What is a PA, also known as a Personal Assistant, is an administrative professional who provides administrative support to a manager, management team or a team. Many PAs have a one-to-one working relationship supporting one manager, but increasingly we find PAs supporting 2 or more managers. The job role of Team PA is also common, where administrative support in provided to a Team.

PA Jobs

PA Jobs are popular, as they can offer competitive salaries and the opportunity to progress to more senior roles such as an Executive PA or an Executive Assistant. Here are typical duties of a PA job:

  • Email Management
  • Organising meetings
  • Diary Management
  • Travel Management / Bookings
  • Telephone answering
  • Acting as a point of contact and a gatekeeper
  • Running filing and data management systems
  • Organising events
  • Writing emails, letters and other forms of business communications
  • Minute taking in meetings

PA Skills

PAs have to be very adaptable and fast learners. Therefore, the list of skills required to work as a PA are quite extensive:

  • Microsoft Office Skills
    • PowerPoint
    • Word
    • Outlook
    • Excel
  • Touch Typing Skills
  • Adaptability
  • Problem solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Attention to detail
  • Proofreading
  • Written Business Communication Skills
  • Minute Taking
  • Team working
  • Time Management
  • Organisations
  • Multi-tasking
  • Prioritisation

PA Salaries

We conducted a PA Salary Survey in the UK, Ireland and key European cities.

City Average Salary High End Salary
London £34,000 £46,000
Birmingham £26,000 £34,000
Manchester £24,000 £32,000
Dublin €40,000 €46,000
Leeds £25,000 £32,000
Amsterdam €42,000 €86,000
Bristol £24,000 £32,000
Frankfurt €53,000 €70,000

What is a PA?

PA Career Path

In PA roles, the role is very much more focused on providing Administrative support and receiving delegated tasks that come from your manager or managers. However, the more senior roles of Executive PA and Executive Assistant that may PAs progress to, have more business support than administrative support and increasing responsibility, decision making and working in partnership with your manager. In essence, Executive Level assistant require less management and direction from their managers. The ability to deliver these requirements can be developed through training and/or experience.