Personal Assistant to CSO at the Novo Nordisk Foundation

Are you driven by the wish to help your superior and the Novo Nordisk Foundation succeed by ensuring seamless operations behind the scenes? Are you known for your meticulous attention to detail? Are you skilled at prioritising requests and confidently saying a polite 'no'? Do you excel in efficient calendar management, proactive planning, and enjoy creating structure in a fast-paced and dynamic environment? If so, you might be the ideal candidate for the role of Personal Assistant to our Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) in Planetary Science & Technology.

Join us at the Novo Nordisk Foundation and play a pivotal role in advancing our mission to drive scientific discovery and technological innovation.

The CSO for Planetary Science & Technology is referring to the CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Planetary Science & Technology is an area with five departments, Natural Sciences, Technical Sciences, Biotechnology, Agri-Food and Innovation. The overall purpose of the area is:

• To progress fundamental knowledge within the natural and technical sciences and biotechnology, thereby preparing for unknown challenges
• To Improve the sustainability of the planet
• To ensure Danish, Nordic and European competitiveness within planetary health and technology

About the Job:

As PA to the CSO, your key tasks will include:

• Proactively managing a complex calendar, reviewing and preparing short-term and long-term schedules. Ensuring the CSO is well-prepared with all necessary materials, pre-read documents, notes, etc., ahead of meetings.
• Coordinating travel arrangements from A to Z, ensuring the CSO is fully prepared with all necessary materials for travel, meetings, and events.
• Accompanying the CSO to various events to manage arrangements, take photographs and create social media posts on her behalf.
• Proofreading documents and presentations.
• Help preparing material for Board meetings
• Managing the department’s budget and handling invoices and expenses.
• Joining and coordinating area leadership team meetings: drafting agendas, taking minutes, maintaining a continuous overview of agenda items and projects, managing the annual cycle, distributing material, following up on actions, and internal communications.
• Coordinating and planning department activities (e.g., team off-sites and social events).
• Providing administrative support for recruitments and coordinating the recruitment processes with P&O.
• Offering daily sparring and advice to the CSO and handling ad hoc tasks and projects.
• Participating in the internal cross-departmental PA Network.

In addition to being part of the Planetary Science & Technology area and the NNF PA Network, you will join a strong team of Executive Management PAs. Together, you will collaborate on various tasks, engage in discussions on diverse topics, and share knowledge.

Professional and personal qualifications

We are looking for a positive team player who is flexible, resourceful, and efficient, with a high level of integrity. You proactively seek opportunities to help others and are committed to making your colleagues successful. You contribute actively to the positive workplace culture and build strong relationships.

You ensure you are aware of the CSO’s objectives, goals, deadlines, and deliverables daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. You proactively follow through behind the scenes in support of these aims. You can grasp the big picture while maintaining detailed operational oversight. You learn by proactively communicating and asking questions to resolve open issues. You fill the gaps and can quickly re-prioritise tasks when needed.

You possess a sense of urgency, attention to detail, and a demonstrated ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information with discretion. We maintain a constructive working environment and hope that you are confident in your abilities without requiring constant reassurance.

We imagine that you have:

• Extensive experience as a PA at a senior level in a corporate environment, educational/research/science institution, or organisation.
• Experience in an international environment with a high-quality level in all deliveries.
• Experience with departmental tasks and optimisation of processes.
• Fluency in Danish and English, both oral and written. High proficiency in MS Office; Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

Join us and contribute to our mission of driving scientific discovery and technological innovation at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Apply now

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible – we will be having interviews on an ongoing basis.

To apply, please upload your motivated CV by clicking on the “Apply” button.

About the Novo Nordisk Foundation

Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet.
The Foundation’s mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.

 In 2024, the Novo Nordisk Foundation awarded DKK 10bn in grants making it one of the largest and leading philanthropic actors in the world.

These years, the Foundation is in a transition and broadening its scope and increase its grants for scientific, humanitarian, and social purposes, including solving the climate crisis and developing tomorrow’s food production. Consequently, we are a growing organisation, which means new job openings and exciting opportunities for employees to be part of forming the future of the Foundation.