Company and Job title:
Overseas Development Institute, Directorate Administrator
Sector:
Voluntary and charitable sector
Background:
- BA degree in French from the University of East Anglia
- MSc in Development Management from Open
University
Language skills:
French (proficient); Spanish (basic)
How would you describe your job?
My job
involves supporting the director in her work, and co-ordinating the
organisation’s funding strategy and project management systems.
What do enjoy most about your job?
It’s
varied and balances straight forward administrative tasks with more
complex co-ordination of high-level strategies and
organisation-wide systems building work. Every day is
different!
What other skills and qualities do you
need?
Common sense, analytical thought processes,
tenacity, patience, presentation skills, people management skills,
tact and diplomacy, language skills, good knowledge of development
issues.
What's a typical day for you?
I start by
checking my To Do list and ensuring that the director has
appropriate documents and information for the day. Throughout the
day I check the latest online funding opportunities, translate and
upload them, meet with relevant colleagues, draft
correspondence/write guidance documents/proof research
papers/prepare for upcoming events and meetings, send e-mails and
before heading home update To Do list for the next day ready to
start again.