Executive Assistant (Business Support)
Job Summary
Working Pattern:
Part time
Advert Start Date:
07/08/2026
Advert End Date:
Closed for applications on 30/08/2026 23:59
Salary:
£27,254 - £29,540 per annum (full-time equivalent), pro rata for 0.6 FTE
Job Category:
Admin/Secretarial/Customer Services
Employment Location:
Seaton Delaval - Council Offices, with the ability to work from home on occasion
Further Information
Executive Assistant (Business Support)
Be the organiser at the heart of your community council.
Key details
Salary: £27,254 to £29,540 per annum (full-time equivalent), pro rata for 0.6 FTE
Salary shown is the full-time equivalent range on the current NJC pay spine, subject to formal job evaluation and pay award.
Grade: Grade 2 (SCP 9 to 14), indicative and subject to formal job evaluation
Hours: 0.6 FTE (approximately 22 hours per week), working pattern to be agreed
Contract: Permanent, part-time
Location: Mainly based at the Council Offices, 20-22 Astley Road, Seaton Delaval, with the ability to work from home on occasion.
- Closing date: Sunday 30 August 2026
- Shortlisting: Week commencing 31 August 2026
- Interview date: Wednesday 23 September 2026
About the Council
Seaton Valley Community Council serves the five villages of Seaton Delaval, Seaton Sluice, Seghill, New Hartley and Holywell in south-east Northumberland. We are an ambitious community council delivering a wide range of local services and projects, from allotments, play areas and environmental services to community events, youth activities and local partnerships.
Following an organisational review, we are strengthening our officer team and building greater capacity, resilience and leadership across the organisation. We are a small team, so people work closely together, take responsibility and need to be comfortable balancing good governance with practical delivery for our communities.
About the role
This is a varied and important role at the centre of the Council’s day-to-day business. As Executive Assistant (Business Support), you will provide high-quality administrative and organisational support to the Clerk and wider officer team, while also being one of the Council’s principal points of contact with residents, organisations and other stakeholders.
We are looking for an exceptional organiser and capable generalist who enjoys making things run smoothly. You will help coordinate the Council’s programme of meetings, deadlines, activities and administrative requirements; anticipate what is coming next; and make sure the right people are prompted for information, instructions or decisions in sufficient time to keep things moving.
The work will be varied. On any particular day you might be helping to prepare papers for a Council meeting, dealing with financial administration, updating records, coordinating diaries, publishing information to the website, supporting a project or handling an enquiry from a resident, contractor, partner organisation or the press.
You won’t be expected to know the answer to everything. What matters is being able to understand what is being asked, establish what happens next, deal confidently with matters within your remit and make sure anything requiring an officer decision or specialist response reaches the right person.
You will also be an important first face and voice of the Council. We therefore need someone who is warm, approachable and committed to good public service, while also being confident and professional enough to explain procedures, manage expectations and maintain appropriate boundaries when conversations are difficult or people are unhappy.
What you will do
• Provide proactive administrative and organisational support to the Clerk, Deputy Clerk and wider officer team.
• Act as a professional and welcoming first point of contact for residents and other stakeholders, in person, by telephone and by email, resolving routine matters and ensuring other enquiries reach the appropriate officer.
• Help coordinate the Council’s calendar of meetings, activities, deadlines and recurring administrative requirements, prompting officers for information or instructions where required.
• Support the preparation, quality checking, distribution and publication of Council and committee meeting papers.
• Maintain effective records, filing systems, correspondence and document-control processes.
• Process routine financial transactions and provide administrative support to banking and financial systems within agreed procedures.
• Support Council communications, including approved website and social media content and community publications.
• Provide flexible administrative support across Council services and projects, responding to changing priorities as required.
What we are looking for
• Experience in an administrative, executive support, business support or similar role, together with experience of dealing professionally with the public or customers.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage diaries, deadlines, recurring activities and multiple strands of work without losing sight of detail.
• A proactive approach: able to anticipate what will be needed, follow matters through and appropriately prompt colleagues for information, instructions or action rather than waiting to be asked.
• The ability to prioritise confidently, use initiative and adapt when competing demands or unexpected issues arise.
• Good judgement about what can be dealt with directly and what needs to be referred to an officer.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• A confident and professional manner when dealing with a wide range of people, including the ability to remain courteous while explaining processes, managing expectations and maintaining appropriate boundaries.
• A positive, practical and adaptable outlook, with a willingness to turn your hand to different tasks and help the wider team get things done.
• Competent IT skills, including Microsoft Office, email, spreadsheets and basic website use, with the confidence to learn new systems.
• Discretion and sound judgement when handling confidential or sensitive information.
• Local council or public-sector experience is welcome but not essential.
You do not need to come from a local council background. If you are the person in your current organisation who keeps track of what needs to happen, makes sure people have what they need, spots things before they become problems and can be relied upon to follow something through, we would be interested in hearing from you.
What we offer
- Membership of the NEST Pension Scheme with 10% employer contributions.
- Generous annual leave in line with national conditions of service (NJC Green Book)
- A flexi scheme and the ability to work from home on occasion.
- Access to training and development, and a supportive team environment.
How to apply
This post is advertised on the North East Jobs website.
To apply, please complete the application form via North East Jobs.
To be completed once the vacancy is live on North East Jobs.
For an informal discussion about the role, please email contact@seatonvalleycommunitycouncil.gov.uk or call the Council offices on 0191 237 9870
Please note the Clerk is on leave until Monday 24 August 2026, and enquiries may take a little longer to answer during this period.
Additional information
- This post is subject to a Basic DBS disclosure.
- The Council is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Please note
This job is closed for applications.