Executive Assistant to the CEO

Why this Executive Assistant to the CEO role exists

Helix Bioscience is a Science & Research company of 320 people, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Helix partners with university groups to move early-stage immunology research toward clinical diagnostics. Roughly 40% of staff hold doctorates, and the company funds continued publication alongside commercial work. For this particular opening, the work is done from Cambridge — full-time, on-site — and reports into the administrative & office side of the business.

The useful question is not what the executive assistant to the ceo title means in general, but what Helix Bioscience needs it to mean this year. The emphasis on 4+ years supporting C-level executives and on own complex diary and international travel management is the answer. At mid level level you will be accountable for outcomes across several people or teams, with real influence on roadmap and hiring.

Employers in administrative & office are hiring for depth over breadth, and Cambridge is one of the markets where that demand is concentrated. Cambridge sits inside that picture: London dominates volume, but Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol have fast-growing tech and life-sciences clusters with far lower living costs.

A week as a Executive Assistant to the CEO at Helix Bioscience

Being on site in Cambridge every day changes the job in ways the description does not capture: interruptions are constant, but so is context, and problems get solved in minutes rather than message threads.

Most of the week goes on own complex diary and international travel management, with exceptional organisation and written communication work threaded through it. The part nobody advertises is upkeep — the fixes, follow-ups and small corrections that stop last quarter's work from quietly rotting. In a 320-person science & research company that upkeep lands on the person closest to the work, which here is you.

Leadership hires in Cambridge are judged on the second year, but the first year decides whether they get one. Spend it on people and on the two or three structural fixes that unlock the rest. Write down what you expect the first year to contain and compare it to their answer in the final interview; the gap is worth discussing before you sign.

What £42,000 – £50,000 really means here

The advertised range is £42,000 – £50,000, a spread of roughly 19% between floor and ceiling, with a midpoint near GBP 46,000. In most structured pay systems the midpoint represents someone fully performing the role, the floor someone growing into it, and the ceiling a candidate who arrives with directly transferable, hard-to-hire experience — in this case, depth in 4+ years supporting C-level executives.

Against a national average of £52,000 across advertised roles in United Kingdom, this band reads as a Cambridge market rate rather than a national one. City comparisons cut both ways: housing and transport in Cambridge eat part of the difference, so convert the offer into what is left at the end of the month before you judge it.

Negotiate against the band, not against Helix Bioscience. "What would someone at the top of this band be doing that I am not yet doing?" is a stronger opening than a number, and for a executive assistant to the ceo post it often produces a written development plan alongside the offer.

Who gets hired as a Executive Assistant to the CEO

Assume every other shortlisted candidate matches the 4+ years supporting C-level executives requirement too. Your advantage has to be an organisational result — a team you built, a process you fixed, a delivery record you turned around — specific, dated and checkable.

Candidates who cannot explain why this employer, specifically, get screened out early. Open with the single result that most resembles what this role needs.

One tailored application to this executive assistant to the ceo post beats twenty generic ones. Mirror the language of the responsibilities section, reference Helix Bioscience by what it actually does, and cut anything that could have been sent to another employer unchanged.

Preparing for the Helix Bioscience interviews

Build a small bank of stories before the first call: one about 4+ years supporting C-level executives under pressure, one about a disagreement you handled well, one about something you got wrong. Almost every question in a executive assistant to the ceo process is a variation on those three.

Research Helix Bioscience specifically. Academic in rhythm, commercial in discipline. Lab teams present at a fortnightly internal seminar, and publication is encouraged rather than restricted. Then connect it to Cambridge — what the local team is likely dealing with day to day matters more than the corporate description.

Relocating to Cambridge

If you are moving to Cambridge for this executive assistant to the ceo position, treat relocation as a project with its own timeline. Visa processing, housing, schooling and banking all run in parallel, and the one that slips is usually the one you started last.

The Skilled Worker visa is the main route; employers must hold a sponsor licence and the role must meet the salary and skill thresholds. The Health and Care Worker visa offers reduced fees for NHS roles.

For this specific listing: UK right to work required; no sponsorship for this role.

Check shift patterns, start times, parking or transit access, and whether any part of the week can flex. On-site roles live and die on the commute, so treat it as part of the compensation. Get the answers in writing before you resign from your current role — especially anything specific to Cambridge.

Where a Executive Assistant to the CEO role leads next

A mid level-level executive assistant to the ceo in administrative & office typically has two credible paths after two to four years: deeper specialisation, where 4+ years supporting C-level executives becomes the thing the organisation relies on you for, or breadth, where you take on scope across more people and more surface area.

The path also depends on the company stage. In a 320-person science & research business, breadth usually arrives faster than a formal title does — which suits some people and frustrates others.

Helix Bioscience operates in Cambridge, Boston, which matters for a executive assistant to the ceo if internal mobility or a future move out of Cambridge is part of your plan. If a move is your long-term aim, say so early; employers plan around ambition they know about.