PA and Office Manager

About BII

British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution, owned by the UK Government. With a mission to solve the biggest global development challenges, we aim to create a virtuous circle of investment and impact. Your contribution will be essential. 

It won’t be easy: we do the hardest work in the most complex markets. Be prepared to test your skills, get creative and say your piece as you take on high-profile work as part of a diverse team of exceptionally smart, passionate people. 

In return, you can take your career to all-new places in a culture that rewards curiosity and collaboration, and balances high performance with wellbeing.

BII at a glance

Over 75 years supporting sustainable business growth in developing and emerging markets

More than £8.8 billion in net assests

1,400+ businesses invested in

950,000 workers in the businesses we support 

650+ people in our diverse global team

3 key development objectives: Productive | Sustainable | Inclusive

Team and role overview

Based in Karachi, the individual will be part of the South Asia Coverage team with primary focus providing high quality PA support to the Coverage Director and Manager as well as some local support to team members based in Karachi.  The role also involves managing the office on a day-to-day basis.  

Purpose

The successful candidate will provide efficient administrative support to the Karachi Team, this will involve travel arrangements, diary management, client contact, provision of high quality of support services and maintaining and managing the Karachi office. 

Responsibilities

Responsibilities will be based on relative experiences and workloads and include the following PA responsibilities:

• Manage the Director’s diary which includes all internal and external meetings and calls in Microsoft TEAMS/Zoom. Accurately capture all time zones, prioritise and re-arrange where necessary. Anticipate diary conflicts and actively engage with the Director and relevant stakeholders to resolve them.
• Ensure Director is sighted on urgent internal and external matters with critical deadlines.
• Act as the ambassador for visiting BII colleagues in Karachi and represent the Director with professionalism, a calm demeanour and poise.
• Co-ordinate travel arrangements for the Karachi team, including booking flights, accommodation, visas, preparation of itineraries, consistent with the company’s travel policy.
• Process expense claims for the team accurately and in line with company policy, including following up on credit card payments.
• Coordinate proactively among London operations teams (finance, business services, HR, legal) to ensure early and efficient problem-solving and resolution.
• Act as the Office 365 and intranet champion for the Karachi office.
• Coordinate closely with the other South Asia Business Support Team (BST) members as well as those in the broader BST. Attend and constructively contribute to regular BST meetings.
• Other ad-hoc administrative duties as required such as settle new starters, support their onboarding and assist with team projects.

Office management responsibilities:

• Provide high quality support to colleagues locally and abroad on a wide range of operational processes/projects.
• Ensure all local licenses and permits are obtained and renewed in good time.
• Manage access controls and emergency protocols.
• Manage housekeeping staff to ensure they are fulfilling their duties including greeting visitors and escorting clients to their meeting rooms and offering refreshments and keeping the office clean.
• Supplier Management: liaise with all third-party vendors/suppliers working closely with the relevant teams in London Head Office.
• Coordinate client lunches and events, and meeting room management as required.
• Liaise with building management team for managing maintenance checks and entry clearance for staff and visitors
• Manage and replenish inventory (pantry, stationary, cleaning supplies, etc) as well as maintain office equipment and furniture inventory.
• Process invoices in a timely manner, keeping accurate records for audit purpose
• Lead on any office construction or rearrangements of the office space liaising with all necessary internal departments, and external vendors (if required).
• Coordinate and organise conferences, workshops, lunches, dinners, and receptions that takes place throughout the year.

Background, skills, aptitude

Essential;

• Strong diary and inbox management skills.
• Excellent organisational skills and high attention to detail.
• Good confidentiality and discretion skills when exposed to highly sensitive company information and data.
• Able to learn new processes, implement new policies and communicate these changes to the team with short notice.
• Good judgement and discretion when highlighting priorities for Director.
• Good communication skills and high level of spoken and written English.
• Ability to work under pressure and understand of the importance of prioritising work, seeking assistance from colleagues when necessary.
• Confident, proactive and resourceful team-player both for immediate team and wider BII community.

Desirable Skills;

• Sensitive to the culture diversity within the company and its investees/ investment geographies.

Technical Skills;

• Competent in Microsoft Outlook, Co-Pilot, TEAMS, Word, Excel & PowerPoint.
• Confident handling video conference technologies (Zoom/TEAMS).
• Proven experience submitting accurate expense/invoice claims and data (Concur experience desirable).

Candidates should be strongly motivated by BII’s development mission and ideally demonstrate some commitment to development or social goals through previous executive or non-executive activity.

Our cultural values

We look for team members who aspire, as we do, to work at our best and to be:

• Impact-led, commercially rigorous
• Tenacious in the face of challenges
• Collaborative and caring

British International Investment is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background. 

Please provide a cover letter with your application