Executive Assistant to Director & COO

Executive Assistant to Director & COO

Location: Greenwich Business Park, 53 Norman Road, London SE10 9QF
Employment: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £45,000 per year
Working pattern: Hybrid – normally 4 days office / 1 day work from home

About EcoScent

EcoScent is a growing scent marketing and fragrance business providing commercial scenting solutions, fragrance systems and private label products to clients across a wide range of sectors.

We work with businesses to develop scent solutions that enhance their environments, customer experience and brand identity, from individual installations through to multi-site rollouts and bespoke fragrance and private label projects.

As the business continues to grow, we are strengthening the structure around our senior leadership team and are looking for an experienced Executive Assistant to directly support our Director and COO.

The Role

This is a genuine Executive Assistant role with a high level of trust, ownership and autonomy. We are not looking for someone who simply manages diaries or waits to be given tasks. We want an experienced EA who can actively manage the working lives of our Director and COO, understand their priorities and create the structure around them that allows them to operate effectively.

You will be expected to think ahead, manage competing demands, protect executive time and ensure commitments, actions and deadlines are followed through.

If a diary is becoming unrealistic, we want you to reorganise it and propose a solution. If an important action is outstanding, follow it up. If information is required for a meeting, make sure it is available beforehand.

You should be comfortable managing upwards and appropriately reminding, chasing and respectfully challenging the people you support when necessary.

A successful EA in this role will often know what needs attention before being asked.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of diaries and actively manage and prioritise executive time
• Plan ahead and ensure the Director and COO are prepared for upcoming meetings, decisions and commitments
• Maintain clear oversight of priorities, actions and deadlines across multiple workstreams
• Proactively follow up actions with the Director, COO, colleagues and external parties
• Ensure agreed actions are progressed and closed out rather than simply recorded
• Identify diary conflicts, competing priorities and unrealistic workloads and propose solutions
• Provide concise priority and action summaries where appropriate
• Prepare meeting agendas, briefing information, notes and action trackers
• Manage and prioritise correspondence where appropriate
• Draft professional emails, letters and internal communications
• Coordinate with employees, clients, suppliers and professional advisers
• Organise business travel, accommodation, meetings and events
• Track important dates, contracts, renewals and other commitments
• Carry out research and support business projects
• Maintain confidential and commercially sensitive information with complete discretion
• Act as an effective link between senior leadership and the wider team

The role is predominantly business-focused but will include a limited amount of personal administrative support for the Director such as appointments, travel, reservations and straightforward personal or household arrangements.

What We’re Looking For

Essential:

• Minimum 3 years’ experience working directly as an Executive Assistant or senior PA to a Director, CEO, Founder, COO or equivalent senior executive
• Demonstrable experience managing complex diaries, priorities and executive workloads
• Strong experience of managing upwards and proactively keeping senior executives on track
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Exceptional organisation and attention to detail
• Sound judgement and complete discretion
• Confidence communicating with people at all levels
• Ability to anticipate requirements rather than wait for instruction
• Confidence to respectfully challenge and raise issues when appropriate
• Strong Microsoft Office and/or Google Workspace skills
• Confidence learning and using new technology and systems
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with the wider team

Our Culture

EcoScent is a growing business with a close-knit team and a genuinely collaborative way of working. As we grow, we are continuing to strengthen our structure, clarify ownership a…