Senior Executive Assistant to the CEO-California Closets- Detroit

Job Description

Job Description

Steele Recruiting LLC is a Retained Search firm located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with national reach, specializing in permanent placements of Executive Administrative Assistants, Personal Assistants, and Chiefs of Staff for C-Suite and Senior Leadership Executives across the United States.

With over 20 years in recruitment, we have a solid reputation for quality placements, professionalism, and maintaining confidentiality for every client and candidate.

We are thrilled to partner with our trusted client, California Closets, on a Senior  Executive Assistant tothe President/CEO role in Detroit (Wixom), Michigan.

California Closets Detroit designs, builds, and installs custom storage for homes across southeast Michigan. It is a female-owned, certified WBENC, well-established, family-owned business with a strong reputation for quality and craftsmanship. The company offers a fully integrated approach, bringing design, manufacturing, and installation together under one roof.

They are growing, adding a new showroom in Birmingham, and are more deliberate about how they run. Founded in 1978, California Closets has built a reputation as the leader and design authority in delivering custom-designed organizational solutions for the whole home.

California Closets designs, manufactures, and installs custom storage and organizational solutions for homes throughout Southeast Michigan. Founded in 1978, California Closets has established itself as an industry leader and design authority in creating innovative, custom-designed solutions for the entire home.

The Southeast Michigan operation is a well-established, family-owned, women-owned, and WBENC-certified business with a strong reputation for quality, craftsmanship, and exceptional customer service. With design, manufacturing, and installation all under one roof, the company delivers a seamless experience from concept to completion.

They believe home is more than just a place; it should be a meaningful source of creativity, comfort, and connection. California Closets creates highly personalized organizational solutions for the whole home, called Practical Magic™. This company works on projects ranging from the smallest to the most lavish designs in the most distinguished homes; you will play an intricate role for the CEO and the team overall.

California Closet-Mission, Vision, Values

Mission Statement: Delivering a lasting, custom-crafted product and personal experience that exceeds our customers' expectations.

Vision Statement: A unified team that feels empowered, valued, and motivated to deliver excellence.

Core Values:

• Deliver what you promise

• Respect the individual

• Practice continuous improvement

• Have pride in what you do

They genuinely care about their people and consistently put their team first. That commitment is reflected in the remarkable tenure and loyalty of their employees.

The Role

The Sr EA to the CEO is a proactive extension of the President/CEO who keeps the business organized and moving. This is a high-trust support role for someone who enjoys helping a business owner operate at her highest level. You will work directly with the President & CEO, making sure decisions get recorded, projects keep progressing, and the leadership team is working from one shared picture.

It is broader than a traditional assistant role. Alongside classic executive support, you will coordinate administrative and office projects across the company, keep commitments visible, and take the administrative weight out of recruiting and marketing so those functions run on time. If you like being the person who makes an organization work, this is that role.

What Makes This Role Outstanding?

This is a unique opportunity to step into a newly created role with direct access to and influence with the owner and newly promoted female CEO of a family-owned business. As a second-generation, female CEO, she is leading the organization into its next chapter while building on the values and history that have made the company successful.

Because this is a new role, there is a genuine opportunity to make it your own. Many of the tracking systems, routines, processes, and ways information moves through the organization have yet to be established. The right person will see where structure is needed, create practical solutions, and help build the systems that allow the CEO and the business to operate more effectively. In a company of this size, your work will be highly visible, your contributions will matter, and you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

This is a company that feels like a family within a family, grounded in strong values and a proud tradition of generations working together. The quality of their work is consistently recognized and appreciated by clients, creating a genuine sense of pride, purpose, and connection across the entire team.

You will be the glue that holds the CEO and team together!

Primary Responsibilities

Executive Assistant to the CEO Support

• Calendar and priority management. Own and manage the CEO's calendar, ensuring her time reflects the priorities of the business. Anticipate what is coming, prepare ahead, resolve conflicts, and protect time for the work only the CEO can do.

• Correspondence and communication. Support day-to-day correspondence, draft and prepare communications as needed, organize information, and ensure important messages, requests, and follow-ups do not fall through the cracks.

