Executive Assistant & Office Manager

Job Description

Join our incredible team and be the driving force behind the day-to-day operational activities of the company and office! You’re a proactive jack of all trades who’ll be the go-to person for making things happen - taking charge of the office, managing events, supporting the Office of the CEO on impactful projects and nurturing our company culture. This role offers the rare opportunity to learn about every single part of the office and people department, providing a solid stepping stone to develop into future HR or operations roles.

Whilst Up Learn supports a hybrid working environment, as the new office manager you should be 100% happy to travel to the office up to 5 days/week (although realistically 3-4 days should be enough most weeks).

If you’re up for the challenge, come and join us on this adventure!

About us

Up Learn has built the world’s most effective learning experience. We’ve done this by combining cognitive science, instructional theory and artificial intelligence. Our mission is to create the most effective learning experiences in the world and distribute access to as many students as possible, regardless of their background.

Up Learn started with A Levels and developed courses that are:

1. Effective: 97% of students that complete Up Learn courses achieve an A*/A, starting from grades as low as Ds and Es
2. Engaging: 1.6 million hours of learning (and rising) thanks to Up Learn
3. Scaling: tens of thousands of students use Up Learn today, either independently, through one of our 300 schools, or through our university and charity partners

We’ve been growing fast, and are backed by investors that share our vision including leading venture capital firm Forward Partners and the Branson family (Virgin). We are growing our incredible, 70+ strong team.

Social impact is critical to Up Learn’s mission - for every student that pays, Up Learn gives a full scholarship to a student who can’t.

Our core values:

• Live for Learning: we are open-minded and have a never-quenched thirst for learning, expanding our experiences, getting feedback, iterating and improving
• Strive for Consistent Excellence: we hold an extremely high standard, pay attention to the details and take pride in consistency
• Objective and Rational: we think from first principles, avoid biases, use believability, regulate our emotions and are obligated to dissent when we disagree
• Relentlessly Resourceful: we are honey badgers, we don’t compromise, we work smart and get the job done
• Caring and Compassionate: we demonstrate care and compassion for ourselves, each other and for students

Requirements

You’re an exceptionally capable, highly organised and naturally empathetic and caring individual who is passionate about creating an inclusive work environment where everyone feels welcome. You’re the glue that holds a company together and the go-to person for making things happen whether it’s taking charge of the office, managing events or driving impactful projects and seeing them through to completion. No task is too small and you’re always one step ahead anticipating the team’s needs; you’re an exceptional listener and communicator who enjoys solving problems and takes pride in making things run like clockwork. You have excellent writing skills, laser focused attention to detail and thrive in an environment where your proactive nature and dedication to excellence can shine through, making a tangible difference to the company’s day to day and long term success.

What you’ll do in the first 6 months

• You’ll be supporting our Head of Office of the CEO; assisting the senior leadership team members on top level projects that make a real impact
• You’ll own the running of our office; handling operations and logistics, assisting with basic troubleshooting i.e wifi access, A/V tech, and maintaining an excellent and pleasant working environment that’s constantly improving
• You’ll help to create the best place to work for all employees (onsite & remote) as well as planning and organising team and company-wide events including regular team socials and planning offsite events
• You’ll provide general administrative support including supporting employee/office queries, liaising with suppliers/maintenance teams and our weekly grocery shop
• You’ll assist with People operations, coming up with and testing new projects and initiatives that may improve the company, employee satisfaction and/or company culture
• You’ll assist with HR operations; recruitment and onboarding new team members and maintaining our Health & Safety processes
• Work alongside managers, leaders and the CEO to implement projects and initiatives preparing Up Learn to scale in our next stage of growth

Requirements

If you don’t meet every requirement below but you still believe you’re the right person for the role and are willing to learn, we strongly encourage you to apply!

• Previous experience as an EA, Office Manager, Business Support/Operations or similar (preferably in a successfully scaling startup or growing company)
• Exceptional organisational and time management skills; ability to independently manage workload and effectively allocate appropriate time to a range of tasks with the ability to adapt to changing priorities
• Solution focused and always looking to make improvements and able to think outside of the box to get things done in the most efficient (and cost effective) way
• A real ‘people’ person with strong interpersonal skills who is friendly and approachable but also has the ability to interact effectively with diverse groups of people
• Outstanding written and spoken communication skills with extremely high standards of attention to detail and a keen eye for accuracy
• A whizz at Microsoft Office/GSuite and able to pick up other software fast
• You thrive in a culture of feedback - giving and receiving it
• You care about our mission of solving education and improving students’ lives

Benefits

What we offer

• 🤸‍♂️ Awesome colleagues! We’ve put together a cracking team, and you can become a key player in shaping the future of it
• 💚 Meaningful, fulfilling and engaging work that has an immediate positive impact on tens of thousands of students and the potential to impact millions of students
• 🧠 Tons of opportunities to learn and develop a wide range of skills e.g. project management, data and analytics, process improvement and much more!
• ⭐ Influence, trust and impact inside a well funded VC-backed startup made up of a fun, friendly, high-calibre team that trusts you and gives you the freedom to be brilliant
• 🥇 Flexible working: we’re Flexa certified and are proud to be one of the most flexible EdTech and Education employers with an overall score of 88%

Key benefits:

We provide a great set of benefits that all focus on helping Up Learn team members lead healthy and fulfilling lives.

• 💰 Salary: £35,000-43,000
• 🌴 ~35 days of paid holiday per year made up of: 26 days of bookable holiday, plus bank holidays, plus unlimited ‘extra days’ (i.e. if you need a few more days, no problem)
• 🐤 Significantly enhanced parental leave
• 🦷 Level 6 (highest level) dental insurance
• ☕ Paid-for coffee breaks (a great chance to get to know the team)
• 🏃 Paid-for sporting activities like 5-a-side football games, badminton games, monthly CrossFit sessions as well as an in-office shower to make it easier to participate
• 🏰 Annual 3-day company off-site where we fly in our international team members, get out of the city and take a break together
• 🏬 A spacious and bright private office in Old Street, with delicious coffee, a selection of teas and unlimited snacks and drinks
• 🚲 Cycle-to-Work: we are registered so you can buy a bike and accessories tax-free
• 📖 Unlimited budget for any work-related books or software you need
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family access to Up Learn: your family and close relatives get unlimited access to any Up Learn course for free!

How to apply

If this sounds like it’s for you, we can’t wait to hear from you!

Inviting someone to join our core team is a big deal for us and we put a lot of time and effort into the process. If we figure out we’re not perfect for eachother at any stage we’ll let you know as soon as possible!

1. Send us your CV & tell us in 150 words why you’d be great for this role.
2. Successful applicants will be given an exercise to do at home that’s relevant to the role
3. If it’s looking like you’d be a good fit we’ll invite you for a 20-30 minute phone or video call to learn more about you, your goals and your experience. You’ll also be able to ask questions about Up Learn and the role
4. You’ll be invited to the office and you’ll complete a few role-relevant tasks and run a more detailed interview with one or two members of our leadership team to hear more about you and your experience
5. If everyone’s happy, most importantly you, we’ll make you an offer to join our team

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us ahead of applying at natalie@uplearn.co.uk.