Personal Assistant

Summary

We’re looking for an organised and proactive Personal Assistant to provide comprehensive support to a Director or Head of within our Food business. You’ll manage a varied workload, from complex diaries, meetings and travel to expenses, presentations and wider team administration. Working with colleagues and stakeholders across the business, you’ll provide an accurate, timely and discreet service while keeping on top of changing priorities. This is a busy role where strong judgement, attention to detail and the ability to build trusted working relationships will be key. 

Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible. 

What you’ll do

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Manage complex diaries, meetings, appointments and events, making sure facilities are arranged and briefing documents are shared at the right time
• Coordinate travel, purchase orders, expenses, holidays, rotas and MyHR administration accurately and efficiently
• Act as a first point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, representing your Director or Head of professionally and handling or escalating queries when needed
• Support leadership meetings, away days and wider department events by preparing agendas, taking minutes, coordinating papers and following up on agreed actions
• Draft correspondence, reports and presentations while identifying simpler, faster and more effective ways of working

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include:

• Strong experience of managing busy calendars, emails, meetings and changing priorities with accuracy and minimal supervision
• Confident using Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams, along with office administration or finance systems
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with experience coordinating travel, meetings or team events
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to build relationships and work with stakeholders at different levels
• Sound judgement and attention to detail, with the ability to handle confidential information, competing deadlines and time-sensitive work professionally

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger, helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone’s welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

#LI-Hybrid, #LI-SR2