Working Hours: This role is available on a part-time, job-share, or full-time basis
Location: London – you will be expected to be in the office at least 3 days a week
Closing date for applications: 27th August 2025
The opportunity:
Our UK Chief Financial Officer is looking for an Executive Assistant who can take initiative, think on their feet, and resolve problems as they arise. This Executive Assistant role will be fast paced, working to tight deadlines, requiring flexibility and strong communication skills. The successful Executive Assistant will have excellent attention to detail, the ability to plan ahead meticulously and work with a high degree of integrity and confidentiality.
This role will be perfect for someone who is adaptable, highly intuitive, confident, engaging, resilient, organised and resourceful. The ideal candidate will be a natural communicator and listener and someone that thrives in a fast-paced environment, anticipating potential issues and the needs of the UK CFO and Finance Executive Team.
Many of our employees work flexibly in a variety of different ways, including part-time, flexible hours, job share, an element of working from home or compressed hours. This is because we want the best people for our roles, and we recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you may need.
What will you be doing?
- Work directly with the UK CFO to support all aspects of their daily work routine
- Maintain the UK CFO’s calendar, including scheduling meetings, appointments, speaking engagements, and travel (may include domestic and international) arrangements. Coordination will be needed regarding the Finance quarterly cycle, such as Board meetings. Exercise discretion in committing time and evaluating needs
- Serve as a liaison between the UK CFO and Finance Executive Team. This includes answering a variety of questions with tact and diplomacy, taking messages, and directing calls appropriately for resolution
- Serve as a primary point of contact between the UK CFO and internal and external stakeholders, particularly the CEO office, Group and EMEA contacts and regulatory bodies. Helping the UK CFO coordinate the work of the separate groups and providing administrative support for governance meetings
- Determine priority of matters of attention for the UK CFO; redirect matters to relevant team members to handle, or handle matters personally, as appropriate
- Manage a high volume of deadlines imposed on the CFO, including advising the CFO of such deadlines, scheduling time to complete the task and following up with reminders as necessary.
- Work closely with the Finance Strategic Execution Manager to ensure seamless collaboration and support, enabling the CFO to effectively fulfil their responsibilities
- Routinely perform a wide variety of support duties for Finance and the wider EA community
- Sort and triage mail; maintain e-mail and other address directories
- Organise function wide events including our bi-annual Finance Leadership Team offsites which is for 85 attendees
- Transcribe source material, and prepare documents, reports, tables and charts; distribute as appropriate
- Prepare, reconcile, and submit expense reports
- Maintain paper and electronic filing systems
- Maintain confidential and sensitive information
- Supporting wider Finance PA community as needed and lead by example to provide best practices
- Other additional and/or alternative duties as assigned from time to time
Who are we looking for?
- To support the UK CFO you will be required to be in the office at the same time which will be at least 3 days a week, it is therefore important that you are in a commutable distance from our London office
- Occasionally you will also need to travel with the UK CFO to our other offices in Swindon and Whiteley
- A detail-oriented self-starter with prior experience in a regulated financial services environment
- Working with tact, diplomacy and objectivity across a varied stakeholder community
- Someone who exhibits sound judgment with the ability to prioritise and make decisions
- Has sound integrity and always shows professionalism
- Energetic and eager to tackle new projects and ideas
- Comfortable interacting with high-level executives
- A team player capable of cultivating productive working relationships across the team and wider business
- Resourceful, can-do attitude
- Thrives in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)
- Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills
- Excellent organization and time-management skills
What will you get in return?
Everyone’s different. That’s why at Zurich, we offer a wide range of employee benefits so our people can choose what fits them and their life. Our benefits provide real flexibility so our people can make considered choices and tailor their benefits throughout the year. Our benefits include 12% defined non-contributory pension scheme, annual company bonus, private medical insurance and the option to buy up to an additional 20 days or sell some of your holiday.
Follow the link for more information about our benefits - Employee benefits | Working at Zurich Insurance UK
Who we are:
At Zurich we aspire to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world and the best global insurer. Together we’re creating a brighter future for our customers, our people, and our planet. With over 55,000 employees in more than 170 countries, you’ll feel the support of being part of a strong and stable company who are a long-standing player in the insurance industry.
We’ve made a promise to each other and every employee; to focus on sustainable impact, to care about each other’s wellbeing, to use our diverse expertise to be curious and optimistic and to develop the skills needed for our future.
If you're interested in working in a dynamic and challenging environment for a company that recognises and rewards your creativity, initiatives, and contributions - then Zurich could be just the place for you. Be part of something great.
Our Culture:
At Zurich, our sense of community is strong and we’re particularly enthusiastic about diversity and inclusion, which we’ve won numerous awards for. We want our people to bring the whole of themselves to work and ensure everybody is made to feel welcome, regardless of their background, beliefs, or culture. We want our employees to reflect the diversity of our customers, and so are committed to treating all of our applicants fairly and with respect, irrespective of their actual or assumed background, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
We have an environment that places real importance on our people’s well-being from a physical, mental, social, and financial perspective. We work with our well-being partners and industry experts to provide the best advice and access to a wealth of lifestyle support. We’re also committed to continuous improvement, and we offer access to a comprehensive range of training and development opportunities.
We’re enthusiastic about supporting employees to help others by getting involved in volunteering, charitable and community activity. Our charitable arm, Zurich Community Trust, is one of the longest-established corporate trusts in the UK. In that time, we’ve awarded grants and volunteered time to deserving causes in the UK valued at over £90 million.
So make a difference. Be challenged. Be inspired. Be supported, Love what you do. Work for us.
