Personal Assistant to Director of Research and Innovation (Fixed Term)
About the role
Step into the heart of innovation and make a real impact.
We’re offering a rare opportunity to join the Research and Innovation Directorate as Personal Assistant to the Director of Research and Innovation Operations - a pivotal role at the centre of strategic transformation.
In this fast-paced, high-profile position, you’ll be the trusted right hand to a senior leader, ensuring their focus stays on shaping the future of research and innovation. You’ll orchestrate complex schedules, lead seamless coordination of meetings and travel, and manage sensitive communications with professionalism and confidentiality.
But this is far more than diary management - you’ll be a key connector across the Directorate, the wider University, and external partners, driving clarity, efficient flow of information, and collaboration. You’ll contribute to cross-functional projects, support internal communications, and play a strategic role in supporting briefings and insights, informing decision-making at the highest level.
If you’re a proactive problem-solver who thrives in a dynamic environment, loves enabling leadership success, and wants to be part of something bigger - this is your moment.
Join us. Shape the future. Be the difference.
About the team
You’ll be joining the collaborative and proactive Business Support Team, based at Jubilee Campus. We deliver high-quality multi-disciplinary administrative services and executive support across Research and Innovation, helping drive strategic priorities and operational improvements.
Key Stakeholders
- Service Operations Manager
- R&I SLT and Teams
- R&I Directors
- R&I Administrators & PAs
About you
We’re looking for someone with:
- Excellent planning and organisational skills
- Strong written and verbal communication abilities
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and O365
- Experience in a similar PA role
- Ability to manage a varied workload and work independently
What we offer
- A friendly, diverse, and supportive working environment
- A hybrid working arrangement with a blend of home and office working each week
- Generous holiday entitlement of 27 days (pro rata) plus standard bank holidays and five university closure days, including closure between Christmas and New Year
- Commitment to staff development through training, support, and career progression opportunities
- Access to a wide range of benefits including fitness and health facilities, staff discounts, travel schemes, and more.
This post is full time, fixed term until 31st December 2026.
If you have any queries in relation to the post, please contact Claire Whiteside, Service Operations Manager at claire.whiteside@nottingham.ac.uk. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.
Further details:
Our university is a supportive, inclusive, caring and positive community. We welcome those of different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs – indeed this very diversity is vital to our success, it is fundamental to our values and enriches life on campus. Visit our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion website.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) employer. Increasing the diversity of our community is extremely important to us and we are committed to the aims of Disability Confident Scheme.
We are the first university to have achieved Athena Swan Gold Award.
To help you succeed, we published Candidate Guidance to provide support on the application and interview process.
Discover our benefits, visit Your Benefits website.
We welcome applications from UK, Europe and worldwide and aim to make your move to the UK as smooth as possible. Visit the Moving to Nottingham page for details.
Your application will be considered on an equal basis, subject to the relevant permission to work in the UK as set out by UK Visas & Immigration.
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