Senior Administrative Assistant

BioSpace; North Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

401(k)

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking a Senior Administrative Assistant to deliver high-judgment administrative and operational support to the Vice President, Global Business Platforms, and leadership across Commercial IT. This role operates in a large, matrixed organization with a multi-million dollar budget and pivotal executive visibility.

Strong calendar, travel, and event coordination skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Support senior/executive leaders with high discretion and professionalism.

Responsibilities

• Manage executive calendars and scheduling across multiple leaders.
• Coordinate domestic and international travel and related expense reporting.
• Plan and execute large-scale events and engagement activities for 1,200+ attendees.
• Administer SharePoint sites and maintain governance-compliant files.
• Assist with procurement and vendor coordination as needed.
• Serve as a trusted liaison between executives, IT leaders, and cross-functional teams.

Skills

Executive support

Calendar management

Travel coordination

Event planning

Communication

Spreadsheet proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree (optional)

Tools

SharePoint

Concur/Expense systems

SAP/Ariba procurement tools

Job description

Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

The Senior Administrative Assistant provides advanced, high-judgment administrative and operational support to the Vice President, Global Business Platforms, and their broader leadership team within a large, matrixed, global application development organization spanning Commercial IT. This organization is a substantial application development function across Commercial IT, operating a shared services model that supports tens of thousands of internal and external customers, a team of 200+ employees and 1,000+ non-employees, and a combined operating and capital budget of more than $100 million. Given the scale, complexity, and executive visibility of this organization, the Senior Administrative Assistant serves as a critical enabler of leadership productivity - managing complex calendars across multiple senior stakeholders, leading logistics for large-scale organizational events, administering key collaboration systems, and executing select financial and procurement processing - all while maintaining composure, discretion, and professionalism in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment with diverse executive stakeholders across Commercial Operations and Business Unit IT.

This position demands superior organizational abilities, sound judgment under pressure, and the capability to collaborate effectively with senior executives, Business Unit IT leaders, and external vendors to ensure smooth calendar management, event execution, and operational efficiency across a large, complex, global organization. The successful candidate will be responsible for cultivating and maintaining professional relationships across a diverse and matrixed stakeholder base to support leadership priorities and keep operations running seamlessly.

Ideal candidates will demonstrate the ability to build rapport and communicate professionally, be highly organized, self-motivated, and driven to anticipate needs before they arise. The role requires the ability to navigate between high-level executive support and detailed operational tactics within a fast-moving technology organization. The individual must possess composure and grace under pressure, discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information, and a strong professional presence when interfacing with executive leadership and external partners.

Responsibilities

Calendar and Executive Support:

• Manage and proactively prioritize the VP's calendar, along with calendars for other senior leaders across the organization as needed; anticipate and resolve scheduling conflicts across a heavily matrixed stakeholder base before they escal
• Monitor and triage executive correspondence (email, calls) from a diverse set of internal executive stakeholders, Business Unit IT leaders, and external technology vendors/partners, draft responses, and flag priority actions.
• When necessary, coordinate meeting logistics, compile briefing/meeting materials, and prepare or revise presentations and business documents to support governance reviews, portfolio updates, and executive stakeholder communications.

Travel And Expense Management

• Book and coordinate complex domestic and international travel arrangements for the VP and other senior leaders, reflecting the organization's global footprint across geographies and business units.
• Process related expense reports accurately and in a timely manner, ensuring compliance with company travel policy.

Event And Engagement Logistics

• Plan and execute large-scale organizational events (e.g., Global Town Halls, leadership offsites, all-hands meetings for a 1,200+ person organization), including vendor sourcing, contracting, budget tracking, on-site logistics, and post-event follow-up.
• Own logistics for team building and engagement activities (e.g., summer picnics, holiday events) that foster a culture of inclusion, agility, innovation, and continuous improvement across a large, globally distributed team.
• Foster and facilitate departmental reviews, town halls, and cultural/social activities in partnership with organizational leaders and Business Unit IT partners.

Systems And Information Administration

• Administer SharePoint sites for the organization from a user-access perspective - managing permissions, onboarding/offboarding users across a large employee and non-employee population and maintaining site structure in line with governance policies.
• Maintain departmental files and confidential/business-sensitive information (including matters related to budget, vendor contracts, and organizational strategy) in compliance with corporate and legal guidelines.
• Support new employee and contractor office setup and onboarding, reflecting the scale of the organization's employee and non-employee workforce.

Financial And Procurement Processing

• Process financial transactions as needed, including creating purchase orders, routing/paying invoices, and reconciling related records in compliance with company purchasing policies — supporting an organization managing significant operating and capital budgets and a broad landscape of technology vendor and professional services contracts.
• Manage procurement of office supplies and stationery for the organization, tracking inventory and vendor relationships.
• Identify and proactively flag cost‑saving or process‑efficiency opportunities in day‑to‑day office operations, aligned with the organization’s broader focus on total cost of ownership and productivity.

Communication And Liaison

• Serve as a trusted point of contact for the VP and leadership team, ensuring effective communication and coordination among Commercial Operations executives, Business Unit IT leaders, and cross-functional partners.
• Build and maintain relationships with technology vendors, external partners, facilities, IT, and cross-functional teams to ensure seamless execution of events and operational needs.

Qualifications

• High school diploma
• Minimum 3–5 years of administrative experience, including supporting senior/executive-level leaders (VP or above).
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to build trust, listen, and manage competing expectations/demands across a diverse and matrixed stakeholder base.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing large-scale events with multiple external vendors.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills; ability to manage multiple competing priorities under deadline pressure in a fast‑paced, technology‑driven environment.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and corporate travel/expense systems.
• Proven track record of reliable execution. Keeps calm and executes while self‑managing time and priorities.
• Demonstrated resilience and composure in high‑stress, fast‑changing situations, sound judgment under pressure.
• Be proactive and always think, act, and communicate in advance.

Preferred

• Associate's or Bachelor's Degree a plus.
• Experience Supporting Multiple Leaders Concurrently Preferred.
• Experience with purchase order creation, invoice/AP processing, or procurement systems (e.g., SAP, Ariba, Concur) strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of SharePoint administration (site/user management) preferred.
• Familiarity with procurement processes and internal controls/governance standards.
• Experience coordinating with facilities, catering, and event vendors.
• Understanding of the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical business environment and/or exposure to a technology/IT organization.
• Experience supporting leaders who operate in large, global, matrixed organizations with diverse executive stakeholders.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:

The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html