Personal Assistant to Director

About the Company

Turner & Townsend is an international professional services firm with a workforce of more than 22,000 people across over 60 countries. The company supports clients in real estate, infrastructure, energy, and natural resources, helping turn complex challenges into successful outcomes that improve lives. Its services cover programme and project management, cost and commercial management, asset management, controls and performance, procurement and supply chain, net zero, and digital solutions. Turner & Townsend is majority-owned by CBRE Group, Inc., with a significant minority stake held by partners.

Role Summary

This position calls for a highly organised Personal Assistant to support a Director in a busy, fast-moving environment in Riyadh. The role requires strong administrative judgment, discretion, and the ability to manage competing priorities while helping keep the wider administrative team aligned and effective.

Administrative Support

• Deliver dependable, high-quality organisational support to the Director.
• Help unite the administrative group so it operates as a coordinated team.
• Draft correspondence, memos, reports, and other written documents.
• Prepare presentation materials.
• Maintain structured filing systems, both physical and digital.
• Track and uphold compliance across expenses, travel, hotel arrangements, client care, and risk-related processes.
• Maintain accurate records of documents, email communication, and contact details.
• Build working relationships with PAs and EAs across the region, especially those connected with clients.
• Support full Board meeting coordination.
• Record meeting minutes and monitor action items through to completion.

Email, Call, and Diary Management

• Screen incoming enquiries, calls, and meeting invitations, redirecting or escalating them as needed.
• Keep the Director’s email records organised and easy to retrieve.
• Identify urgent messages and handle attachments as required.
• Draft replies on the Director’s behalf when instructed.
• Manage a demanding diary by balancing priorities, adjusting appointments, and resolving scheduling issues.
• Hold weekly diary reviews with the Director to plan upcoming meetings, invitations, and requests.
• Arrange video meetings and conference calls.
• Set up meetings between the Director and direct reports.
• Coordinate with internal and external contacts to organise meetings, agendas, schedules, and minutes.
• Make travel and accommodation bookings.

Meeting and Event Coordination

• Support a wide range of meetings by preparing maps, agendas, briefing notes, meeting papers, and follow-up actions.
• Assist with Board meetings by scheduling dates for the year, managing Board packs and invitations, taking minutes, distributing minutes, and organising attendee travel.
• Plan and coordinate client and staff events, including invitations, venue booking, and transport arrangements.

Bid Support

• Assist with bid preparation by formatting documents, choosing images, identifying CVs, and sourcing case studies.
• Create supporting presentation materials for bids.
• Ensure submissions are delivered on time and meet the quality expected by clients.
• Carry out any additional bid-related tasks assigned by the Director.

Qualifications and Experience

• At least 5 years of administrative experience in a high-pressure setting where tact, judgment, and discretion are essential.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office 365 applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams.
• Strong ability to manage workload efficiently and handle assigned tasks effectively.
• Fast, accurate typing and strong computer literacy.
• Excellent organisational ability with the capacity to balance several priorities while maintaining quality and attention to detail.
• Proven experience working to tight deadlines and under pressure.
• Strong proofreading ability and a consistently high level of accuracy.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work well with team members, stakeholders, Board members, and external partners or vendors.
• Comfort with handling sensitive information confidentially and professionally.
• Experience arranging diaries, researching travel, and booking accommodation.
• Willingness to take on additional responsibilities and challenges.
• A proactive, flexible approach to work.
• Strong awareness of compliance and the ability to ensure team adherence to policy.

Character Traits

• Trustworthy and dependable.
• Self-driven, quick to learn, highly organised, and able to work independently with limited supervision.
• Strong communication and coordination skills, with the ability to handle confidential information appropriately.
• Comfortable in a demanding and fast-changing environment.
• Able to say no when needed in order to protect workload and priorities.
• Committed to continuous learning and improving the way work is done.
• Capable of bringing the admin team together and acting as a reliable support to the Country Manager.
• Open to suggesting better ways of working when beneficial to the team.
• Able to seek help from the team and wider PA network when necessary.

Additional Information

The organisation aims to provide an inclusive workplace where people have the opportunity and voice to influence positive change. It encourages a healthy, productive, and flexible working environment that supports work-life balance.

Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates from all backgrounds. The company is committed to diversity and inclusion across its workforce.

The recruitment process does not require candidates to pay any fee. No agency should request payment from applicants at any stage. Unsolicited CVs sent through the company website or personal email accounts are treated as company property and are not eligible for agency fees unless there is a formal written agreement and the agency has been invited by the recruitment team to submit candidates.

Social media and website references were included in the source material but are omitted here.