Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Officer

Our client, a creative consulting firm, is seeking an Executive Assistant to support the CEO. The ideal candidate will lead with empathy and be comfortable taking initiative. They will be responsible for ensuring that the leadership they support has the infrastructure and systems in place to do their best work and for the wider business to run seamlessly and effectively. Prior experience supporting a senior executive is strongly preferred. This opportunity offers full-time hours Monday through Friday with overtime. It is primarily in-office in their Manhattan offices, with hybrid flexibility when the CEO is out of town. Please note this is a temp-to-perm opportunity starting at $45/hour and converting to 95k.

The Opportunity

The Executive Assistant to the CEO holds a pivotal role in supporting the CEO and their executive team’s performance and functionality. By maintaining organizational efficiency, supporting the CEO’s initiatives, and understanding the business, strategy, and values, the EA plays a crucial role in enabling the CEO to focus on leadership and business growth objectives.

As an EA, you will be responsible for managing the CEO's calendar, ensuring efficient scheduling of meetings, coordinating travel arrangements, and doing core administrative functions (e.g., expenses, data entry, catering and ordering meals, meeting room setup, etc.). You handle confidential information with discretion to maximize the CEO's productivity. With input from the Chief of Staff and others, the EA also prepares and reviews documents, presentations, and reports, ensuring accuracy and appropriateness.

Responsibilities

• Schedule highly sensitive and urgent meetings, while managing complex calendars for the CEO (who owns entire bodies of work and/or business units, and manages multiple projects, client relationships, and numerous teams at all times).
• Proactively manage and book the CEO’s travel, and their extended team’s travel in accordance with firm guidelines and the CEO’s preferences.
• Communicate regularly with the CEO and their team, when they are in the office and working remotely, to ensure they are apprised of changes to their calendars or to the work of their teams. Provide an organized end-of-day and end-of-week summary of priorities, things in progress, time-sensitive questions, etc.
• Track and submit timesheets and expense reports for the CEO and their team.
• Keep the CEO and their team organized with meeting materials and immediate priorities (who needs what by when); this will include inbox management and communication/response strategies.
• Provide strategic partnership and support to ensure the CEO and/or team has the time, resources, and materials needed to accomplish their goals.
• Collaborate and coordinate with other internal teams and drive initiatives that further the growth and development of the Admin team.
• Support the management of the relationship network of the CEO, ensuring they are prepared to meet with external high-profile and sensitive relationships that drive and grow the business.
• Offers seamless in-office and virtual meeting support producing and hosting the CEO, and executive-level meetings and offsites, including catering, room preparation, and production materials.
• Manage events and communication with efficiency and on behalf of Team CEO.
• Function as a key member of the Admin team, reporting directly to the head of the team.
• Collaborate with Admin team members to develop best practices and enhance operational efficiency.
• Actively participate in meetings, special projects, and provide back-up support when other Admin team members are out of the office or are overloaded.
• Run CEO-team or project-related errands, meal orders, and mailings.

Qualifications

• 5 to 7 years of executive assistant experience (including at least 2 to 3 years of formal executive-level support) in a fast-paced executive office—ideally within a management consulting or creative agency
• Proven ability to collaborate in an administrative team environment
• Deeply collaborative: the need to build trust with Team CEO and peers across the organization will be critical to success
• Exceptional judgment and discernment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook), Mac OS, Slack, and Google Suite applications; proficient with technology overall
• Knowledge of Certify and Trip Actions or similar systems
• Comfortable working out of our NYC office when the CEO is in NYC, and when needed
• Exceptional track record with responsiveness to emails or texts after hours, if needed