Join Our Team - Executive Assistant to the CEO
Purpose of job
Leeds Heritage Theatres is seeking an outstanding Executive Assistant to provide high-level support to the CEO and coordinate work across the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
This pivotal role ensures the smooth running of the Executive Office and supports the delivery of our Strategic Plan. You will manage the CEO’s complex diary and inbox, prepare briefings, speeches and presentations, and ensure they are fully prepared for meetings and public engagements. You will organise SLT meetings and strategy sessions, take accurate minutes, track actions, and support reporting to the Board.
You will also assist with stakeholder engagement, including coordinating guest lists, advocacy tracking and supporting key events. Alongside this, you will help maintain effective office systems and resources.
About you
We are looking for someone with experience in a senior administrative or executive support role, confident in managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. You will be highly organised, discreet, proactive and an excellent communicator, able to build strong relationships internally and externally.
For full details of the role please see the job description.
*Leeds Heritage Theatres is committed to promoting the safeguarding and the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. Therefore, all appointments are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks and relevant roles will need to complete an enhanced DBS check.
About us
Leeds Heritage Theatres is a registered charity united by a single cause; to bring people together, create the extraordinary and provide a positive environment in which to entertain and educate.
Our three venues – Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and the Hyde Park Picture House – collectively present the very best in live performance, music, comedy and film; drawing audiences of around 350,000 a year from the Leeds city region and beyond.
We’re proud of who we are and what we do. With our combined, unique skills, we make a real difference. We inspire one another. We become stronger. Everyone is welcome to share in this labour of love.
Salary and Benefits
Contract Type: Permanent
Responsible to: The Chief Executive
Salary: £31,098
Holiday entitlement: 25 days per annum plus bank holidays
Benefits
- Generous average salary pension scheme
- Regular staff offers and discounts for our venues and local businesses
- Free to use Employee Assistance Programme that supports your health and wellbeing
- Personnel investment and training
- Flexible working
Probation Period: Three months
Notice Period: Two months (after successful completion of probationary period)
Hours: 37 hours per week
To apply
Applications are made by online form. Please note, the form must be completed in a single session. It cannot be saved and resumed later. As well as the standard details such as name, contact information and references, the form includes six questions (all listed below) designed to prompt thoughtful, focused answers to highlight your experience, ability and understanding of the role. Each question has a maximum response limit of 4,000 characters.
Executive Assistant to the CEO job description
(Please note: In a departure from the process set out in the recruitment pack, for this post, you will apply and provide disclosure information through a single online form)
The deadline for receipt of applications is Mon 9 March at 9am.
Interviews will be held on Tue 24 and Wed 25 March, with second-round interviews on Thu 2 or Fri 3 April for candidates who progress to that stage.
If you have any questions about the role or the recruitment process, please contact humanresources@leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Application questions
- Please describe your experience in senior administrative or executive support roles, highlighting the responsibilities you have held and the environments in which you have worked. Your answer should tell us what roles you have had, when you were in those roles and for how long, your employer and the title of the people you provided admin/exec support for, and give us a clear understanding of the duties you undertook.
- Provide two examples of occasions where you have needed to adjust your communication style and approach when working with colleagues who were more senior than you, to gain their support or secure an action. You should look for examples that demonstrate different approaches, pressures or obstacles that you overcame. In each case, tell us what factors you took into account in deciding on your approach, what you did (and why you did it that way), and the outcome. If the example provides learning points, tell us what you learnt from that experience.
- Describe what you believe makes a meeting effective, both in terms of how it is run and what happens between meetings. Drawing on meetings you have supported, explain the specific steps you have taken to ensure they were well-organised, purposeful and delivered positive outcomes. In your answer, be clear about what meeting(s) you supported, what your role was, how formal the meeting was, the frequency of the meeting, and the sorts of people who attended (e.g. senior managers, front-line staff, charity trustees, etc.)
- From time to time, the Chief Executive may need to deliver a speech or presentation but may not have the capacity to prepare it in full. Please describe your experience of researching and synthesising information, drafting speeches or presentations on behalf of others, and creating engaging, visually compelling materials to support them. Your answer should rely on specific examples, explaining your role, the outputs and the outcomes. You should explain how you involved the person you were doing the preparation for. In your answer, try to explain what value you added that we wouldn’t get from an ‘AI assistant’ such as Copilot or ChatGPT.
- Describe your experience of managing projects from initiation to completion. How do you plan, prioritise and monitor progress, manage risks and stakeholders, and ensure delivery to agreed deadlines and budgets? Please provide a specific example to illustrate your approach. Ideally, your answer should reference a project you have personally coordinated or overseen, for example, implementing a new process, delivering an event, or managing a relocation. Be clear about your specific role and responsibilities, how you structured and tracked the work, how you engaged stakeholders (including more senior colleagues), and how you ensured the project was delivered on time, within budget and to the required standard.
- Tell us about your proficiency with the Microsoft packages such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint. In addition, tell us what experience, if any, you have of working with venue management, ticketing or finance systems, or learning similar systems that were new to you. You should give clear examples both of when you’ve used the software and how you’ve used it, for example, “I have used SharePoint for document management and collaboration, setting up structured folder systems with controlled access permissions to ensure confidential HR and finance information was appropriately restricted while enabling cross-team working.“
Our organisation is actively seeking applications from people from the global majority and those with a disability.
We are committed to promoting safeguarding and the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk. Therefore, all appointments are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks and relevant roles will need to complete an enhanced DBS check.