Dezeen Jobs

BIG is seeking an executive assistant to join its office in London.

BIG is a group of 500+ architects, engineers, urbanists, inventors, researchers and business minds from all over the world who are based in Copenhagen, New York, London and Barcelona. Our built work ranges from the most diverse urban playground and Michelin-star dining – to affordable housing that feels everything but and a school among the verdant fjords of the Faroe Islands. Our vision spans traveling at supersonic speed with Hyperloop One to living in floating cities and eventually on Mars! While we are led by a group of expert partners, directors and associates – a flat hierarchy and collaborative spirit are essential to our BIG ecosystem. We share our collective knowledge and expansive network through study trips and educational workshops – BIG School offers in-house lessons while BIG Picture brings in industry experts to inspire and invigorate. We are infectiously ambitious and unified by the shared mission to craft the world we want to live in, to give form to our future one project at a time.

Our office is growing at a rapid pace and we are therefore on the lookout for an experienced executive assistant to support BIG London’s senior partner.

Maintaining a high-level overview and joggling many tasks simultaneously is a big part of the job, hence understanding the overarching needs of the senior partner, being proactive, as well as having a high sense of urgency and service-minded attitude is important to fulfil the role.

You will be responsible for the day-to-day workings of the senior partner’s rather complex schedule, ensuring a smooth workflow. Understanding how best to prioritise meetings, while directly interacting with both internal and external stakeholders at all levels, will be a key attribute for this role.

You will research, arrange, and book complicated international travel itineraries, taking into consideration time zones, visa requirements, weather delays, traffic, and fatigue levels. These itineraries can at times change at the very last minute, so you must remain flexible and adapt to the changing circumstances.

While your primary focus will be on supporting the senior partner, you will be an important part of an administrative team and must be able to work effectively with the other executive assistants and administrative collaborators across our global offices.

You will occasionally handle sensitive information, so discretion is crucial. Some personal work may also be necessary on occasion, such as booking flights for the immediate family, etc.

You will be based in our London office together with 95 fantastic BIGsters, where you will become part of a fast-paced, vibrant and highly creative office milieu, where plans change, new and exciting challenges emerge, and where no two days are ever the same. Weekend attention and late afternoons/evenings will occur, so flexibility is important and thriving in a busy environment is key!

You will be reporting directly to the senior partner and the managing director.

Join us on this mission if you are an executive assistant who: 

• is organised, structured and both big-picture-savvy and detail-oriented
• is capable of multi-tasking assignments that often vary in scale and scope
• has self-confidence and persistence, and is confident while taking ownership of decision making
• is proactive and completes tasks with a sense of urgency
• has excellent interpersonal and written communication skills, both with internal stakeholders and clients
• enjoys a busy and creative environment with many diverse personalities
• is comfortable with fast-paced decisions and rapidly changing environments
• feels that no administrative task is too little or too great
• is a good colleague and a team-player who wants to engage in BIG’s unique office culture
• can be flexible with regard to working hours and assignments
• can act with discretion and maintain confidentiality at all times
• is incredibly professional on the phone, in emails and in person
• has a sympathetic and nurturing demeanour

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• successful management and organisation of a complex and ever-changing calendar
• coordination of complex travel itineraries and obtaining relevant visas
• development of working relationships with external clients and internal stakeholders
• planning, preparation and logistics for in-house meetings and external events
• answering phone calls and e-mails on behalf of the senior partner
• assistance in preparing paperwork for various business qualifications, licenses, etc.
• monthly expense reconciliation
• weekly preparation and submission of timesheets
• assisting visiting partners from our other offices while in London
• provision of general administrative and personal support as required

Qualifications and experience:

• three to five years’ relevant experience, preferably from other architectural and design studios
• strong proficiency in Microsoft Office and Outlook; InDesign is a plus
• fluency in spoken/written English
• you must be proactive, organised, structured and detail-oriented
• you must be calm, focused and enjoy multi-tasking
• you must be flexible and enjoy a busy and creative environment
• it is essential that you are a strong team player, collaborative and resilient, with a good sense of humour

This job description reflects the core activities of the role although there will be changes in the emphasis of duties as required from time to time. There is a requirement for the post holder to recognise this and adopt a flexible approach to work.

Application:

Click here to apply

We will contact you if your profile matches our requirements. Relevant applicants will be interviewed on an on-going basis and we are looking to fill this position as soon as possible.

You must have permission to live and work in the UK.

Salary will be subject to relevant qualifications and experiences.

www.big.dk

• Applications have closed.