Personal Assistant, 2 High Street, Perth - Internal

Main Purpose of the Role

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

Personal Assistant - PKC13764
£28,812 - £31,346
2 High Street, Perth

Please note: Only existing employees of Perth & Kinross Council may apply.

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Finance and Business Support service to provide comprehensive and professional secretarial and administrative support to Elected Members.   Where required, the role will also support the Executive and Strategic Leadership team and Civic Services.

We are seeking an agile, flexible and well‑organised individual who is enthusiastic, and confident in providing high‑quality secretarial and administrative support within a politically sensitive environment.  You will work closely with Councillors, senior officers and colleagues across Services, managing a varied workload and contributing as part of a wider business support team within a busy, forward‑thinking organisation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Provide comprehensive secretarial and administrative support, including managing complex diaries, arranging meetings, travel, conference attendance and briefing sessions.
• Act as a key point of contact, handling enquiries from Councillors, senior officers, members of the public and external organisations, and receiving visitors when required.
• Where required, process enquiries on behalf of Councillors via the Council’s automated enquiries portal.
• Provide low‑level IT support to Councillors, including assistance with IT equipment and software.
• Process incoming correspondence and enquiries, including service requests, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, political enquiries and generic mailbox monitoring, ensuring requests are logged, prioritised and actioned in line with Council processes and procedures.
• Prepare a range of documents using Microsoft Office (Office 365), including correspondence, reports, presentations, minutes and briefing materials.
• Liaise and communicate with external agencies such as the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, COSLA and other partner organisations.
• Maintain absolute confidentiality and discretion at all times, handling personal, financial and sensitive information in accordance with GDPR and Council policies.
• Support the wider Business Support team as required, including assisting other sections at short notice to meet operational and business service needs.
• Provide cover for the Senior Personal Assistant to the Leader of the Council as and when required.

You must be able to manage competing priorities and conflicting demands, often within tight timescales, while maintaining accuracy and professionalism. Excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills are essential, alongside a proactive approach to learning and development, continuous improvement and innovative ways of working.

The post operates on a hybrid working basis. While predominantly office‑based, there is the opportunity for home working alongside time spent working within the office environment with colleagues. Hybrid arrangements are reviewed regularly and are dependent on service and customer needs.

Please note, we are currently unable to offer sponsorship for this post

Skills & Experience Required

Requirements for the role include:

• Experience of working in an administrative or clerical environment.
• Knowledge of administrative procedures, with an understanding of democratic and/or governance processes or the ability to develop this.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to engage confidently with senior officers, Councillors, colleagues, members of the public and external organisations.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage daily workloads, prioritise effectively and meet deadlines.
• Extensive knowledge and experience of Microsoft Office (Office 365) and the ability to produce accurate, well‑presented documents.Excellent customer service skills and the ability to work diplomatically within a politically sensitive environment.
• Ability to evaluate the urgency and significance of information received and take appropriate action independently.
• Excellent typing and word‑processing skills, and formatting of complex and sensitive documents.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion at all times.
• Ability to support note-taking or recording key discussion points and actions across the wider team, including use of tools such as MS Teams and Copilot.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a wider team, with flexibility to support other services as required.

 

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours. Find out more about Perth & Kinross Council and you could soon be joining our team!

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package
• 6 days public holiday and an additional discretionary day
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Flexi time
• Access to a range of benefits

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Lynn Macdougall at lmacdougall@pkc.gov.uk or on 01738 475107 to find out more.

Click “APPLY NOW”

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses.  One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

To comply with Baseline Personnel Security Standard, you will be required to complete a Disclosure Scotland check.

If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.