Executive Assistant to the President

Community College of Philadelphia; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Community College of Philadelphia seeks an Executive Assistant to the President to provide multifaceted administrative support, manage the President’s calendar, prepare briefing materials, and coordinate confidential communications with staff, trustees, and external partners.

The role requires discretion, strategic judgment, and the ability to handle sensitive information across evenings or weekends as necessary.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Seven years of progressively responsible executive support experience.
• Exceptional discretion, political acumen, responsiveness, and anticipation of needs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Teams, PowerPoint, and scheduling platforms.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Experience supporting a president or senior executive in a large organization.
• Experience in higher education, government, healthcare, or nonprofit sectors.
• Experience using Ellucian Banner.

Responsibilities

• Manage the President's calendar, schedule, and travel arrangements.
• Prepare briefing materials and notes for presidential engagements.
• Draft and route correspondence and official communications for review.
• Coordinate internal and external meetings with stakeholders and officials.
• Supervise presidential support staff and ensure confidentiality.
• Support budget management and financial reporting processes.
• Prepare Board of Trustees meeting logistics and related tasks.
• Provide after-hours support as needed.

Skills

Discretion and confidentiality

Political acumen

Executive support

Communication skills

Independent judgment

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Teams

PowerPoint

Ellucian Banner

Job description

The Executive Assistant to the President provides multi-faceted administrative support and assistance to ensure effective use of the President’s time and productive interactions with staff and the public. This position handles a wide range of administrative and support tasks and independently initiates and implements processes to manage projects, information, and people. The Executive Assistant manages the President’s schedule, meeting preparations, follow-up tasks, and complex travel arrangements. Conducts research and information gathering on behalf of the President and prepares summaries and reports. Develops positive and strategic relationships at all levels of the College. Uses discretion, judgment, and knowledge of the College to facilitate the President's activities and maintain confidentiality. The Executive Assistant will also be responsible for directing and deploying support staff or other resources within the President’s office. provides seamless support during evenings, weekends, and periods of travel as necessary.

Presidential Calendar and Time Management

• Serve as the primary manager of the President's calendar and scheduling activities.
• Evaluate and prioritize meeting requests based on institutional priorities and presidential goals.
• Coordinate all internal and external appointments, travel schedules, speaking engagements, and special events.
• Ensure appropriate preparation materials, briefing documents, and logistical support are available for all presidential engagements.
• Anticipate scheduling conflicts and proactively recommend solutions.

Presidential Communications

• Monitor the President's email account and draft, edit, route, and respond to correspondence on behalf of the President as appropriate.
• Manage high-priority communications and ensure timely follow-up.
• Prepare correspondence, memoranda, remarks, acknowledgments, and official communications for presidential review.
• Screen communications and elevate urgent issues requiring presidential attention.
• Coordinate communications with Cabinet members, trustees, elected officials, donors, community leaders, and external stakeholders.

Executive Support and Representation

• Serve as the President's primary administrative liaison and representative.
• Exercise independent judgment in responding to inquiries and resolving issues.
• Coordinate executive-level meetings and confidential discussions.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding personnel, legal, financial, and institutional matters.
• Collaborate with the Deputy Chief of Staff in managing presidential priorities and special projects.
• Take notes/minutes and initiate take-away follow-up for Presidential led meetings.

Operational Leadership

• Provide supervision, direction, and coordination to presidential support staff.
• Provide assistance with budget management; ensuring accurate, timely, and confidential handling of budget data, financial reporting, and related decision-making processes.
• Establish office procedures and protocols that ensure responsiveness and efficiency.
• Coordinate presidential travel, expense reporting, and related documentation.
• Ensure continuity of presidential operations during absences, emergencies, and non-business hours.

Other Duties

• Support Board of Trustees meeting preparation and logistics.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree required.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible executive support experience, including support of senior executives, elected officials, CEOs, presidents, or cabinet-level leaders.
• Exceptional discretion, political acumen, responsiveness, and the ability to anticipate needs before they arise
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Teams, PowerPoint, and scheduling platforms.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends, as needed.
• Demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential information.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and manage competing priorities.
• Availability to provide support outside traditional business hours, as needed.

• Experience supporting a president, chancellor, CEO, or governing board of a large or complex organization
• Experience within higher education, government, healthcare, or nonprofit organizations.
• Experience using Ellucian Banner.