personal assistant to director of development and smt jobs
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At Ambitious about Autism we're currently looking for an Executive Assistant to join our team on a 15 month MAT cover.
You'll provide high-level executive support to the Director of Education and Care and contribute to the achievement of corporate and departmental objectives. The role is responsible for developing and maintaining effective administrative systems, supporting the Education Services Team, and coordinating financial reporting processes, including management accounts and forecasts.
You'll manage the day-to-day office of Director of Education and Care, including complex diary management, meeting coordination, briefing preparation, minute-taking, action tracking, and travel arrangements. You'll act as a key point of contact on behalf of the Director of Education and Care, communicating professionally with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including local authorities, education providers, professional advisers, suppliers, sector bodies, charity leaders, parents and carers.
We are looking for someone who has:
- Considerable successful experience as a Personal Assistant to a senior post with multiple internal and external stakeholders in a relevant setting.
- Experience of supporting a busy senior management team to achieve ambitious targets and goals and to respond to unexpected opportunities and tight deadlines.
- Experience of briefing senior management on potentially serious issues and of troubleshooting and managing reputations and good relationships.
- Ability to work without close supervision, to evaluate progress and to take the initiative to solve problems quickly and effectively.
In return, we offer great benefits including a generous holiday allowance and commitment to continued professional development (CPD), flexible, hybrid working and more!
This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious individual who would like to work for a forward-thinking, open and honest organisation and make a real impact to the young people we work with. Please find our full recruitment pack on the link below.
If you have any questions about the role or would like to have a confidential chat, please contact James Axford, Recruitment Officer.
Ambitious about Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.
Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.
Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.
The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.
Registered Charity
101 - 500
We stand with autistic children and young people, champion their rights and create opportunities.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Location: Bristol office, hybrid (minimum three days a week onsite)
Salary: £50,285 per annum
Job Type: Fixed term maternity cover, approximately 15 months. Minimum 30 hours a week, up to full time (37.5 hours)
The role:
This role covers the current post-holder's maternity leave for an anticipated 15 months. As Financial Controller you will lead CSE's finance team, directing and overseeing the finance function in compliance with appropriate accounting standards and practices, company and charity law.
You will provide timely, accurate financial and management information to support strategic decision-making and effective budgetary control by our Senior Leadership Team, Trustees, project managers and other budget holders. You will line manage the Finance Manager and Finance Assistant and be a member of CSE's Senior Management Team.
Reporting to the Director of Finance and Operations, you will work alongside the wider Operations Team to provide operational support that underpins delivery of our charitable mission. This is a fast-paced role and we need someone who can get up to speed with minimal delay.
Specific responsibilities
An applicant appointed to the role will be expected to:
- Take responsibility for day-to-day accounting, invoicing, payroll, VAT returns, payments and banking, credit control and cash management, including timely monthly management accounts.
- Line manage the Finance Manager and Finance Assistant.
- Co-ordinate the annual budget cycle and mid-year budget refresh alongside the Director of Finance & Operations and SLT.
- Attend monthly SMT meetings to share the previous month's financial results and handle related queries.
- Prepare accurate, accessible reports on organisational, team, staff and project financial indicators to support timely decision-making.
- Maintain the organisation's financial records to appropriate accounting standards and prepare documentation for the annual audit and other statutory reporting.
- Liaise with CSE's auditors to enable an effective and timely annual audit.
- Support project managers to plan and manage project budgets, providing financial data for reporting to clients and funders.
- Provide expertise on financial costing and monitoring approaches for new project funding proposals, reflecting funder requirements.
- Provide finance support to Retrofit West CIC, including financial reporting, statutory obligations and payroll as required.
To see a more detailed list of responsibilities please see the supporting documents attached. These documents are also available to download from our website.
About you:
Essential attributes for this role include:
- Fully qualified ACA, ACCA or equivalent accountant.
- At least seven years' post-qualification experience, including at least five years in a financial management role.
- Working knowledge of accounting standards, VAT and HMRC regulations in England, including requirements applicable to a UK charity with a trading subsidiary.
- Experience of leading the preparation for an annual audit.
- Experience of preparing routine financial and management information reports for senior executives and staff.
- Experience of using timesheet software to track allocation of staff time to different cost centres.
- High level competence with Sage accounting software and MS Excel.
- Able to analyse, structure and sense-check financial data to produce clear, informative reports, with excellent attention to detail.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with proven management skills.
- Self-motivated and organised, able to work with limited supervision and manage conflicting priorities.
Please note, the above is an overview of the skills required for this role. To see the full list of essential and desirable skills please see the attached job description.
Benefits:
CSE offer a range of other benefits including:
- You will be entitled to 25 days' paid holiday (plus statutory holidays)
- Company pension scheme with 8% employer and 6% employee contributions
- Subsidised bike purchase and Tech Scheme
- Life Assurance
- Health Cash plan
- Retail discounts
- Discounted breakdown cover and many more.
- We will pay fees and expenses on relevant training courses.
- We are flexible with working hours and will discuss this openly if you are invited to interview.
How to apply
To apply, please download and complete the application form available from our website and send it to our Jobs email (available in the candidate pack). Your application should demonstrate your suitability against the criteria in the person specification and job description. CVs and supporting letters will not be considered.
The closing date for applications is 5pm Sunday on 16 August 2026.
First interviews are expected online on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 September 2026, with final panel interviews at our Bristol office on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 September 2026. The earliest start date is early October 2026.
This role requires a basic DBS check. If invited to interview, we will ask for evidence of eligibility to work in the UK.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Full Time – 35 hours per week
The Diocese of Chester is seeking to recruit a Diocesan Secretary who will be:
1) A senior member of the Bishop of Chester's core staff team,
2) The chief officer of the charitable business that undergirds the Diocese of Chester, and
3) The most senior, 'lay' officer of the Diocese of Chester.
The role is complex as well as important. You will need an open heart and deep courage, patience, kindness, humility, determination, and constantly reflective practice. We value competence founded on transparent good character, grounded deeply in Christian faith. You will need to be able to see over the horizon without missing the personal needs of team members, enabling both with persistent grace and strategic focus.
The successful candidate will be inspirational, humble, skilled and experienced in leadership in both ‘first-’ and ‘second-chairs’, a change manager, relational and the technical ability to fulfil the role.
This role is based in Church House, Daresbury, Warrington which is a key operational centre for the life of the Diocese.
For informal conversation, contact the Bishop of Chester - contact details in the attached documents or via the apply/redirect to recruiter button.
The recruitment pack, including job description, person specification and application form can be downloaded from the Diocesan website: Please see website address in the attached documents or via the apply/redirect to recruiter button.
Completed application forms should be returned by email - contact details in the attached documents or via the apply/redirect to recruiter button
Closing date: Sunday 23rd August 2026
Interviews: Tuesday 8th September 2026
The Diocese of Chester is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
An Enhanced DBS Disclosure will be required for the successful candidate.
An Occupational Requirement exists for the postholder to be a practising Christian, in accordance with the Equality Act, 2010.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.