Executive Assistant Job Description [with examples] (2023)

Executive assistants play a critical role in a company by assisting the company's key executives with scheduling, organization, and administrative tasks. While there are some common responsibilities and skills that most executive assistants should have, when you post the job, your job description should have details about any unique responsibilities or skills.

In this article, we'll help you craft your executive assistant job description and share some examples to help you get started.

What is the role of an executive assistant?

The role of an executive assistant is important to the success of the executive and, as a result, the company. An executive assistant helps the executive they work for with tasks like scheduling; review, prioritize and respond to emails; answer and return phone calls; document organization; registry mantenance; take notes in meetings and any other administrative task that helps the executive to carry out his work.

How to write an executive assistant job description

While every job description, whether posted on Indeed, another job posting site, or your company's website, should include a statement of equal employment opportunity, job responsibilities, skills, and education requirements. , the executive assistant job description should also include any specific responsibilities unique to the position. with your company or with the executive with whom the assistant will work.

To write a job description that appeals to qualified candidates, you should speak directly with the executive to learn their top priorities for the executive assistant. Ask them if they have any unique work habits or preferences to consider. For example, if the executive travels frequently, you'll want to include responsibilities related to travel arrangements and handling travel receipts in the job description.

Job Summary

Executive assistants perform more than administrative tasks; they are often the executive's "right hand" enabling them to advance company initiatives and goals. They filter and cater to the day-to-day functions that are part of the executive's role so that the executive can focus on high-level leadership and strategy functions.

Your job description should include a brief overview of the company and the key functions of the position, as well as detailed information about responsibilities, skills, qualifications, and benefits.

Executive Assistant Responsibilities

Your job description should include a list of the key responsibilities of the executive assistant. Since every executive works differently and will likely have their own priorities, it's important to be as specific as possible about responsibilities so that you can find the most qualified candidates.

Feel free to be more specific on your job responsibilities, but the following are some of the more common executive assistant responsibilities:

• Manage the schedule of company executives
• Compose, review and send communications on behalf of company executives
• Organize and prepare for meetings, including gathering documents and taking care of meeting logistics.
• Answer and respond to phone calls, communicate messages and information to the executive
• Prioritize emails and respond when necessary
• Coordinate travel arrangements.
• Maintain various records and documents for company executives.

Executive Assistant Skills and Qualifications

Executive assistants typically have a high school diploma or GED, but some companies prefer applicants to also have a bachelor's degree. Some of the key skills for an executive assistant are:

• Excellent skills in written and verbal communication
• time management skills
• Ability to pay attention to detail.
• organization skills
• Ability to do many things at once
• Basic understanding of frequently used computer software and programs, such as Microsoft Office
• Interpersonal skills

Additional information to include in the job description

You'll also want to include information about your company and industry in the job description, especially as it relates to the role and responsibilities of the executive assistant.

For example, if the company has a CEO and a COO and the executive assistant will work for both executives, you'll want to include this information in the job description. If, for example, the company is in the digital media industry, you may want candidates to have a working knowledge of that industry, including frequently used processes, terminology, and technology programs.

It might also be useful to include information on salaries. In fact, if you have employees in Colorado or are filling a remote position that may have applicants from Colorado, you may need to include salary information. It is also helpful to include information about employment benefits, and don't forget to include information about equal employment opportunity or other information as required by law.

Executive Assistant Job Description Examples

In this section, we share sample executive assistant job descriptions found on LinkedIn from various industries to help you create your own. The first job description is a good example of a job summary for an executive assistant. The second job description includes a full list of responsibilities that you should consider including in your job description. And the third example shows the common skills, qualifications, and background of an executive assistant.

Example 1. Executive Assistant to the General Counsel

We are looking for an Executive Assistant to support the Legal Director who is responsible for Legal Affairs, Compliance, Government Affairs and Human Resources. This role will coordinate and manage executive programming, prepare and organize major legal and strategic materials and plans, and support board meetings and the preparation of board materials.

