PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (COO) – Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC)

Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) is an autonomous parastatal under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. It is an internationally accredited examinations board. ZIMSEC is an examinations board responsible for assessment, evaluation and documentation of the academic readiness, learning progress, and skill acquisition of students at primary and secondary school levels in Zimbabwe. The Council is inviting suitably qualified and motivated persons for the following vacant positions that have arisen.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (COO)

JOB SUMMARY
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer. The Personal Assistant supports the COO with a variety of PA and administration duties to enable the smooth running of the COO’s office.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS
To support the effective running and coordination of the COO office within key areas;
• Prioritising the demands on the COO’s time, acting as ‘gate keeper’ when appropriate, and proactively managing their diary to ensure an appropriate balance between priorities
• Responsible for organising COO’s contributions to Directorate and board meetings, checking, amending and administering necessary paperwork, ensuring deadlines are communicated and met.
• Coordinating travel and other logistical arrangements for the COO, including organising venues, agendas, hospitality and other needs as required.
• Dealing personally with the COO’s correspondence, progresses actions, and monitor responses and deadlines.
• Assisting the COO in meeting deadlines through pro-active action, timely reminders, etc.
• Pro-actively manage the COO’s correspondence including emails when appropriate.
• Acting as Public Relations front to the office of the Chief Operating Officer
• Providing support to other PA’s and their Directors, when required.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
• A minimum of 5 O-Level passes including English Language preferably with 2 A-Level passes.
• A holder of a full Diploma/Higher National Diploma in Secretarial Studies.
• A Degree in Office Management or equivalent.
• Qualification in Public Relations.
• Be computer literate.
• At least 3 years experience of providing PA support to senior executives with proven experience of diary management, maintaining complex filing systems, putting together presentations and taking minutes.
• Excellent IT skills with experience of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Strong experience of planning executive and senior leadership meetings and compiling concise and accurate minutes and other reports as required.
• Excellent relationship-building skills, demonstrated through an ability to work effectively with others at all levels of the organisation
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Is able to multi-task effectively, and to collaborate with others on joint tasks and activities
• Confident style and able to make decisions and to prioritise on behalf of COO
• Adopt a flexible and ‘can-do’ attitude
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to cope with changing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment