Executive Assistant & Special Projects Lead

Reports to the Managing Director / Group Human Resources DirectorAbout the roleWe are seeking an experienced Executive Assistant & Special Projects Lead to support the Managing Director and the Group Human Resources Director, and to take ownership of company-wide projects and initiatives. The role sits at the centre of the business: it exists to ensure that leadership decisions are well informed, made promptly, and carried through to completion.The position reports jointly to the Managing Director and the Group Human Resources Director. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable managing an executive schedule and driving a cross-functional project to delivery, and will be capable of balancing competing priorities across two reporting lines. The role offers close exposure to the commercial, operational and people agendas of a global commodities business, and a defined path towards broader responsibility.Key responsibilitiesExecutive support — approximately 25%Manage the Managing Director’s calendar, prioritising commitments and protecting time for the highest-value work.Coordinate the meeting cycle end to end: circulate agendas in advance, record decisions and owners, and follow up until actions are closed.Prepare briefing packs, background material and correspondence ahead of internal and external meetings, frequently at short notice.Arrange travel, visas, accommodation and itineraries for the Managing Director and senior leaders across multiple time zones, including amendments made in transit.Manage expense claims, administrative reporting and the filing systems relied upon by the leadership team.Support the Group Human Resources Director on scheduling, correspondence, meeting preparation and the coordination of group-wide people initiatives.Provide ad-hoc support to the Managing Director and senior management as required, including matters falling outside the defined scope of the role.Special projects and strategic initiatives — approximately 40%Coordinate company-wide initiatives from initiation through to close, covering scope, timelines, resourcing, milestones and reporting.Maintain an accurate and current view of status across the project portfolio, and escalate delays promptly and plainly.Prepare the status reporting used by the leadership team for decision-making.Work across trading, finance, operations and human resources without direct authority, relying on influence, credibility and consistent follow-through.Office and administrative operations — approximately 35%Oversee office operations, including vendors, service providers, contracts and the administrative budget.Act as the central point for business travel across the headquarters team, booking flights and accommodation as required and ensuring bookings are made cost-effectively and in line with company travel policy.Support the Group Human Resources Director with HR administration as requested.Serve as the internal owner of day-to-day IT administration. Our IT infrastructure is supported by an external provider, but this role handles routine matters directly — creating and removing email accounts, managing user access and permissions, setting up devices, and resolving everyday issues — escalating to the provider only where specialist input is required.Coordinate onboarding and offboarding logistics, ensuring accounts, systems access and equipment are in place from day one.Provide administrative and documentation support to internal teams, and maintain organised, auditable records.RequirementsEssentialA minimum of five years’ experience supporting senior executives and managing office operations, ideally including ownership of projects or cross-functional initiatives.A demonstrated record of driving work to completion across teams outside the postholder’s direct reporting line.Proven ability to support more than one senior stakeholder concurrently, managing competing demands and sequencing priorities without prompting.Confident, hands-on capability with everyday business technology — Microsoft 365 administration, user accounts and permissions, device set-up and routine troubleshooting — and the willingness to resolve such matters personally.Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to draft on behalf of the Managing Director.Sound judgement under pressure and absolute discretion; the postholder will handle commercially sensitive information daily.Comfort operating with a degree of ambiguity, in a business where priorities shift with the market.A bachelor’s degree in any discipline.AdvantageousExperience within commodities, trading, shipping, energy or agriculture.Exposure to formal project management methodology, or to systems and process implementation.Proficiency in Mandarin, written and spoken, to support day-to-day communication with counterparties, suppliers and colleagues in our Chinese-speaking markets.