Executive Support Officer

Number of Vacancies:

0

Time Type:

Full time

Worker Type:

Regular

Proposed Interview Date:

Friday, December 4, 2026

Hours of Work:

37

Hiring Manager:

Mark Nearney

Contact Number: 

01482 612598

Job Description Summary:

There is one full-time permanent post available.
ROLE AND PURPOSE
Grade 6:
To provide first point of contact for most people visiting, calling or writing to one of the Council’s Corporate Directors. Development and delivery of highly efficient and effective ways of working for senior management, including support to other Executive Support Officers as appropriate. Work to ensure an individual Corporate Director’s needs are met efficiently and effectively alongside those of the wider senior management. This will require effective use of personal judgement and initiative, while making sure that the Senior Management Team are kept fully informed on progress.
Be adept at using emotional intelligence to anticipate issues before they arise, and then have excellent research and organisational skills to deal with the issues. They will also have an excellent understanding of the way the Council works and the key issues of the moment.
Set the standard for customer service and professionalism, and so the job-holder will need to demonstrate excellent team working, flexibility in undertaking a range of roles, and a proactive approach to getting the job done. Success will be in getting things right first time, whether that be no clashes in diary management, rapid and full response to callers, or giving visitors a first class experience of meeting in that office.
Grade 7, all of the above plus:
Working directly to ensure the Corporate Director’s and relevant City Managers’ needs are met efficiently and effectively, particular ensuring that s/he has all they need to do their job effectively (according to best use of team skills and knowledge. This will require them to effectively use their own judgement and initiative, while making sure that the Chief Executive, Corporate Directors and relevant City Managers are kept fully informed on progress.
Success in this role will be about enabling the whole of the senior management team to be effective in delivery of corporate priorities and plans.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Grade 6

1. Organise diaries, appointments, arranging and administering meetings, etc, taking into account conflicting priorities and critical issues to ensure that work is prioritised to best satisfy objectives.  Also arrange, as directed, visits, conferences and seminars, including transport and accommodation for officers.

2. Monitor email traffic, dealing with emails and flagging up those that require input from Executive Support officers or the director themselves; they will exercise discretion with regard to whether to advise/deal with issues personally or to refer to senior staff.

3. Respond to correspondence as required within agreed timescales and to agreed standards, dealing with enquiries from a wide range of people/members/organisations using own judgement and initiative and refer to senior staff as required.

4. Responsible for administering meeting agendas – including producing agendas, maintaining the forward plan schedules and to bring forward these items as required ensuring they are uploaded on to CMIS to meet required deadlines.

5. Ensure that all visitors are looked after in a highly professional and welcoming way; that they are signed-in/out, are aware of any waiting times, and are provided with any needs or information.

6. Organises and attends meetings, preparing agendas, producing and circulating minutes that are right first time, as appropriate, to provide a true record of the proceedings and indicate subsequent action to be taken as appropriate.

7. Prioritise meetings, calls and workload, using independent judgement and initiative to provide responses and advice, offer to complex issues.  

8. Deal with non-routine correspondence and enquiries as delegated in an efficient and effective manner and maintaining accessible back up information.

9. Responsible for the processing of invoices, cheques or equivalent in accordance with Council procedures. 

10. Oversee the progress of issues being dealt with within their area of work ensuring they are prioritised and affectively responded to in a way that is consistent with the Council’s strategic priorities.

11. Process and pass on highly sensitive information to members of staff and representatives from other authorities and agencies, using tact and diplomacy. Similarly provide information to members of the public, Council officers, Members, and partners as required or requested.

12. Provide background information for all key meetings sufficiently in advance to ensure that they are effectively prepared and can use the meeting to progress the Council’s agenda; this information to form part of a complete day file that is accessible and timely.

13. Ensure that all plans, training and crucial functions as directed are carried out in line with council policies and procedures. Undertake specific projects under guidance including power point presentations and excel documents.

14. Liaise with internal staff and external agencies to obtain and research, analyse and collate often complex, conflicting, confidential and controversial information and present findings.

15. Prioritise and manage their own workload with minimal guidance, using a measure of independence and initiative in order to commence tasks and complete work within deadlines/targets set.

16. Maintains an understanding awareness and knowledge of corporate issues to create a knowledge base for effective information provision. 

17. Working across Services and with other PA’s to establish modern, fit for purpose systems and processes.

18. Positively represent the Council, Directorate and Service at formal meetings, internal and external, develop the necessary networking, communication mechanisms and working relationships to provide customer focus, establish consistency, share information, exchange opinion and maintain an awareness of current issues and thinking to facilitate the performance review/continuous improvement process and promote  service excellence.

Grade 7, all of the above plus:

19. Anticipate future needs of Directors, and wider senior management, responding fully and efficiently to enable them to be more effective in their jobs.

20. Provide background information for all key meetings sufficiently in advance to ensure that Directors are effectively prepared and can use the meeting to progress the Council’s agenda; this information to form part of a complete day file that is accessible and timely.

21. Liaise with internal staff and external agencies to obtain and carry out basic research, analyse and collate often complex, conflicting, confidential and controversial information and present findings to the CST members and others as required.

22. Direct and oversee the progress of issues as agreed with the CST member ensuring that issues are prioritised and effectively responded to as required by the CST member.

23. Undertakes specific projects under overall guidance including the production of briefing notes, reports, and completion of power point presentations and excel documents.

24. Provide leadership in establishing excellent operational and filing systems and management information for business planning, performance management, training and development, financial management, Best Value and Value for Money.

25. Answer sensitive letters, complex emails and calls from key stakeholders, using judgement, emotional intelligence and political understanding to help the Council achieve its outcomes.

NC3761.NC1916.Executive Support Officer/Assistant.docx

Compensation Grades:

GRADES 6 TO 7

Pay Ranges:

£30,515.00 - £36,581.00

Job Classifications:

3- Not Politically Restricted - Designated As Not Politically Sensitive (Politically Restricted Posts), Casual - (Travel Allowance Policy), No - (Childcare Disqualification Requirement), No - (Statutory Post)

Benefits of Working of Hull City Council:
- A competitive salary
- An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
- Initially 23 days annual leave depending on length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year, and three additional days off, one in May/August and one during the Christmas/New year period
- Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods
- Supportive and forward-thinking culture
- Great career development opportunities

PLEASE NOTE: you MUST complete and submit your application by midnight prior to the closing date. For example: If the closing date is Friday 16 October 2026 then your application must be submitted by 11:59pm on Thursday 15 October 2026.

 

Please ensure that your application demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria against the person specification as listed in the job description. Provide examples to support your application rather than use of lists.

We are committed to increasing the diversity, equality, and inclusion within our workforce to represent the people we serve and build an environment in which everyone can feel like they belong. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. 

We adopt a ‘name blind’ approach to shortlisting.  Recruiting managers will not have access to personal information, including your name and contact details, until a shortlisting decision has been made. Equality monitoring information is not accessible by recruiting managers at any stage.

We reserve the right to amend the dates associated with this advert, which may include closing the advert early where required.

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

Online searches, including social media, may be carried out as part of the recruitment process.

We are committed to “our values” at the Council of People First, Respect, Learning, Ambition and Partnership. If these align with you then we welcome your application.