Executive Assistant

Our mission is to become the global standard for addressing. Street addresses weren’t designed for 2022. They aren’t accurate enough to specify building entrances, and they don’t exist for parks, rural areas and many parts of the world. This makes it hard to find places and causes problems and inefficiencies on a global scale.

That’s why we created what3words. We divided the world into 3m squares and gave each square a unique combination of three words. It’s the easiest way to find and share precise locations.

Over the last year, what3words has been used in 193 countries, and our monthly active users continue to grow at an impressive pace. Our tech is used by emergency services, delivery companies, eCommerce businesses, ride-hailing apps and NGOs, and is integrated into the navigation systems of millions of cars around the world.

We are looking for highly entrepreneurial, determined and charismatic individuals to help us achieve our mission. People who have performed outstandingly in previous roles (we don’t measure success by your former job titles but instead what you achieved in those positions) and are likely to have an accelerated career trajectory when compared against your peers.

What we are looking for

We’re looking for an executive assistant to support the work of our Chief Commercial Officer, helping maximise their bandwidth.

The ideal person for the job will be an empathetic and proactive problem solver with exceptional communication skills, excellent judgement and a meticulous attention to detail. He/She will have previous experience as an executive assistant, ideally in a fast-paced environment, with experience supporting with international travel - and be used to working across time zones. Logistics must be your forte - you will manage an exceptionally busy business and private diary, with constant change. You will be one step ahead, constantly finding creative solutions and removing blockers.

With the primary responsibility of supporting the CCO, this person will also provide some support to senior leadership within the BD team, to ensure that operations run efficiently and to support with travel arrangements for the BD Directors as needed.

You should be excited by a career as an EA, enjoying the challenge and stimulation of an EA role specifically.

The Role

• Manage the schedule of the CCO, including video and in-person meetings, agendas, mail, email, calls and significant international travel arrangements
• Complex calendar management, with clients, investors and colleagues in time zones around the world
• Plan and manage all travel, working within a strict budget and finding creative ways to make things work/find workarounds
• Travelling occasionally with the CCO
• Attend events with the CCO and BD team, supporting with networking, follow up and key relationship management
• Build and maintain excellent relationships throughout the immediate team and wider company
• Manage flow of information, tasks and deadlines - including supporting on email and message management, working with and using data and sales management software to support deals
• Preparing for and managing meetings, including organising actions and follow-up
• Managing expenses and budgets
• Supporting, planning or overseeing internal and external events
• Managing speaker requests and invitations, including preparation for panels, keynotes etc.
• Inbox management, including drafting of certain emails/decks/reports
• Maintain professionalism and strict confidentiality with all materials, showing discretion and good judgement
• Organise team communications and plan events, both internally and offsite
• Support the CCO with a range of other administrative and support tasks, including personal administrative support where relevant

Things move and change quickly at what3words. You will be used to this type of environment and able to demonstrate your ability to adapt and be flexible. You’ll love a challenge and be excited by what we’re building and the chance to work with people from all over the world.

Our BD team is full of warm, compassionate people who are building something together with great determination and ambition. We’d love someone to join who is kind, energetic and enthusiastic, happy to help and be helped, and who is excited by the size of the what3words mission.

The role will often not follow normal UK working hours, as the CCO works across multiple time zones and travels significantly. You should expect to be flexible in planning your weeks to account for early morning or late night support (e.g. starting a work day at 12/1pm instead of 8/9am if the CCO is on US West Coast time), and be comfortable providing urgent/critical support sometimes at evenings or weekends when the CCO is travelling for work. You will be able to take TOIL to account for any personal time spent working but will need to be okay with flexing your hours to support a busy and changeable schedule.

Requirements

• At least 2+ years of experience as an executive assistant (or personal assistant) and - critically - in managing international travel
• Able to travel internationally, including occasionally at short notice
• Huge levels of pragmatism and common sense
• Superb written and verbal communication skills
• Strong time-management skills and the ability to organise and coordinate multiple projects at once
• A natural collaborator who enjoys working in a team
• Able to excel under pressure, with meticulous attention to detail
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and other office productivity tools, with aptitude to learn new software and systems
• Flexible team player willing to do what it takes to get the job done; adaptable and enjoys a challenge
• Desire to work really hard in a really interesting business to create success for the team and company
  

Extra credit if you:

• Have worked in a startup or venture capital
• Have yourself travelled significantly for work or personal reasons
• Are proficient in using Salesforce
• Have used what3words in your own life in some way

The role is based in our London HQ (at Great Western Studios - ///filled.count.soap). The expectation for this role is that you will be in the office Tuesday to Thursday while the CCO is in London, and some Mondays or Fridays if needed. You are able to work from the office five days a week if that’s your preference, but when the CCO is abroad or out of the office you can work from home up to two days per week if you would like to. We also offer a six week remote-work allowance; for up to six weeks a year, you can work from anywhere in the world (as long as you’ve got great WiFi and are happy to work on the right timezone for your role).

If you have a positive, proactive approach and love to problem solve, you’re happy to travel internationally with work, and you’re excited by the mission and vision of what3words, we’d love to hear from you.

Equality, diversity and inclusion at what3words

Our mission is to help everyone talk about everywhere, and we believe diverse perspectives make for a better company and better products too. We strongly encourage applications from underrepresented groups and are committed to equality and inclusivity in our hiring processes and company culture.

Benefits

We offer the following benefits to all permanent employees of what3words

- 6 week remote working (work from anywhere) policy
- 25 days holiday: plus the option to buy more!
- Share options
- Pension
- Private health and dental insurance
- Annual health assessments
- Life insurance
- Wellbeing Days
- Yulife perks and rewards
- Generous parental leave policies
- £300 personal learning budget
- Family friendly policies
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- Season ticket loans
- Cycle to work scheme
- Birthday vouchers
- Lunch & learn sessions
- Office perks; free breakfast, snacks & regular team lunches
- Sports and hobbies clubs
- Dog friendly office