Executive Assistant

Charleston Animal Society is seeking an accomplished Executive Assistant to serve as a high-trust extension of our President and CEO! The Executive Assistant is a high-trust extension of the President and CEO and a central point of coordination for the executive office. The position protects the CEO's time, attention, commitments, and decision-making capacity; anticipates needs; ensures disciplined follow-through; and helps information move securely and accurately among the Board of Directors, executive leadership, employees, donors, public officials, partners, and other stakeholders. Success requires exceptional judgment, discretion, technological fluency, initiative, and constructive assertiveness. The Executive Assistant recognizes risk, asks clarifying questions, respectfully presses for decisions or materials, redirects requests when appropriate, and resolves matters independently within clearly defined authority. Key Responsibilities: Serve as a trusted thought partner and administrative gatekeeper to the President and CEO, applying organizational priorities and context to daily decisions. Anticipate needs, identify missing information, surface risks, and recommend practical next steps before issues become urgent. Triage requests, correspondence, invitations, and emerging issues; determine what can be resolved, delegated, deferred, declined, or escalated. Protect the CEO's focus time, seek clarity, reset expectations, and request timely materials while maintaining relationships and professionalism. Maintain a forward-looking view of the CEO's commitments, dependencies, deadlines, and decision points across the organization. Own a complex, rapidly changing executive calendar and resolve conflicts based on strategic importance, preparation requirements, travel time, confidentiality, and the CEO's working preferences. Plan and confirm meetings, events, speaking engagements, annual gatherings, and travel, including agendas, participants, itineraries, logistics, background materials, talking points, and contingencies. Prepare concise daily and weekly briefings so the CEO understands the purpose, desired outcome, required decisions, sensitivities, and follow-up for consequential engagements. Record complete and accurate minutes when assigned; capture decisions and action items, confirm owners and deadlines, and follow through until matters are closed. Coordinate expenses, invoices, registrations, memberships, travel records, and related administration in accordance with policy and internal controls. Maintain the CEO's professional credentials and coordinate renewal requirements and deadlines. Provide high-level administrative support to the Board of Directors, Board Co-Chairs, committee chairs, and executive leadership as directed by the CEO. Coordinate Board and committee calendars, notices, agendas, briefing materials, secure distribution, attendance, logistics, minutes, orientation, recognition, and follow-up in alignment with bylaws, policy, and leadership expectations. Protect executive-session and other restricted materials; maintain authoritative rosters, calendars, resolutions, leadership directories, and governance records in approved locations. Monitor recurring governance cycles and deadlines, including Board orientations, evaluations, policy reviews, officer and committee activities, member recognition, and major Board decisions. Communicate with Board members using sound judgment, responsiveness, diplomacy, and strict respect for roles and authority. Handle personnel, compensation, legal, donor, financial, government, Board, investigation, crisis, and other sensitive information with exceptional discretion. Use need-to-know principles, approved communication channels, secure storage, sound records practices, and the organization's retention requirements. Recognize privacy, cybersecurity, reputational, governance, and conflict-of-interest risks and elevate them promptly through the proper channel. Ensure business records created through email, messaging, meetings, notes, and digital tools are captured in the appropriate organizational system. Organize and maintain executive files and designated institutional records, including the history of organizational awards and recipients, trademarks, and copyrights. Draft, edit, format, and proofread executive correspondence, Board communications, briefings, presentations, acknowledgments, reports, and other materials in the CEO's voice. Serve as a professional liaison among the CEO, Board, leadership team, employees, donors, public officials, consultants, community leaders, and external partners. Maintain stakeholder context, commitments, preferred communications, and relationship sensitivities so follow-up is timely and informed. Respond to or redirect inquiries within delegated authority and communicate delays, declines, and boundaries tactfully and confidently. Support high-profile visits, events, announcements, and crisis communications while respecting approval and spokesperson protocols. Coordinate student, volunteer, and community-partner requests assigned to the executive office, including Charleston School of Law pro bono activities, in alignment with the CEO's priorities. Administer designated organizational accounts and memberships and maintain accurate access and renewal information. Manage shared meeting-space calendars and coordinate with responsible departments to ensure rooms are scheduled, stocked, clean, and prepared while minimizing conflicts. Coordinate special projects assigned by the CEO, establishing work plans, owners, deadlines, decision points, and status reporting. Respond calmly and flexibly to urgent operational, animal welfare, weather, facility, personnel, public, or reputational situations and adjust priorities without losing critical commitments. Provide backup and coordination across administrative functions when mission continuity requires it, without bypassing organizational authority or internal controls. Perform other duties reasonably related to the purpose of the executive office and the position. Qualifications: At least seven years of progressively responsible executive, senior administrative, or comparable support experience; direct support of a CEO or other C-suite executive is strongly preferred. Associate or bachelor's degree preferred; an equivalent combination of relevant education, training, and high-level experience will be considered. Demonstrated experience managing a complex executive calendar, confidential matters, competing deadlines, senior stakeholders, and work requiring independent judgment. Exceptional written communication, editing, proofreading, verbal communication, and minute-taking skills, with the ability to represent the CEO and organization professionally. Excellent organization, attention to detail, accuracy, self-management, initiative, and ability to work autonomously under changing deadlines. Strong interpersonal skills and the diplomacy, tact, empathy, and constructive assertiveness needed to build relationships with staff, Board members, and external stakeholders. Strong project-management, problem-solving, and follow-through skills, including the ability to analyze and present data and improve processes. Advanced proficiency with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, including collaborative document workflows; ability to learn new systems and troubleshoot routine issues. Ability to responsibly use approved artificial intelligence and automation tools while protecting confidential, personal, donor, employee, legal, and proprietary information. Familiarity with Board portals, donor or customer relationship systems, Zoom, e-signature, survey, design, project-management, travel, expense, and event platforms; Canva and Adobe experience is helpful. Experience supporting a nonprofit Board of Directors, Board officers, or committees is preferred. Valid driver's license and a driving record acceptable under organizational requirements. Ability to work primarily on-site and support occasional early-morning, evening, weekend, emergency, travel, or event responsibilities with reasonable notice when circumstances permit. Ability to travel throughout Charleston County, South Carolina, and nationally as needed. Ability to walk, stand, move equipment and animals, and lift up to 50 pounds. Pre-employment drug test, background check, and references are required. #J-18808-Ljbffr