Advisor, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Funding & Communications

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Advisor, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Funding & Communications to join our global team.

Team and Role Purpose

Funding & Communications is uniquely placed to lead our movement towards securing both the quality funding needed for children, now and tomorrow, and an impactful voice and presence. The department is comprised of four teams: programme funding, fundraising, communications, and operations.

The operations team prioritises, plans, and engages the wider movement towards a shared funding and communications ambition, leading the development and integrated implementation of our global funding, communications, and engagement strategic change agendas while providing the operational platform required for Funding & Communciations to deliver on its primary accountabilities. We work with senior leadership, the wider department and beyond to ensure connection, prioritisation, collaboration and impact, by providing project and change management expertise, leading our translations global work, and by empowering teams to work together effectively, achieve shared goals, and drive organisational success.

Role purpose

You will play a pivotal role in the success of Funding & Communications. You will work closely with our senior leaders, providing critical planning, knowledge management, coordination, and administrative support.

This role provides comprehensive administrative and organisational support to the Funding & Communications Executive Director. This means ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in diary management, meeting preparation, and travel arrangements. The role exists to enable the Executive Director to focus on strategic initiatives by managing day-to-day operational tasks autonomously while maintaining a high level of confidentiality and professionalism. By coordinating logistics and facilitating smooth communication, this role contributes to the overall success of Save the Children’s mission and objectives. This role will also support the wider department, in helping with onboarding of new colleagues and department-wide connection as well as possible meeting preparation for key governance groups including preparation.

• Job Title: Advisor, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Funding & Communications
• Reports To: Global Head of Operations
• Work Pattern:Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available
• Location: Any approved Save the Children International office location. For a full list of locations that Save the Children International can hire in, please visit: SCI Careers
• Required Time Zone: Europe (UTC/GMT + / - 1 hour)
• Contract Length:Permanent
• Right to Work: The successful candidate must have the right to work in the country where the role is based, for the duration of employment.
• Language Requirements: English. Additional languages, particularily French, Spanish and Arabic valued
• Remit: Global

Principal Accountabilities

Core executive assistant responsibilities (priority):

• Manage complex diary schedules and organise meetings, ensuring all logistics are coordinated and preparation materials are available in advance.
• Plan and arrange comprehensive travel itineraries, including ticketing, accommodation, travel documents (incl. visas) and necessary currencies.
• Review and manage the Executive Director's inbox, responding to or flagging emails as appropriate, and maintaining a well-organised email filing system.
• Handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism, sound judgement, and discretion at all times.
• Track actions and follow-ups arising from meetings, correspondence, and key engagements, supporting timely progress and accountability where required.
• Anticipate priorities and administrative needs by identifying upcoming requirements, potential issues, and opportunities to support effective planning and decision-making.
• Prepare and submit expense reimbursement requests for the Executive Director in the financial management system in accordance with organisational policy; and review expense reimbursement requests sent for the Executive Director’s approval to ensure they are in line with policy before requesting final approval.
• Process invoices for procurements paid directly from the Executive Director / central budget, always ensuring compliance with procurement policy.
• Maintain and update departmental mailing lists and contact lists.
• Provide occasional administrative support to the Executive Director’s direct reports, especially when they are acting as Officer-in-Charge.
• Ensure effective collaboration with peer Executive Assistants, including mutual support and efficient coordination of joint meetings.
• Manage and efficiently direct ad hoc queries; and manage questions submitted via internal employee channels.

Additional team support responsibilities:

• Organise and manage departmental and leadership meetings, preparing agendas, pre-reads, and ensuring all relevant updates and feedback are incorporated. Includes the coordination of the Global Programme Directors monthly meeting
• Actively support collaboration and knowledge management within and across teams and functions by maintaining clear channels of communication, proactively sharing information, managing documentation and knowledge systems, and supporting onboarding and monitoring processes.
• Schedule and manage independently the department meetings and connection opportunities.
• Manage the monthly department updates and keep organisational charts updated.
• Maintain awareness of departmental priorities and initiatives relevant to the Executive Director and Global Head of Operations.
• Ad hoc administrative support to projects the Executive Director and/or Global Head of Operations are directly responsible for.

Experience and Skills

Essential

1. Significant Experience in Diary Management: Proven track record of managing complex schedules and organising meetings at various levels of an organisation and across multiple time zones.
2. Proficient Experience in Travel Planning: Demonstrated ability to plan and arrange comprehensive travel itineraries across multiple regions.
3. Experience in Inbox Management: Ability to review, manage, and maintain a high-volume email inbox, flagging and responding to emails as appropriate.
4. Experience in Organising Meetings and Events: Competence in preparing agendas, collating pre reads, and incorporating relevant updates and feedback for departmental and leadership meetings.
5. Exceptional Organisational Skills: Ability to prioritise tasks effectively, manage multiple activities simultaneously, and ensure all logistics are coordinated seamlessly.
6. Strong Communication & Interpersonal Skills: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, always exercising sensitivity, judgment and discretion. Approachable, a good listener, and able to build and maintain relationships with team members, partners, and other stakeholders.
7. Attention to Detail, critical for maintaining departmental records, organising meetings, managing complex travel itineraries, and drafting, proofreading and editing documents.
8. Proactive Mindset and Problem-Solving Abilities: Ability to anticipate issues, troubleshoot problems independently, and offer creative solutions.
9. Considerable Experience in Document Preparation: Skilled in drafting, editing, and proof-reading a variety of professional documents, including with senior leadership and governance as key audience.
10. Digital Confidence: Microsoft 365 proficiency; comfortable across a range of digital and collaboration platforms; proactively adopts emerging tools and brings genuine innovation curiosity to improving efficiency and productivity.

Desirable

• Willingness to grow and continue learning especially in the project and change management, communicating with impact space, and AI

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Comfortable with learning to use and navigate standard ERP system tools (financial management system, procurement system, online travel booking system, IT ticketing system etc.)

Desirable

• Experience of working in complex, international organisations
• Experience working as an executive assistant to senior stakeholder

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found at SCI Careers. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process

1. Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
2. Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team
3. Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview
4. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-Harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.