Executive Assistant, Office of the President

Democracy Fund

Position description

Democracy Fund is a foundation working to defend American democracy and challenge it to be more open and just.  Created by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar, Democracy Fund has made more than $200 million in grants to support free and fair elections, a vibrant and diverse public square, effective and accountable government, and a just and inclusive society.  In addition to grantmaking, Democracy Fund advocates for better solutions and works with partners to grow philanthropic support for our democracy.  To learn more, visit www.democracyfund.org and www.democracyfundvoice.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

Democracy Fund champions leaders and organizations who defend democracy and challenge our political system to be more open and just. We also believe as grantmakers we must be humble and oriented towards listening and service, recognizing that our grantees are visionaries and collaborators who we want to help succeed in the world. The Office of the President supports the leadership of the organization’s chief executive in order to provide strategic direction for the organization. The office also enables special initiatives and experimental grantmaking at the organization and supports external leadership in the field.

The Executive Assistant provides high-level administrative support to, and serves as the first point of contact for, Democracy Fund’s Office of the President, which includes our President, his Senior Associate, and the Managing Director of Program. The Executive Assistant should be a systems thinker who understands the nature of our grantmaking strategies as well as how the different teams at Democracy Fund interact. This role will serve as an anchor within the Office of the President, connecting and working with every part of our organization and with external audiences to support open communications, smooth collaboration, and increased efficiencies.

We will look to the Executive Assistant to help us design and manage internal team processes, coordinate meetings and events, provide support for grantmaking and team level accounting, and provide administrative and coordination support of key tasks for the team and across the organization. The successful candidate will be a resourceful, highly collaborative team player who possesses strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organizational skills, and who excels at managing a realistic balance among multiple priorities. Able to work independently on projects from conception to completion, the ideal candidate will enjoy meeting deadlines, designing and refining processes to make them run smoothly, and enhancing internal communication.

While this is initially a one-year term position, the position has the potential to become permanent in 2022. This role reports to the Senior Associate in the Office of the President.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Executive Assistant’s responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following:

HIGH-LEVEL ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE SUPPORT

• Responsible for overall administration and coordination for the Office of the President, including managing appointments, arranging all travel logistics, and other administrative tasks as needed.
• Provide support for meetings, including agenda development, facilitation support, scheduling, preparing any necessary technology, ensuring compilation and sharing of relevant background information, notetaking, and overseeing follow-up communications or next steps.
• Work closely with both the President and the Managing Director of Program to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities.
• Take initiative by following up and following through, and prioritizing conflicting issues to ensure that all team and organization-level objectives are met.
• Coordinate closely with, and provide backup support to, the Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer, as needed.

OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS & PROCESSES

• Design and facilitate core operational systems and processes to help the Office of the President run smoothly and, in partnership with other coordination leads and the Operations team, propose cross-organizational system improvements.
• Work with Democracy Fund staff and consultants to manage contract administration, expenses, and invoices. Monitor and proactively follow up on workflows for grants, contracts, and payments.
• Support team-wide budgeting processes such as annual planning, tracking spending, and regular reforecasting.
• Provide administrative support for grantmaking, such as management of the grant pipeline, tracking deadlines, and due dates for reports and payments.
• Manage and organize Office of the President data, including contacts, meeting agendas, and files. Use discretion and good judgment when managing documents with confidential information.
• In coordination with the Partnerships Team, track and support engagement with peer funders, including supporting management of contact database when needed.
• In coordination with the Communications and Network team, and Strategy, Impact and Learning team, support external and partner event planning when needed.
• On occasion, provide project management for special initiatives, and provide additional capacity on key cross-organizational initiatives.

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

• Help ensure clear communications across the Office of the President and between the team and the broader organization.
• Track, manage, and follow up on existing and incoming external contacts with professionalism, cultivating ongoing relationships as needed.
• Partner with other Executive Assistants and Team Coordinators to support organization-wide workflow planning and keep the Office of the President informed of key priorities and bottlenecks.
• Work closely with the Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer to support the executive team, management team, and all-staff meetings.
• Support correspondence with the Board of Directors, calendaring and logistics for Board Meetings, and assist in the preparation of Board materials.
• Support the President and Managing Director in fostering connection with staff by proposing and implementing initiatives that build a trust-based, inclusive culture.

TEAM MEMBER

• Serve as a team player with the ability to build strong relationships and work collaboratively.
• Work effectively with staff at all levels, balancing projects and priorities for multiple team members.
• Work with other staff and the Operations team specifically to develop, support, and refine strong cross-organizational systems.
• Contribute to a team culture that values collaboration, positivity, and transparency and that drives towards impact through continuous improvement and learning.
• Actively work to support the success of other members of the entire Democracy Fund team and cultivate an organizational culture that is highly collaborative, positive, and productive.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Deep passion for strengthening American democracy.
• 3-5 years’ experience supporting C-level executives and executive teams, preferably in a nonprofit setting.
• The ability to show initiative when carrying out and following up on assigned tasks, and to implement problem-solving.
• Successful time management skills to carry out multiple tasks seamlessly while maintaining a meticulous attention to detail.
• Superb interpersonal skills and proven ability to build and sustain relationships with all staff and stakeholders, supporting their inclusion in bringing their wide diversity of perspectives and lived experience to bear on our work.
• Excellent organization skills, as well as, superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Sound judgment with the ability to analyze a situation or conflict and determine the correct prioritization or next steps. Must take a pro-active approach to problem solving.
• Resourceful, curious team player who works well independently.
• Trusted professional with proven experience to handle confidential information with discretion, adaptable to various competing demands, and who naturally seeks the highest level of customer service and response.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and adaptable while working in a dynamic entrepreneurial environment.
• High comfort with Microsoft Office and proficiency preferred in A/V set up and troubleshooting. Experience with Salesforce, Fluxx, Expensify, or other robust CRMs preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree or relevant experience.
• The position will eventually be based in Washington, D.C. but will begin remotely due to the ongoing pandemic.

Application instructions