Assistant Banking

Purpose of the Job 

We are seeking a highly organized and proactive Assistant to support Financial Institutions team led by one of EBRD Turkiye’s four Deputies (based in Istanbul). The FI team delivers approximately 50% of EBRD’s investment in Turkiye, making this a dynamic and fast-paced environment. The Assistant will play a crucial role in ensuring smooth operations by managing schedules, coordinating internal and external engagements, and supporting business activities.

We are seeking a highly organized and proactive Assistant to support Financial Institutions team led by one of EBRD Turkiye’s four Deputies (based in Istanbul). The FI team delivers approximately 50% of EBRD’s investment in Turkiye, making this a dynamic and fast-paced environment. The Assistant will play a crucial role in ensuring smooth operations by managing schedules, coordinating internal and external engagements, and supporting business activities.

Background

The Assistant provides comprehensive high quality secretarial support to the EBRD’s Financial Institution Turkiye team based in Istanbul, headed by the Deputy Head of Turkiye, FI.

Facts / Scale 

Depending on office size and number of other secretaries, Assistant assists to at least 8 bankers and Deputy Head of Turkiye, FI.

• No Line Management Responsibility
• Interacts with:
  • Bankers, internal departments
  • Clients to coordinate meetings
  • Service providers (courier companies, travel agencies, taxi companies),
  • Please note this role has a 6 month probation period 

Accountabilities and Responsibilities 

Support to the Deputy Head of Turkiye:

• Manage and prioritize the Deputy Head of Türkiye agenda, ensuring efficient scheduling of meetings, travel, and events.
• Handle email correspondence, draft communications, and prepare briefing notes as needed.
• Liaise with senior stakeholders, both internal and external, ensuring professional coordination of engagements.

FI Team Coordination and Administrative Support:

• Provide scheduling and coordination support to the FI team, including tracking key deadlines and priorities.
• Assist with logistics for team missions, business trips, conferences, and other meetings.
• Organize internal and external events, including venue booking, catering, and materials preparation.
• Maintain team calendars and coordinate cross-functional activities as required.

Meeting and Event Management:

• Schedule and coordinate internal and external meetings, ensuring appropriate preparations.
• Organize agendas, prepare documents, take minutes, and follow up on action points.
• Facilitate high-level engagements with banks, investors, government officials, and other key stakeholders.

Other Responsibilities:

• Screen telephone calls, taking messages and passing them on as appropriate, providing a professional front of house service.
• Distributions of mail, ensuring the correct correspondence gets to the correct EBRD staff member.
• Manage the diaries/agendas of the Bankers o assist with the smooth running of the office and key stakeholder’s schedules. 
• Proof read and draft routine business correspondence for Banker’s signature, editing, photocopying, scanning and binding documents;
• Organising conference calls, video conferences, external and internal meetings;
• Travel arrangements for various business trips, including visas arrangements and preparation of ECFs and following up reimbursement process
• Providing administrative support in project preparation/ due diligence/ monitoring: updating projects databases and filing project documents, preparation of contract request forms, communication with TC teams
• Maintaining the filing system to ensure instant retrieval of up-to-date information (up to date client contact lists, ProjectLink, etc)
• Updating DTM entries as per the OPSCOM minutes and memo;
• Assist in the organisation of workshops and seminars, preparing presentations for internal and external meetings;
• Organizing and managing logistics for various visiting missions in coordinating with other assistants where relevant;
• Ad-hoc other secretarial and administrative duties when required.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience and Qualifications 

Academic Qualifications

• Higher education
• Fluent English and Turkish, with excellent written and oral communication skills

Experience/Knowledge

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in executive support, administrative coordination, or office management in a corporate or financial institution
• Good organisational skills, proactive and flexible attitude to work essential.
• Ability to prioritise own work and to work on own initiative.
• A proactive and solution-oriented approach, with the ability to anticipate challenges and provide effective resolutions
• Good communications skills, including pleasant and efficient telephone manner
• Attention to detail and eye for accuracy
• Ability to cope well under pressure
• Ability to build effective working relationships with clients and colleagues in a multicultural environment
• Conscientious, reliable and flexible with a professional and helpful attitude.
• Strong team player, with the ability to work highly efficiently and cheerfully and to handle simultaneous assignments involving a wide range of bank-wide contacts.
• Willing to work overtime as and when required, sometimes at short notice.
• Strong ability to manage multiple priorities, tight deadlines, and a fast-paced work environment. Ability to multi-task while remaining calm and professional and a capacity for hard work.
• Excellent interpersonal manner, including tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to exercise judgment on and deal discretely with confidential/sensitive information and data.
• Ability to take on responsibility.
• Excellent time-keeper.

Technical Skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word), virtual meeting platforms (Teams, Zoom), and experience with scheduling and document management tools

What is it like to work at the EBRD?

Our agile and innovative approach is what makes life at the EBRD a unique experience! You will be part of a pioneering and diverse international organisation, and use your talents to make a real difference to people's lives and help shape the future of the regions we invest in. 

The EBRD environment provides you with:

• Varied, stimulating and engaging work that gives you an opportunity to interact with a wide range of experts in the financial, political, public and private sectors across the regions we invest in;
• A working culture that embraces inclusion and celebrates diversity;
• An environment that places sustainability, equality and digital  transformation at the heart of what we do.

Diversity is one of the Bank’s core values which are at the heart of everything it does.  A diverse workforce with the right knowledge and skills enables connection with our clients, brings pioneering ideas, energy and innovation. The EBRD staff is characterised by its rich diversity of nationalities, cultures and opinions and we aim to sustain and build on this strength. As such, the EBRD seeks to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and given equal opportunities and works in an inclusive environment. The EBRD encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of the EBRD member countries to apply regardless of their racial, ethnic, religious and cultural background, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities.  As an inclusive employer, we promote flexible working and expecting our employee to attend the office 50% of their working time.

Please note, that due to the high volume of applications received, we regret to inform you that we are unable to provide detailed feedback to candidates who have not been shortlisted (for further consideration).