• Travel coordination. Arrange light business travel, including flights, accommodations, transportation, itineraries, and related logistics.

• Meeting preparation and follow-through. Ensure the CEO is prepared for key meetings with the right information, materials, and context. Capture decisions, commitments, and next steps and ensure they move forward following the meeting.

• Project coordination. Keep leadership projects and initiatives moving by tracking scope, owners, milestones, and deadlines. Follow up on what is late and flag what is stuck before it becomes a problem.

• Commitments and accountability. Maintain a clear system for leadership commitments, including owners, due dates, and current status. Proactively follow up and surface overdue or at-risk items early.

• Information and systems. Create and maintain practical tracking systems, routines, and processes that improve how information moves between the CEO, leadership team, and broader organization. Identify gaps and develop solutions rather than waiting for a process to be handed to you.

• Company gatherings and leadership meetings. Coordinate all-company meetings held several times throughout the year, as well as company social events, from scheduling and logistics through materials and follow-up communication. Compile materials in advance of leadership meetings and turn decisions and action items into a clear written record.

• Executive partnership. Serve as a trusted extension of the CEO, anticipating needs, connecting the dots across priorities, and creating the structure and follow-through that allows the CEO to remain focused on leading the business.

Additional Office & Team Support

While the primary focus of this role is supporting the CEO and helping drive leadership priorities forward, this person will also provide light administrative and coordination support across the organization as needed.

• General office and team support. Provide light administrative support to the broader team, including assistance with new-hire onboarding, company initiatives, events, and occasional office needs.

• Event planning. Coordinate company and office events, including quarterly team socials and in-house events for clients and customers. Manage scheduling, vendors, logistics, materials, and other details to ensure events are well organized and professionally executed.

• Recruiting coordination, as needed. When the company is hiring, assist with job postings, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, candidate communication, reference checks, and onboarding logistics to keep the hiring process organized and moving forward.

• Marketing coordination. Support the CEO in managing the marketing content calendar, coordinating timelines and following up with internal team members to keep initiatives on track. Serve as a point of coordination with vendors, agencies, and event partners as needed, while marketing strategy, creative direction, and budget ownership remain with others.

• Company records and organizational rhythm. Maintain accurate and current versions of key organizational resources, including the org chart, role documents, quarterly priorities, annual business calendar, and approved company policies.

Required Experience and Competencies

• 3–5+ years of experience supporting a C-suite executive or senior business leader, ideally within an entrepreneurial, privately held, or growing business environment.

• Project coordination and operational experience, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders. Experience within a retail, service, or customer-facing organization is preferred.

• A builder's mindset. You have experience identifying a need, creating a process or system where one did not previously exist, and improving how work gets done.

• Exceptional organization and attention to detail, with the ability to use technology, tracking tools, and systems to keep priorities, projects, and commitments organized and moving forward.

• Clear, polished written and verbal communication skills, with the professionalism and judgment to communicate on behalf of the CEO and represent the executive office well.

• Confidence and tact in holding others accountable. You are comfortable following up with colleagues at all levels, including senior leaders, and can be appropriately persistent without being abrasive.

• Sound judgment and discretion, with demonstrated experience handling sensitive, confidential, and business-critical information.

• Strong technology skills, including Microsoft Office and experience with CRM platforms such as Salesforce. You are comfortable leveraging AI tools where appropriate and quickly learning new technologies and project management systems as the business evolves.

• A team-oriented, hands-on approach. You are willing to step in where needed and have experience supporting broader organizational needs such as new-hire onboarding, marketing coordination, and company or client events. Experience across these areas is a plus.

Compensation and Benefits:

• $80,000 to 100,000 annual salary

• Bonus potential target 10%

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• PTO and Paid Holiday Schedule

• 401K company contributes 2%

• Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability

• HSA

• Life Insurance

• Pet Insurance plan

• A family first, and an amazing team and culture

• This is an in-office position, located in their Wixom, Michigan showroom

California Closets is committed to complying with all laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by local, state, and federal law.