Executive Assistant & Board Liasion

Job Description

Job Description

The Executive Assistant to the President & CEO and Board Liaison provides high-level executive support directly to the President & CEO while serving as the organization’s primary coordinator for Board of Directors and Foundation governance and liaison activities. This role is the central point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the Office of the President & CEO. The position demands exceptional project ownership, proactive follow-through, and the ability to independently manage complex, concurrent workstreams—including board meeting logistics, nominations processes, stakeholder touchpoints, partnership outreach, and community-building initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities

I. President & CEO Support

• Serve as the primary interface between the President & CEO and all internal and external

stakeholders; assess, manage, and execute on myriad demands for the CEO’s time including speaking

engagements, media requests, testimony, and written correspondence.

• Coordinate and optimize the President & CEO’s calendar, including processing frequent domestic

and

international travel arrangements and managing numerous last-minute scheduling adjustments.

• Conduct daily check-ins with the CEO, including inbox review, to-do list management via Asana,

and weekly calendar reviews every Wednesday.

• Manage the CEO’s stakeholder engagement cadence: maintain a running tracker of 36 Zoom calls and

12–15 in-person visits per year, ensuring targets are met.

• Prepare and edit reports, presentations, and written correspondence on behalf of the President &

CEO.

• Compile and analyze data for special projects and maintain organized case files on key

organizational initiatives (e.g., DASI, Branding, Census/Economic Impact, The Show).

• Prepare budgets for the Executive Office, Board of Directors, and other functional lines under

Executive Office administration; ensure expenses are properly recorded and reports submitted

accurately and on time.

• Identify and develop reusable templates for recurring communications, documents, and processes

to improve operational efficiency year over year.

• Occasionally act as personal assistant in addition to customary Executive Assistant

responsibilities.

Staff Engagement & Internal Culture

• Collaborate with the CEO and designated staff leads to develop agendas for all-staff meetings,

including department spotlight segments.

• Draft and distribute pre-federal holiday communications on behalf of the CEO.

• Coordinate CEO one-on-one touchpoints with staff across all reporting lines, including

scheduling annual lunches, coffees, or walking meetings; arrange for Senior Team 1:1s to

periodically occur outside the office.

III. Partnership Outreach & Member Relations

• Manage scheduling and follow-up for CEO partnership outreach with external organizations (e.g., SNAC, Specialty Coffee Association, MSU, CAMA), coordinating with internal staff as needed.

• Identify opportunities for member recognition and relationship-building, including congratulatory notes, thank-you notes, and milestone acknowledgments on behalf of the CEO and NAMA.

• Develop and maintain standards for gifts sent from the CEO versus those sent on behalf of NAMA.

IV. Board of Directors – Governance & Logistics

• Lead the end-to-end board meeting preparation process: collaborate with executive and events staff on site selection, event timelines, agendas, printed materials (agenda, minutes, financials), programs, AV, and all onsite logistics.

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive checklist and timeline of materials required for each board meeting, including scheduling a walk-through meeting with the senior team in advance.

• Collect, process, and distribute notes from each board meeting (distinct from formal minutes).

• Maintain up-to-date administrative materials including Directors List (position, name, company, location, email, and term), bylaws, past agendas and minutes, committee rosters, and roll call lists.

• Manage the Board portal: update dashboard, meeting dates, and upload meeting materials.

• Assist Board members with registration for all NAMA events (Retreat, Show, Fly-In, CTW).

• Manage the CEO’s board member touchpoint cadence: Monthly CEO Updates, quarterly check-ins (pre-Retreat, post-Show, August, and pre-November), and post-meeting communications to the Board Chair with relevant hooks and follow-up.

• Proactively identify ways to leverage individual board members’ expertise, including preparing discussion prompts for board meetings.

• Manage monthly outreach to key board members on behalf of the CEO, including birthday recognition and one-touch emails sharing relevant NAMA news.

V. Board Nominations & Onboarding

• Manage the annual Officer and Director Nominations process end to end, including: establishing the framework and timeline with the Immediate Past Chair (August); coordinating recruitment expectations with the Vice Chair (September); finalizing committee membership by September 30; clearing meeting dates with committee members (October); opening nominations and coordinating CEO outreach to prospects (December/January); and ensuring Officer approvals at the Retreat Board Meeting and Director approvals at the Show Meeting.

• Schedule separate orientation calls and allow for extended candidate interviews during the nominations cycle.

• Manage the New Director Orientation program: review format and timing, revise the orientation deck (incorporating nonprofit governance context and the organizational timeline of achievements), and consult with designated board members as needed.

VI. Foundation Support

• Serve as project lead for Foundation meeting logistics until a replacement is identified, managing all preparation, materials, and follow-up.

• Maintain Foundation administrative materials: Directors List (with terms), bylaws, past agendas and minutes, roll call list, and Roles & Goals one-pager describing the Foundation’s mission.

• Develop a checklist and timeline for Foundation meeting materials, including a senior team walk-through.

• Manage quarterly Foundation touchpoints: Monthly Foundation Updates and quarterly check-ins (pre-Retreat, post-Show, August, and pre-December).

• Identify what activities engage individual Foundation members and find opportunities to leverage their expertise.

• Create and manage the Foundation onboarding program, including developing an orientation deck and consulting with designated board members.

• Support the hiring process for a dedicated Foundation staff position, including drafting the job description and posting in coordination with HR.

VII. Special Projects & KPI Development

• Provide project assistance on KPI development efforts led by the CEO.

• Support the launch and coordination of Special Interest Groups (e.g., Women In NAMA, Emerging Leaders Network) as defined.

• Take ownership of special projects as assigned, managing timelines, materials, and stakeholder communications from initiation through completion.

Behavioral Requirements & Competencies

• Highly collaborative style with a sincere commitment to working effectively with staff, board members, association members, volunteers, vendors, and external partners.

• Demonstrated mastery of enabling and supporting the success of others; takes professional pride and satisfaction in performing this essential function for the President & CEO, Executive Staff, the Board, and the Association.

• Strong project ownership mentality—proactively identifies issues, generates recommendations, and implements solutions without waiting to be directed.

• Maintains confidentiality with unquestionable integrity; strictly avoids misuse of position or the influence of those represented.

• Excellent organizational skills with meticulous attention to detail; ability to handle multiple concurrent projects and balance competing priorities.

• Superior written and oral communication skills across all levels of the organization.

• Innate curiosity and drive for continuous learning and process improvement.

 

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience: Minimum 5–7 years of experience in an association, nonprofit, or comparable executive support environment. Prior experience supporting C-suite executives and/or board governance strongly preferred.
• Technical Proficiency: High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). Experience with project management tools (e.g., Asana), virtual meeting platforms (Zoom, MS Teams), and board portals (e.g., OnBoard) preferred. Familiarity with online collaboration and document management tools (e.g., SharePoint, Dropbox, Survey Monkey).