PA of the Year

What are the categories in the PA of the Year Awards?

This year, we are excited to announce the addition of a new category. Alongside our PA and Legal PA winners, we will be recognising a ‘Business Support Manager’ of the year. Our esteemed judging panel will interview a shortlist of finalists to select a winner for:

Legal PA of the Year:

The Legal PA of the Year award celebrates the hard work and dedication of Legal Secretaries and EAs / PAs supporting individuals or small teams across national, regional, and City law firms, as well as in-house departments and Barrister's chambers.

This category would be suitable for an individual who has demonstrated passion, flair, and confidence in what they do, going above and beyond to boost their firms, colleagues and team’s across a myriad of industries.

As noted by 2023 winner Lauren Sweeney, Legal PA and Team Leader at Eversheds Sutherland, ‘companies would not function without the PA role. We should be proud of our own achievements and should share our accomplishments with others in the same field… the SecsintheCity Awards is a platform for us to share details of the level of support a PA provides.’

Business Support Manager of the Year:

The newly created category of Business Support Manager of the Year aims to recognise those that manage a team of PAs, EAs and support professionals. This role is critical in many large organisations, leading and developing a high performing business support team covering a wide range of functions.

We recognise that the job title isn’t always clearly defined and welcome nominations from those in PA Team Leader, EA Manager, Administrative Support Manager and Chief of Staff roles.

PA of the Year:

Our most prestigious award, the PA of the Year award recognises the unparalleled support given by PAs and to EAs Board/C-suite Executives, Managing Directors, Senior Management, and HNWIs. The PA of the Year is awarded to someone who is the shining embodiment of the role, amplifying the success of the business and those around them.

As Jody Beard, last year’s PA of the Year, and EA at Visionary Finance stated, ‘an EA will not just assist the business, they will think strategically in the same way that their managers do, and make sure that their objectives are aligned with the business.’

The SecsintheCity PA of the Year award is a celebration of the incredible work that Personal Assistants and Executive Assistants conduct behind the scenes. Nominate your PA of the Year today.

Outstanding Achievement Award:

The Outstanding Achievement Award pays credit to a nominee who has gone above and beyond in their role within business support. Awarded by the judges to an exisitng nominee, the award intends to reconise an individual who has benefited not only their organisation, but inspired the colleagues around them.

When asked, “what advice would you give to other EAs thinking about nominating themselves for the PA of the Year Awards?”, Victoria Gaston, Executive Assistant to Nick Gordon at NGJG Holdings and last year’s winner, stated: ‘never underestimate yourself, self-belief must sit high up the list of intangible characteristics of a good EA’.

‘Think of the times where you have questioned if something could be done more efficiently or cost effectively or have perhaps introduced a new process or system that has proved invaluable, increased productivity or reduced unnecessary expenditure. Real life examples of how and where we have made a significant difference or positive contribution to our organisations or individuals are really great in setting you apart from others.’

Why nominate for the PA of the Year Awards?

Winning a PA of the Year Award is the ultimate recognition of hard work and achievements as a business support professional.

Recognise the outstanding talent, skills and achievements of Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants and Office Managers with SecsintheCity. Our annual awards provide the opportunity to truly commemorate the exceptional individuals who have benefited and boosted their businesses, colleagues and team’s across a myriad of industries.

This year, our awards come at a time wherein recognising your employees’ and colleagues’ talent is more important than ever.

Deserving PA of the Year Award winners don’t necessarily need a boss or colleague to make a nomination on their behalf. At SecsintheCity, we strongly believe in the importance of knowing your self-worth and celebrating your own achievements and talents, which is why we want to encourage self-nominations too. Many of our previous finalists and winners nominated themselves to win the awards.

Bethany Burns, PA at BrewDog and the winner of the PA of the Year award, was just one of many talented Assistants who nominated themselves. We asked Bethany what advice she had for those of you toying with the idea of nominating yourselves for this year's Awards:

“Go for it! Know your value and put yourself out there. I think it is important to keep personally challenging yourself to evolve as an individual. I recommend you read interesting books (I read many of the books my boss reads), mix with brilliant people, take online courses (I’m just finishing a mini-MBA course!), do speaking events and above all, keep learning. Absorb the world around you.”

And as Gemma Bulut, our 2022 Office Manager of the Year stated, "be yourself and go for it. If you don’t take a risk, how will you know?". 

When do nominations open and close?

Nominations are now open for PA of the Year. Entries will close on Friday 20th of September 2024.

What happens if I am chosen as a finalist?

All finalists are invited to an interview with our judges. Rest assured, the interview stage is not as daunting as it sounds, as Catherine Torrie, our 2022 PA of the Year, stated: 

“I really enjoyed speaking with Sarah El-Doori and Susanna Tait, it felt like I was catching up with old friends.”

With hundreds of nominations reaching us for for the PA of the Year Awards each year, we turned to our esteemed judges to share their advice on how to stand out amongst the crowd: 

•Be prepared to talk about your unique experiences: as Susanna Tait - one of our PA of the Year judges and Chief Executive at specialist PA recruitment consultancy Tay Associates who sponsor the Awards - highlights “the interviews give the shortlisted candidates the opportunity to express, in their own words, what they love about their role. We don’t want to catch anyone out, we want the individuals to bring to life their unique experiences.”

•Forget the formalities: we know the connotations of the word ‘interview’ but rest assured, shortlisted PAs, EAs and Office Managers won’t be subjected to a starchy, overly formal affair. Over the years many of our finalists and winners have praised the relaxed nature of the PA of the Year Awards interview. As Anna West, one of our PA of the Year 2022 Finalists stated, "I was extremely nervous at the start, an interview scenario always makes me feel anxious, but Sarah and Susanna were so friendly and made me feel relaxed straight away. It felt more like a conversation with friends."

•Be yourself: a key piece of advice from judges and past winners alike is to be yourself and show us what really makes you tick. “It’s about the unique experiences that nominees have encountered along the way,” affirms Susanna. “We want to meet the person behind the paper and learn about motivations, inspiration, challenges and achievements that are meaningful to them.”