Executive Assistant to the CEO

About the role:

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced individual to join us based in our Birmingham or London office as Executive Assistant to the CEO, with travel between the two locations on a weekly basis essential.

In this role, you will act as a strategic partner, providing high-level operational, project, and stakeholder management support, enabling the CEO to focus on key priorities and organisational leadership, while delivering dedicated one-to-one support.

About you:

We’re looking for a highly driven, high-energy individual who thrives in supporting C-suite executives, ideally within complex or partnership-led environments, ideally with line management experience. This is a hands-on role for someone who takes ownership, moves at pace, and gets things done, proactively chasing actions, unblocking challenges, and keeping projects moving forward without needing direction.

The role requires someone who has successfully coordinated cross-functional projects and strategic initiatives on behalf of senior leadership, often across different jurisdictions and team structures. You will demonstrate sound judgement and a proactive ability to anticipate executive needs in line with broader firm priorities.

You will bring exceptional organisational, written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage demanding stakeholders in a professional and pragmatic way. You will be required to prepare draft board-level materials and will have strong analytical capability to distil complex information into clear, concise reports. Absolute discretion is essential, with a proven ability to manage highly confidential strategic information. This role would suit someone comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment, with shifting priorities and leadership demands, underpinned by strong commercial awareness.

The successful candidate will be confident in prioritising CEO time commitments based on strategic impact, with the executive presence to challenge and advise where appropriate. You will also demonstrate the ability to build trusted relationships with senior leaders, board members and external stakeholders, and to influence outcomes and drive progress across senior audiences, even without formal authority. 

You will need to build a close and reliable relationship with the CEO, and flexibility to attend to urgent matters outside of the 9-5 will be key. We operate a hybrid and agile working environment, but your working pattern will be closely linked to the requirements of the CEO, which will change on a weekly basis. Some international travel will also be required, to support the CEO locally on leadership trips and projects.

What We Can Offer You:

The opportunity to work for a firm which has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work® for 26 consecutive years. 

Excellent benefits, including:

• A hybrid approach to office and remote working
• 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, with the option to buy up to a week’s extra annual leave
• Free private medical insurance, and the option to add family members
• A generous pension allowance
• Life assurance covering four times your annual salary
• The chance of a three-month sabbatical every five years
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave schemes
• A range of health and wellbeing programmes
• State of the art offices, in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with an onsite restaurant
• Opportunities to flourish in your role through training and personal development

Equal Opportunities:

Gowling WLG is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment.  The firm believes in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity.  This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment.

At Gowling WLG we seek to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, to create an exciting and rewarding place to work.  Our aim is to fulfil everyone’s potential and together to achieve personal and business goals.

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