Jobs at Newfields a Place for Nature & The Arts (Now Hiring) — 5 open

Job Title: Executive Assistant of Finance and Operations

Department: Administration

Reports To: COO/CFO

FLSA Status: Exempt

 

Overview    

Reporting directly to the CFO and COO, the Executive Assistant provides executive-level support in a collaborative working relationship with both leaders. The Executive Assistant serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies.  This role functions as a strategic thought partner and operational multiplier — ensuring the executive’s time is consistently directed toward the highest-impact work that only they can do. The COO oversees a department of 140+ individuals across Security, IT, Facilities, Construction Management, Production/Media Services, and Guest Experience; disciplined time stewardship and proactive SLA accountability are therefore essential functions of this role. The Executive Assistant must be creative and enjoy working within a small, entrepreneurial environment that is mission-driven, results-driven and community-oriented. The ideal individual will have the ability to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. The Executive Assistant will have the ability to work independently on projects, from conception to completion, and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities and confidential matters with discretion.

 

Key Responsibilities

Executive Support

• Completes a broad variety of administrative tasks including: managing extremely active calendars of appointments; completing expense reports; composing and preparing correspondence that is sometimes confidential; arranging complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agendas; placing phone calls; handling all incoming/outgoing mail; and processing documents for signature/approval.
• Plans, coordinates and ensures schedules are followed and respected. Provides a "gatekeeper" and "gateway" role, creating win-win situations for direct access to their time and office.
• Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously, proactively, and follows-through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressures.
• Communicates directly, and on behalf of the CFO and COO, with all internal and external individuals including: the public, employees, donors, boards, visitors, callers, etc.   
• Provides a bridge for smooth communication with internal departments; demonstrating leadership to maintain credibility, trust, and support with senior management staff.
• Works closely and effectively with the CFO and COO to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, and following up appropriately. Acts as a "barometer," having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment and keeping them updated. Actively tracks outstanding response commitments, pending approvals, and project deliverable deadlines, providing regular status reminders and flagging items at risk of missing agreed-upon SLAs.
• Responsible for scheduling, managing, and maintaining the complex calendars including approving and prioritizing all meetings, resolving conflicts, proactively scheduling important meetings with internal and external individuals, and RSVPs in response to all incoming invitations.
• Fully coordinates meetings, including Board-level meetings, assisting in the preparation of materials for presentations, handouts, and correspondences. Records, transcribes, and circulates minutes of board and board-related committee meetings.
• Provides administrative assistance to the spouses on scheduling and informational support for museum-related business and events.
• Makes all travel arrangements for the CFO and COO.
• Handles all reimbursements, purchase orders, and check requests on behalf of the CFO and COO. Creates and submits annual departmental budget for approval and monitors it monthly.
• Maintains files and other records and documents.
• Works on special projects on behalf of the CFO and COO
• Serves as a thought partner to the CFO and COO by researching topics, preparing briefing materials, synthesizing information from across the organization, and helping the executive prepare for high-stakes decisions, conversations, and presentations.
• Anticipates what the CFO and COO will need before they need it — scanning the horizon for emerging issues, conflicts, or decisions that require the executive’s attention and surfacing them proactively with appropriate context.
• Drafts, manages, and follows up on correspondence and email on behalf of the CFO and COO, ensuring timely and professional responses and flagging communications requiring the executive’s personal attention.

 

Project Management

• Coordinating with cross-discipline team members to make sure that all parties are on track with project requirements, deadlines, and schedules. 
• Meeting with project team members to identify and resolve issues. 
• Submitting project deliverables and ensuring that they adhere to quality standards.
• Preparing status reports by gathering, analyzing, and summarizing relevant information. 
• Establishing effective project communication plans and ensuring their execution. 
• Facilitating change requests to ensure that all parties are informed of the impacts on schedule and budget. 
• Coordinating the development of user manuals, training materials, and other documents as needed to enable successful implementation and turnover of the process or system to the end users. 
• Identifying and developing new opportunities with partners.
• Obtaining partner acceptance of project deliverables. 
• Managing client satisfaction within the project transition period. 

Conducting post-project evaluation and identifying successful and unsuccessful project elements.