Executive Assistant - Nursing and Patient Care Services

Duke Careers; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Duke Health in Durham, NC seeks an experienced Executive Assistant to support the Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive within Nursing and Patient Care Services. The role requires managing executive communications, calendars, and strategic initiatives with a focus on confidentiality and cross‑functional coordination.

The position emphasizes project management, stakeholder engagement, and accurate reporting to advance patient care and organizational initiatives across the health system.

Qualifications

• Eight years of progressively responsible C‑Suite executive administrative support in healthcare, academic medical center, or corporate setting.
• Experience supporting senior executives, strategic initiatives, and large‑scale projects required.
• Bachelor's degree preferred; CAP and MOS certifications highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide direction and prioritization standards for screening and managing executive correspondence, email, calendar, meeting requests, and communications.
• Anticipate executive needs and coordinate resources, information, and stakeholders to support timely decision‑making.
• Serve as a primary contact for nursing leadership, health system executives, and external partners.
• Coordinate complex calendars, executive meetings, leadership retreats, board presentations, and events.
• Draft, edit, and prepare executive communications, briefs, reports, agendas, and briefing materials.
• Handle highly sensitive information related to strategic planning, personnel, and financial operations.

Skills

Executive support

Project management

Communication

Stakeholder management

Confidentiality

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

CAP certification

MOS certification

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Teams

Project management tools

Job description

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Executive Assistant - Nursing and Patient Care Services

Work Arrangement: On‑Site

Requisition Number: 272433

Regular or Temporary: Regular

Location: Durham, NC, US, 27710

Date: Jul 15, 2026

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

Duke University Health System’s Nursing and Patient Care Services team is seeking an experienced Executive Assistant to support the Senior Vice President & Chief Nurse Executive. As a trusted partner to executive leadership, you will play a critical role in advancing strategic initiatives, coordinating complex projects, facilitating executive communications, and supporting the operations of one of the nation’s leading nursing organizations. This position is ideal for a highly organized, relationship‑focused professional who enjoys solving problems, managing multiple priorities, and contributing to meaningful work that impacts patients, nurses, and healthcare teams across the health system.

Duties and Responsibilities of this Level

• Provide direction and prioritization standards for the screening and management of the executive's correspondence, email, calendar, meeting requests, and other communications using expert judgment and knowledge of organizational priorities.
• Anticipate executive needs and proactively coordinate resources, information, and stakeholders to support timely decision-making and issue resolution.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for nursing leadership, health system executives, academic partners, physicians, administrators, and external organizations.
• Coordinate and manage complex calendars, executive meetings, leadership retreats, board presentations, and special events.
• Draft, edit, and prepare executive communications, correspondence, reports, agendas, meeting summaries, presentations, and briefing materials.
• Handle highly sensitive and confidential information related to strategic planning, personnel matters, financial operations, and organizational initiatives.

Project Management and Strategic Initiative Support

• Provide project coordination and management support for Nursing and Patient Care Services strategic priorities, operational initiatives, and executive-sponsored projects.
• Develop and maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, action-item trackers, and status reports to ensure timely execution of initiatives.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and stakeholders to support project implementation, communications, and follow-up activities.
• Monitor project progress, identify risks, barriers, or dependencies, and escalation issues as appropriate.
• Facilitate meetings related to strategic initiatives, including agenda development, documentation of decisions, tracking deliverables, and monitoring accountability for completion.
• Prepare executive dashboards, scorecards, and reports summarizing project status, outcomes, and organizational performance metrics.
• Support change management efforts by coordinating communications, stakeholder engagement activities, and implementation plans.
• Assist with process improvement initiatives by gathering data, conducting research, analyzing workflows, and recommending operational efficiencies.

Operational and Financial Management

• Prepare operational, strategic, and financial reports reflecting organizational performance, trends, risks, and recommendations.
• Assist in budget development, monitoring, forecasting, and reconciliation activities for Nursing and Patient Care Services.
• Analyze trends and data to support executive decision‑making and organizational planning.

Communication and Relationship Management

• Maintain effective working relationships with leaders throughout Duke University Health System, Duke University School of Nursing, affiliated organizations, and external partners.
• Receive and initiate regular communications on behalf of executive leadership with healthcare executives, professional organizations, academic institutions, government agencies, community partners, and external stakeholders.
• Represent the department on committees, workgroups, and project teams as designated.
• Interpret departmental policies and procedures and communicate operational guidance consistent with organizational practices and executive direction.

Leadership and Administrative Oversight

• Plan, organize, and coordinate administrative functions supporting the Office of the Chief Nurse Executive and Nursing and Patient Care Services leadership.
• May provide oversight, workflow coordination, onboarding support, training, or functional supervision of administrative support personnel.
• May provide support recruitment activities, performance management documentation, departmental onboarding, and workforce planning initiatives as assigned.
• May monitor attendance records, time‑keeping processes, and administrative documentation as appropriate.

Required Qualifications at this Level

Experience

Eight years of progressively responsible C‑Suite executive administrative support with experience in a complex healthcare, academic medical center, or corporate environment.

Experience supporting senior executives, strategic initiatives, and large‑scale projects is required.

Education, Degrees, Licensure, and/or Certification

CAP and MOS certifications highly preferred

Bachelor's degree preferred.

• Work requires a business administration, healthcare administration, communications, or related field background generally equivalent to a bachelor's degree.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated knowledge of healthcare operations and organizational structures.
• Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously and meet competing deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality.
• Advanced skills in developing presentations, reports, meeting materials, and executive communications.
• Ability to analyze data and prepare concise executive summaries and recommendations.
• Strong relationship‑building and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and project management tools.
• Ability to work independently and proactively in a fast‑paced executive environment.
• Attention to detail, critical thinking, and problem‑solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex initiatives involving multiple departments and stakeholders.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions:

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

Nearest Major Market: Durham
Nearest Secondary Market: Raleigh

Read more about Duke’s commitment to affirmative action and nondiscrimination at hr.duke.edu/eeo.