This role serves as the eyes and ears of the CLO, connecting organizations, projects, and critical business information with the CLO, ensuring meetings and materials are efficient and effective, and serving as a trusted partner in meeting legal business priorities.

The dynamic nature of this role requires the ideal candidate to have exemplary time management skills and the ability to identify and anticipate the CLO's needs. The role should interact smoothly and with professional demeanor across a wide range of people, including members of the senior management team, the board of directors, and leaders reporting to the CLO.

To perform this job successfully, the individual is expected to handle highly sensitive and confidential financial, legal, personal and institutional information while exercising professionalism and discretion.

This is a good example of a job summary or introduction to your job description, as it includes a summary of the role of the executive assistant.

Example 2. Executive Assistant in an Information Systems Company

Job Summary

The executive assistant provides administrative and operational support to the chief information officer (CIO).

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Work directly with the CIO to support all aspects of their daily work routine.
• Maintain the CIO's calendar, including scheduling meetings, appointments, talks, and travel arrangements (may include domestic and international). Exercise discretion in spending time and assessing needs.
• Serve as liaison between the CIO, ACGME staff, and the public. This includes receiving and screening CIO phone calls and visitors, tactfully and diplomatically answering a variety of questions, receiving messages, and routing calls appropriately for resolution.
• Coordinate work with other ACGME staff as needed; play a key role in coordinating the efforts of staff both within and outside the department.
• Provide coordination, monitoring and communication of the projects and programs managed by the IS Department and the Program Management Office (PMO) of ACGME.
• Assist in the activities and processes of the PMO, including project planning, intake, prioritization, initiation, execution and training; as well as fostering collaboration of end users and key stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between the CIO Office and the IS governance groups, including helping to coordinate the work of the different groups and providing administrative support for governance meetings.
• Assist the CIO in developing presentations and white papers for internal and external audiences.
• Determine the priority of the CIO's attention issues; redirect matters to staff for handling, or handle matters personally, as appropriate.
• Keep the CIO informed on priority and time-sensitive issues, ensuring proper follow-up.
• Routinely perform a wide variety of support tasks.
• Handle printing, faxing, overnight mail/packages, copying, filing, and email/messaging.
• Sort and classify mail; maintain email and other address directories.
• Draft and prepare letters related to routine correspondence for the CIO's signature.
• Schedule departmental meetings; assist in the preparation and distribution of meeting agendas and materials.
• Transcribe source material, prepare documents, reports, tables and graphs; distribute as appropriate.
• Prepare, reconcile and submit expense reports.
• Maintain paper and electronic filing systems.
• Keep information confidential and sensitive.
• Attend meetings and take notes of discussions; Prepare initial draft of minutes and summaries.
• Complete a variety of special projects, including creating PowerPoint presentations, financial spreadsheets, special reports, and agenda material.
• Other additional and/or alternate duties as assigned from time to time, including supporting other departments or executives as needed.

This example provides a complete list of responsibilities to consider including in your job description, adjusting them as necessary to meet the needs of your company.

Example 3. Executive assistant to the marketing director of a large financial services company

The ideal candidate is

• A detail-oriented entrepreneur with prior experience in the financial services industry or with a technology team
• Someone who exhibits good judgment with the ability to prioritize and make decisions.
• Energetic and eager to tackle new projects and ideas.
• Comfortable interacting with high level executives
• A team player capable of cultivating productive working relationships throughout the company.
• Resourceful and can-do attitude
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment

Skill Set and Background

• preferred bachelor's degree
• Three to five years of prior experience supporting a senior executive or team
• Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel)
• Exceptional writing, editing and proofreading skills
• Familiarity with Morgan Stanley and the financial/wealth management industry is a plus
• Excellent organization and time management skills.

This example shows the type of skills, qualifications, and background often required for an executive assistant.