Executive Assistant to the CEO

Position description

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

Required: Please submit a cover letter along with your application.

About Heifer International

In 1944, Heifer International’s founder, Dan West, began outlining a simple but groundbreaking plan to tackle hunger around the world. West, a farmer from the Midwest and Church of the Brethren member, had recently returned from feeding weary refugees during volunteer service in the Spanish Civil War.

He had seen firsthand that giving people food was a short-term solution, whereas providing them with animals offered a steady supply of nutritious food for an entire family. His philosophy still inspires Heifer’s work today. Partnering with farmers across a range of different livestock and crops, we create unique solutions to local challenges.

Today, Heifer International has operations in 19 countries around the world, working alongside local farmers, business owners and their communities, as they mobilize and envision their futures. Together, we build inclusive, resilient economies, so communities can develop effective ways to end global hunger and poverty in a sustainable way.

To date, we have supported more than 42 million farming families across Africa, Asia and the Americas and in the past five years alone, we have worked alongside 2.7 million families to close the living income gap or set them on a path to doing so. Between now and 2030, we will support an additional 10 million people to reach a living income by scaling up our signature programs. To achieve this, Heifer International relies on its passionate, committed and highly skilled staff.

ROLE FUNCTION

The Executive Assistant to the CEO will provide direct support to Heifer’s CEO and Heifer International’s Board of Directors. They will coordinate daily operations, processes, procedures, and special projects of the Executive Office. The Executive Assistant will work to anticipate and resolve administrative issues before they occur and provide solutions to challenges that arise in the executive office. This position plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of our executive office through internal and external communications. The Executive Assistant may supervise an Administrative Assistant in the future.

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE

Organized, creative, well-versed in Heifer’s development and business model at all operational levels. Comfortable & competent in interacting with people on behalf of the CEO and Board of Directors. To succeed in this role, you will have a customer service attitude, strong communication and collaboration skills, and a passion for quality. You are leading the charge in facilitating executive communications; you are truly people-first and believe that people are an organization’s greatest asset. You empower others through empathy and listening deeply and possess a deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Candidates must be in commutable distance to Heifer’s headquarters in Little Rock, AR and be willing to work from the office.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DELIVERABLES

Executive Support and Management (40%)

• Maintain an accurate and current calendar for the President and CEO, including on-line scheduling of internal and external, domestic and international, appointments and meetings. Support meetings as required.
• Manage and monitor the executive office’s annual operating expense budget; ensure the timely payment of executive office invoices, credit card statements, and/or other accounts payable.
• Provide timely and accurate updates to the entire organization the status of the CEO’s travel calendar highlighting pertinent coordination points to support organizational strategic priorities. I.e. major donors, institutional partners, key networking events, media opportunities, etc.
• Develop and coordinate travel arrangements and scheduling for the President and CEO, including air or train travel, hotel reservations, car rental, and required visas.
• Perform a variety of clerical/administrative duties such as opening and distributing Executive Office mail; composing/drafting, proofing, and typing correspondence; making copies of correspondence or other printed matter; preparing outgoing mail; faxing; and distributing correspondence and other materials.
• Manage the processing and ensure appropriate payment of Executive Office check requests and invoices, including senior leadership and Board member expense reimbursement reports, travel advances, and credit card statements.
• Manage and monitor the executive office’s annual operating expense budget; ensure the timely payment of executive office invoices, credit card statements, and/or other accounts payable.

Executive Communications Support (25%)

• Manage and coordinate across the organization all CEO communications, employee engagements and internal/external appearance.
• CEO speaking engagements, luncheons, conferences and meetings with Heifer staff, board members, volunteers, donors and other individuals.
• Develop and/or coordinate development of internal and external CEO messaging or other Executive Office communications including internal and external articles, quotes, presentations, and speeches.
• Develop and manage the Executive Office’s internal content (intranet) site (currently the Corral). Act as the Executive Office content administrator.

