Executive Officer

This is an exciting opportunity to join the University of Warwick’s new Strategic Planning Directorate as an Executive Officer. You will provide high-quality executive, governance and programme coordination support to the Director of Strategic Planning and the Directorate’s senior leadership team, helping to establish an effective and collaborative strategic planning function.

Working across a varied and high-profile portfolio, you will:

• Coordinate governance and committee activity, including forward planning, agendas, papers, minutes, decisions and action tracking.
• Support programmes and cross-functional workstreams by maintaining plans, milestones, risks, issues, dependencies and benefits information.
• Provide proactive executive support, ensuring senior colleagues are well prepared for meetings and that agreed actions are progressed.
• Coordinate engagement with senior internal stakeholders, external partners, sector bodies, consultants and professional networks.
• Help establish effective Directorate processes, communications, shared workspaces and ways of working.
• Contribute to continuous improvement and promote good practice in information management, accessibility, confidentiality and data protection.

You will work with colleagues across the University and beyond, using sound judgement to manage competing priorities, identify risks and dependencies, and ensure that strategic activity is translated into clear and well-managed programmes of work. Occasional flexibility may be required during peak governance, planning and programme delivery periods.

You will be an experienced and highly organised professional who is comfortable supporting senior leaders and coordinating complex activity across multiple teams. You will bring excellent written communication skills, with the ability to produce clear and accurate agendas, minutes, briefings, reports and correspondence for a range of audiences. 

You will have:

• Experience of providing high-quality support to senior leaders within a complex organisation.
• Experience of servicing committees or formal governance meetings.
• The ability to coordinate projects, programmes or cross-functional workstreams.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to anticipate requirements and balance competing priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills and confidence working with senior colleagues, professional services teams and external contacts.
• A high level of discretion, judgement and professionalism when handling sensitive or confidential information.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills, including Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• The ability to maintain forward plans, action logs, risk and issue registers, and other programme documentation.
• A proactive approach to improving processes and establishing efficient ways of working in a new team.
• A commitment to inclusive, accessible and professional communication, supported by a strong service ethos. 

Experience of higher education or another complex, regulated environment would be valuable, as would an understanding of strategic planning, resource allocation, data-led decision-making or institutional performance management. A degree, equivalent professional experience, or a relevant qualification in governance, project management or business administration would also be welcomed.

The Strategic Planning Directorate is a new University-wide function designed to support faster, evidence-led decision-making, stronger resource allocation, improved governance and clearer delivery of institutional priorities. The Directorate is expected to bring together around 25 colleagues working across Academic Planning, Performance, Insights and Analytics, Data Strategy and Governance, and a central Director’s Office and executive support function. 

The Directorate works collaboratively with faculties, departments and professional services teams across the University, as well as with external partners and sector organisations. By connecting planning, performance, data and governance, it will provide coordinated support for senior decision-making and help ensure that institutional priorities are translated into effective, well-managed activity.