Personal Assistant

Technology

Job Family Group

Business Support Group

Job Description

About the job

The Personal Assistant to the Senior Vice President is a highly trusted partner who enables the SVP, executive office and the Procurement Leadership Team (LT) to operate effectively, efficiently and strategically.

This role goes beyond traditional administrative support. Working with and taking direction from the Business Advisor (BA) the jobholder provides proactive management of executive priorities, leadership team coordination, partner engagement and operational oversight. The role requires exceptional judgement, discretion and organisational capability, ensuring senior leaders are equipped to make timely and effective decisions.

The Personal Assistant serves as a point of coordination across the leadership team, helping to drive alignment, accountability and execution of key priorities while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and confidentiality. Our employee will have to follow VP's schedule in terms of office attendance. Please note that roles based out of SJS or Sunbury will move to Timber Square, Southwark, from Q4 2027.

Key accountabilities

Executive support and prioritisation

• Proactively run the SVP’s diary and commitments, ensuring time is aligned to strategic priorities and key business outcomes.
• Anticipate upcoming requirements and handle challenging demands with limited direction.
• Coordinate domestic and international travel arrangements for the SVP and BA.
• Manage expenses, purchase orders, approvals and administrative processes in a timely and compliant manner for the SVP and BA
• Act as a trusted gatekeeper, exercising sound judgement when handling access to the SVP and prioritising requests. Ensure the SVPs gifts and entertainment register is kept up to date.

Leadership team coordination

• Support the effective operation of the Procurement Leadership Team.
• Plan and coordinate LT meetings, offsite, leadership and team events.
• Develop and maintain forward-looking calendars of leadership priorities, key decision forums and critical achievements.
• Take meeting minutes, notes and next steps and actively follow up on next steps to ensure their timely action.

Executive office management

• Act as a point of contract for the SVP office, ensuring effective coordination across senior partners.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders, executive assistants, business partners and external collaborators.
• Coordinate responses to internal and external enquiries directed to the SVP.
• Maintain oversight of key communications, ensuring requests and issues are appropriately routed and resolved.
• Support preparation including briefing material for executive meetings, board interactions, leadership reviews and business updates.
• Consolidate information from multiple sources to support executive decision-making.

Communications and engagement

• Support employee engagement activities and leadership events particularly for Procurement UK team.

Governance and confidentiality

• Handle highly sensitive business and people information with absolute discretion.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, procedures and applicable regulations.
• Maintain high standards of professionalism, integrity and confidentiality at all times.

Essential experience and qualifications

• Significant experience supporting senior executives in a complex global organisation.
• Experience working directly with Executive, Senior Vice President or Vice President level leaders.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating leadership teams and senior partner forums.
• Strong planning, organisational and project coordination skills.
• Experience managing complex diaries, travel schedules and competing priorities.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Essential capabilities

• Exceptional organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong judgement and ability to work independently.
• Ability to anticipate needs and proactively resolve issues.
• Strong partner management and influencing capability.
• Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information appropriately.
• Resilience and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong prioritisation and decision-making capability.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a collaborative and professional approach.

Desirable experience

• Experience supporting executive leadership teams.
• Experience working within an international matrix organisation.
• Experience coordinating major leadership events, strategy workshops or organisational initiatives.
• Familiarity with governance, risk and business planning processes.

Why join us?

At bp, we support our people to grow in a diverse and exciting environment. We believe that our team is strengthened by diversity.

There are many aspects of our employees’ lives that are meaningful, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits can include flexible working options, a generous paid parental leave policy, excellent retirement benefits, among others!

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Reinvent your career as you help our business meet the challenges of the future. Apply now!

Travel Requirement

No travel is expected with this role

Relocation Assistance

This role is not eligible for relocation
Remote Type:
This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills

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Future Location Notice: This role will start in Sunbury, London. bp has announced a planned office move to Timber Square, London, with all positions currently advertised in Sunbury, including this one, expected to relocate around Q4 2027-Q1 2028. This presents an exciting opportunity for all employees and leaders to come together in one London location. The specific date of the move will be confirmed closer to the time.

Legal Disclaimer

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics like race, religion, color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us .

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.