Special Projects and Assignments (20%)

• Manage and coordinate operations and processes of the Executive Office, including follow-up on staff assignments; coordination of deadlines and priorities on daily or special projects, flow of correspondence, and other administrative services.
• Within the established guidelines, develop, manage, and monitor the Executive Office’s annual operating expense budget. Ensure the timely payment of Executive Office invoices, credit card statements and/or other accounts payable.
• Act as Executive Office purchasing agent and manage departmental office supplies inventory as appropriate.

Board Logistics & Administrative Support (15%)

• Respond to routine and non-routine written, oral and electronic inquiries; prioritize correspondence, and other information for internal and external usage for the President and CEO and/or Board of Directors.
• Develop and manage the Board of Directors intranet using Laserfiche. Act as the Extranet Content Administrator. Post, update, and delete documents as necessary or instructed.
• Respond to routine and non-routine written, oral and electronic inquiries; prioritize correspondence, and other information for internal and external usage for the President and CEO and/or Board of Directors.
• Track and coordinate all Board engagement touchpoints between individual Board members and staff.
• Manage and coordinate logistics and accommodation need for Board of Directors during onsite Board meetings.
• May perform other job-related duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required plus 5 years’ experience supporting a CEO or Executive.
• Strong Communication (writing, oral, impersonation) skills in the English language.
• Ability to create reports, presentations, and board reports in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal and collaboration/networking skills.
• Must be comfortable operating and working with virtual teams within a matrix structure.
• Comfortable with change and working with evolving department and organization.
• Self-motivated, agile, and detail-oriented professional with exceptional organizational, interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Alignment to Heifer’s mission and global reach
• Strong multicultural and cultural-sensitivity skills. Comfortable working with stakeholders at all levels, from entry to executive levels.
• Fluency in other languages highly preferred.

Required: Please submit a cover letter along with your application.

Most Critical Proficiencies:

• A global perspective; the ability to understand issues in an international context
• Ability to grasp complex information and comprehend it quickly
• Strong calendaring, email and Internet/Intranet skills.
• Ability to be proactive in anticipating needs of the CEO, and Executive Office team.
• Proven ability to build deep and lasting relationships with a variety of internal partners with whom no direct line of supervision exists; a committed team player.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work cooperatively, tactfully and diplomatically with a culturally diverse group of people, especially in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to quickly assess and prioritize competing interests, such that those which are most important are given immediate direct attention of the individual necessary.
• Detail-oriented with excellent project management skills.
• Demonstrated experience and success holding prior positions that required high level of sensitivity and confidentiality.
• Extensive experience using computers as a tool for word processing, communications, including virtual meetings, and organizing. Must possess demonstrable proficiency using Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Adobe as well as virtual communication tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Must be open to new and emerging technologies.
• Strong oral and written skills, with the ability to communicate information to all staff levels professionally.

Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands:

• Ability to handle multiple tasks and deadlines, establish priorities and make sound judgments often in a fast-paced environment, and the flexibility, energy, and attention to detail needed to manage a heavy workload and rapidly changing contexts.
• Proofread correspondence for correct punctuation and grammar and produce documents in a well-designed, attractive format.
• May require constant sitting and moving; working at a computer for extended periods.
• Occasional bending and lifting/carrying of up to 20 pounds (9 kilograms).
• Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.

Salary Information:

The expected base salary range for this position is 70k to 85k annually. Placement within the range will be based on the experience and competency level of the candidate. Please include a cover letter with your application.

What We Offer:

• Heifer International offers a variety of benefits for U.S. based employees working 30 or more hours per week.
• Health and wellness benefits including Flexible Spending Account and/or Health Saving Account
• Employee assistance program
• 403(b) retirement plan (match 1% employee to 2% employer up to a maximum of 4% match +3% employer discretionary contribution regardless of employee contribution)
• 22 vacation days in addition to 12 statutory and discretionary holidays, and 10 sick days per year
• Employer-paid life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D)
• Professional development and annual merit increase opportunities
• Optional critical illness insurance, legal assistance plan and pet protection
• And more!

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of disability.

Application instructions

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