Executive personal assistant

Jill Pengelley and Lucy Kippist

Rebecca Gitsham is a personal assistant who wants to see the role get the recognition it deserves.

Ms Gitsham, 33, is executive PA to Dr Glen Simpson, chief executive officer of project management firm Coffey International, which has its headquarters in Adelaide.

She also was a nominee in this year’s Executive PA magazine awards.

“I basically run the life of the CEO of our company,” she says.

“It’s more of a hands-on role.

“You are part of the decision-making process, whereas with secretaries, in the old days, they were told what they had to do.”

Ms Gitsham is an active member of the Australian Institute of Office Professionals and often talks and offers advice to younger members.

“I am looking to lift the profile for young professionals because at the end of the day, they are the future,” she says.

She wants to encourage young people in the profession to network and learn more about what the role of an executive assistant or PA can offer, as well as the need for professional development.

“I’ve got certificate IV in management, a certificate IV in workplace and training; other advanced management courses for executive assistants through the AGSM (Australian Graduate School of Management) and other leadership courses,” she says.

Ms Gitsham says her boss has been supportive of her further development and that Coffey International paid for her additional training.

Her own career break came when she was working as a temp, a receptionist at Coffey.

Before her assignment was complete, she was asked if she would temp as Dr Simpson’s EA and did such a good job she was hired for the role.

“A typical day is being on call 24/7, including weekends,” Ms Gitsham says.

“Because we are a global company, my boss is working all those time frames, and so must I.”

She says her employer is flexible in return, allowing her to leave early one day a week for family commitments. In her role, Ms Gitsham has had to develop knowledge of corporate governance, advanced software skills, time-management skills and high-level people skills and she is still looking for ways to build knowledge.

“I’m also about to start (online) a grad certificate in business with Swinburne University,” she says.

Confidence, being well organised and remaining adaptable are the three key skills a high-level EA must have, Ms Gitsham says.

The course convener for Melbourne’s Swinburne University graduate certificate of business (executive administration), Kathy Thomas, agrees that EAs and PAs are highly skilled professionals.

“The constant speed of changes in technology available to the business sector, combined with the mobility of today’s CEO, has brought enormous change to the position,” Ms Thomas says.