Oliver Wyman - Executive Assistant at Marsh

The Opportunity:

• This is an exciting opportunity to join Oliver Wyman as an Executive Assistant in our Johannesburg office, supporting between 1 and 3 of our Partners.

Key Responsibilities:

Business Development (20%)

• Build relationships with clients and client EAs
• Understand the business goals and objectives of each supported Partner and help to push them forward proactively
• Lead the administrative support of RFPs/tender responses
• Maintain and update current list of contacts and business activities in CRM database
• Track and maintain sales activity/pipeline with each Partner
• Proactively spot clients that haven’t been called upon and/or who need follow up
• Execute requested follow-up calls for client mailings
• Assist the Marketing Department with the co-ordination of customized mailings
• Prepare letters, proposals and other documents using Oliver Wyman formatting styles

Calendaring (30%)

• Maintain diaries for Partners, scheduling internal and external meetings, communicating with clients and infrastructure staff as appropriate
• Proactively spot opportunities to add internal and external meetings; interviews, staff meetings, follow up
• Assist with scheduling for complex projects as requested by the Partner and/or project team

Travel Arrangement (20%)

• Coordinate travel and accommodation, book cars, rail tickets, etc.
• Develop understanding of Partner scheduling and travel preferences
• Coordinate travel efficiently by grouping client meetings where possible ("you're in Paris to see XYZ Company, shall I try to set up a meeting with X Company because we haven't spoken to them for three months")

Daily administration (10%)

• Work with HC to obtain work permits and visas
• Manage documents and project deliverables when requested
• Notify staffing and Practice EAs of extensions/re-negotiations
• Manage storage or disposal of confidential client information
• Act as central point of contact for all assigned Partner administrative needs, liaise with other support departments as necessary

Timesheet and Expense Reporting (10%)

• Prepare monthly timesheets for each assigned Partners
• Prepare all expense reports and/or delegate to a team assistant when necessary
• Request Purchase Orders (POs) as needed for relevant project teams

Team Support (10%)

• Provide coverage for EAs who are out of the office to ensure seamless support to Principals/Partners
• Provide short-term coverage for Principals/Partners who may be in the midst of an EA assignment transition or who are new to the Firm
• Provide training and support to new EAs
• Participate in team meetings and projects with an eye to improving processes and the overall performance of the EA team

Experience Required:

• At least three years’ experience at working in a similar role.
• Experience in financial services, management consultancy and/or a professional services environment a plus

Technical Skills:

• Advanced Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook skills, comfortable Excel skills
• Creative problem solving
• Knowledge of CRM systems (Microsoft Dynamics), Google Drive and SharePoint, a plus but not necessary
• English – required; Afrikaans or any other South African Language – preferred

Skills and Attributes:

• Positive and proactive while still be collaborative
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, yet operates well within a team, as well as independently
• Professional, tactful and able to engage with colleagues at all levels in the firm
• Problem solver – able to work with other teams and staff members effectively to reach a viable solution and goal
• Strong service focus – dedicated to meeting the expectations of all staff through securing effective relationships with clients and executing deliverables to the highest standards
• Excellent communicator and negotiator – able to deal effectively with people at all levels across a multicultural environment
• Maturity, poise and judgment
• Ability to maintain and respect confidentiality
• Ability to think strategically and contribute to development of departmental model
• One who takes constructive feedback in stride and incorporates feedback quickly
• Ability to manage a heavy work volume and meet deadlines in an extremely fast paced environment
• Ability to undertake projects and produce quality and timely results
• Self-starter, strong initiative, confidence and ability to work with little guidance
• Collaborative team player
• Positive attitude, sense of fun: is collegial and friendly
• Ability to juggle several tasks at once, to prioritize and manage own time - Not a clock watcher or someone who is unwilling to step outside their job description
• Methodical, organized and excellent attention to detail
• Flexible attitude; embraces change, hard-working, cost conscious and results driven
• Finally, we are looking for someone who will be committed to the company and add to the life and culture of Oliver Wyman.