Executive Assistant to the CEO (Associate Director level)

About EAB

At EAB, our mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. We work with more than 2,800 institutions to drive transformative change through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and advancement. We work with each partner differently, tailoring our portfolio of research, technology, and marketing and enrollment solutions to meet the unique needs of every leadership team, as well as the students and employees they serve.

At EAB, we serve not only our partner institutions but each other—that's why we are always working to make sure our employees love their jobs and are invested in their communities. See how we've been recognized for this dedication to our employees by checking out our recent awards.

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The Executive Assistant to the CEO provides administrative, operational, and communications support to the Chief Executive Officer, serving as a trusted partner in managing the CEO’s time, priorities, relationships, and day-to-day workflow.

This role requires exceptional judgment, discretion, attention to detail, follow-through, and a thoughtful, collaborative working style. The Executive Assistant must be able to build trust quickly, communicate clearly, manage sensitive information appropriately, and ensure the CEO is prepared and organized across a high-volume schedule of meetings, partner conversations, board and leadership activities, travel, and company events.

This role is based in Washington, DC and requires regular in-person presence in the office, generally at least three days per week, with flexibility to be onsite more frequently based on the CEO’s schedule, leadership meetings, board-related activities, events, or other business needs. This role may also require occasional flexibility outside standard business hours when urgent executive, partner, board, travel, or event-related needs arise. 

For internal leveling purposes, this position is equivalent to EAB’s Associate Director level.  This position is posted at both the Senior Manager and Associate Director levels; candidates are being considered across both levels based on experience, with final level determined at the time of offer.

Executive Calendar Management

• →Manage and maintain the CEO’s complex calendar, including internal meetings, external partner meetings, leadership forums, revenue reviews, board-related meetings, and recurring check-ins.

• →Schedule, reschedule, and prioritize meetings based on urgency, business importance, stakeholder availability, travel, PTO, and shifting executive priorities.

• →Proactively identify calendar conflicts and recommend solutions that protect the CEO’s time and keep business priorities moving.

• →Coordinate meeting logistics, including calendar invites, attendee lists, virtual meeting links, room details, agendas, timing, meals, materials, and follow-up needs.

• →Anticipate preparation needs and help ensure the CEO has the information, context, and materials needed for upcoming meetings and commitments.

Executive Communications and Stakeholder Coordination

• →Serve as a key point of contact for the CEO’s office with internal leaders, team members, external partners, board members, and other executive assistants.

• →Draft and send clear, professional, and timely communications on behalf of the CEO or in support of the CEO’s priorities.

• →Coordinate across departments and leadership teams to resolve scheduling questions, confirm attendance, clarify next steps, and move decisions forward.

• →Help manage the flow of information to and from the CEO’s office, ensuring communications are accurate, appropriately prioritized, and handled with discretion.

Chief of Staff Support and Executive Priorities

• →Provide high-level support to the CEO’s Chief of Staff on executive communications, leadership forum planning, firmwide priorities, and special projects.

• →Coordinate scheduling, logistics, materials, agendas, attendee management, and follow-up for CEO-led meetings, leadership forums, and other high-visibility internal engagements.

• →Support projects that require strong organization, sound judgment, discretion, attention to detail, and cross-functional coordination.

• →Partner with the CEO to track key priorities, commitments, and follow-up items, using weekly one-on-one check-ins to help ensure important work stays on track.

• →Anticipate executive follow-up needs by identifying conversations, commitments, relationship touchpoints, and emerging priorities that require additional action.

Travel, Event, and Executive Logistics

• →Support executive participation in board meetings, incentive trips, partner visits, dinners, leadership gatherings, and other high-priority engagements.

• →Coordinate attendee information, meal selections, travel-related details, schedules, materials, and event logistics.

• →Partner with internal event teams and stakeholders to ensure details are accurate, complete, and well managed.

• →Proactively identify logistical issues or gaps and work with the appropriate stakeholders to resolve them quickly and professionally.

• →Coordinate travel arrangements and process expense reports.

• →Maintain the CEO’s filing and recordkeeping systems with accuracy, discretion, and strong attention to detail.

Confidentiality and Judgment

• →Handle sensitive executive, organizational, partner, board, and personnel-related information with discretion.

• →Exercise sound judgment when prioritizing requests, managing communications, and representing the CEO’s office.

• →Maintain professionalism and composure in fast-moving, high-visibility situations.

Working Style and Role Expectations

• →Bring a thoughtful, service-oriented, and collaborative approach to supporting the CEO, Chief of Staff, senior leaders, colleagues, and external partners.

• →Demonstrate superb attention to detail, accuracy, responsiveness, and follow-through, especially in high-visibility or time-sensitive situations.

• →Remain calm, flexible, and solutions-oriented when priorities shift, urgent issues arise, or plans change unexpectedly.

• →Take ownership of work, acknowledge mistakes when they occur, and focus quickly on resolution, learning, and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education, training, and professional experience.

• 5+ years of experience providing administrative support to senior-level executives.

• Experience supporting a senior leader, executive, C-suite leader, or similarly complex business function.

• Strong calendar management and scheduling experience, especially with high-volume or multi-stakeholder calendars.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail.

• Ability to manage competing priorities, shifting timelines, and urgent requests with professionalism.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, calendar tools, virtual meeting platforms, and standard office productivity tools.

• High level of discretion and ability to handle confidential information appropriately.

• Strong ability to anticipate executive needs and act proactively without waiting for detailed direction.

• Experience coordinating board meetings, leadership meetings, executive events, or other senior-level gatherings.

• Ability to exercise judgment when prioritizing requests and protecting executive time.

• Strong sense of ownership and accountability, including the ability to acknowledge mistakes, resolve issues quickly, and learn from feedback.

• Interest in building institutional knowledge and providing consistent, high-quality support over time, recognizing the importance of continuity, trust, and long-term partnership in the CEO’s office.

• Commitment to embracing a continual learning environment and contributing to a dynamic and welcoming culture of fairness, authenticity, and belonging in support of EAB’s mission, values, and aspiration

If you’ve reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome new perspectives and learn from each other’s unique experiences. We would encourage you to submit an application if this is a role you would be passionate about doing every day.