Executive Assistant (Full Time, Remote)

Position: Executive Assistant (Full Time, Remote)

Organization: Accelerate Change

Reports to: Lea Madry, Executive Director (temporarily)

Direct Reports: N/A

Location: Full-time, 100% remote position (from home or co-working space) with occasional travel once every 2-3 months (post-COVID)

COVID-19: We take Covid-19 safety very seriously. Employees must follow our Covid safety protocols and be fully vaccinated and boosted. Accommodations are provided to the extent required by law.

About Accelerate Change

Founded in 2012, Accelerate Change is a nonprofit (c3/c4) digital media lab. We work to increase civic engagement with BIPOC and low-income communities through digital media. Our programs include:

• Driving civic engagement campaigns
• Investing in established cultural media properties
• Building influencer networks
• Leading a digital media lab
• Scaling emerging cultural media properties

Learn more about our theory of change, approach, and impact at https://acceleratechange.org/about/

Our team is made up of digital media innovators and operators who bring a mix of tech, business, civic engagement, and media backgrounds. Meet our team and learn more about our culture at https://acceleratechange.org/values-team/

About the Position

Accelerate Change is seeking an experienced Executive Assistant to support our Executive Director and our President, who co-lead the organization. The Executive Assistant will focus on providing administrative support to our Executive Director and to our President, and they will own a variety of projects and tasks in support of our co-leaders’ areas of work. We are particularly interested in candidates who are strong written and verbal communicators. Additionally, it will be critical for candidates to be able to work independently, exercise good judgment, and maintain strict confidentiality given the sensitive materials and information that they will access. This fast-paced, detail-oriented position will have a direct impact on Accelerate Change’s mission by supporting our Executive Director and our President in their work to shape and guide the organization’s success.

Note: We want to be transparent that this role will not be a good fit for someone looking to briefly work in an Executive Assistant role so that they can then shift to other types of positions at Accelerate Change. Being an Executive Assistant requires a unique skillset, including strong communication and organizational skills, high emotional intelligence, and an ability to develop deep relationships with stakeholders; we’re looking for a candidate who loves the role of Executive Assistant and wants to be an Executive Assistant well into the future. We are very invested in professional development for all staff, so we’re looking for a candidate who wants to grow within this role.

Here’s what you could expect to do as an Executive Assistant (key responsibilities):

• Work in partnership with our Executive Assistant already on the team in all the areas above, dividing responsibilities between the two of you and serving as a backup for each other whenever needed
• Thoughtfully craft effective, highly engaging meeting agendas and meeting experiences in collaboration with the Executive Director or the President
• Manage the calendars of the Executive Director and the President, including handling internal/external scheduling and proactively identifying and addressing scheduling conflicts, to maximize impact and workflow
• Support event implementation and event logistics, which are led by the Event Manager, for internal team in-person meetings, external funder/partner in-person meetings and events, and external funder/partner virtual meetings and events,
• Proofread materials, including overviews, memos, and presentations
• Attend external meetings with the Executive Director and the President, take notes, and coordinate follow-up actions, as needed
• Provide administrative support for the Executive Director and the President, including travel logistics, expense processing, and reimbursements
• In connection with external meetings, create and manage associated timelines, prepare and distribute meeting notifications and agenda materials, and manage meeting correspondence and implementation
• Manage a variety of special projects for the Executive Director and the President
• Manage a large volume of writing, which involves transforming inputs (outlines and verbal discussions) and synthesizing large amounts of information into well-structured, clear, accessible written materials such as overviews, memos, and presentations

We’ll also look for the Executive Assistant to:

• Take an entrepreneurial approach to their work and learning new skills. In our fast-paced, unstructured environment, we love it when staff first try to figure things out on their own and then ask for help if they’re stuck.
• Seek out opportunities to deepen their skills on current/emerging platforms and with lean startup methodology. We take an individualized approach to growth where staff advocate for development opportunities that align with their interests and the team’s priorities.
• TBD: Take on additional responsibilities and pitch in to help meet the evolving needs of our growing team. Given our lean experimentation approach and our work with partners at various stages of growth, flexibility and comfort with change are key components of our work.
• Serve as a resource to our network of partners, including sharing best practices, training, convening, and troubleshooting. We use a co-staffing model with our partners where we’re collaborators working side-by-side to help where needed, not consultants prescribing solutions.
• Be committed to our goal of becoming an anti-racist organization. Within your role, utilize equitable management skills, challenge white supremacy, and pursue expansive and inclusive programming. Center our understanding that multiple systems of oppression intersect with racism and embrace that our values work is ongoing and continues to deepen, broaden, and evolve as we continuously strive to embody progressive values as an organization.

What We’re Looking For

• Error-free work: You take pride in delivering error-free work and you have a track record of doing it well.
• Strong writer: You have demonstrated experience writing well-structured, clear, accessible materials crafted with the goal of sharing information, such as overviews, memos, and presentations. You can develop those materials from a bare-bones outline or your notes from a quick verbal download, supplemented by your own research, application of context, and ability to understand and communicate how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
• Stakeholder management: You are resourceful, detail-oriented, and experienced in communicating with diverse internal and external stakeholders within a complex organizational structure. You are also experienced in juggling multiple priorities and projects at once and keeping key stakeholders updated about the status of each.
• Believer in the transformative impact of exceptional Executive Assistants: You know that effective Executive Assistants make a critical difference in their organizations, and you are eager to be in an Executive Assistant role long term to have that impact at Accelerate Change. Your reliability, follow-through, and communication skills are exceptional; your ethics, judgment, and ability to maintain confidentiality are unquestionable.
• Commitment to social change. Accelerate Change is a progressive workplace focused on civic engagement with BIPOC and low-income communities. You have a demonstrated commitment to this work and you’d like to be part of a team of people who do, too.
• 4+ years experience with key responsibilities: You have at least 4 years of directly relevant professional experience in another Executive Assistant role, an Administrative Assistant role, or another role where skills are transferable.
• Interest in digital media: You are interested in the power of digital media for organizing and social change. You regularly engage - personally or professionally - with many of the following and are interested to learn more about Accelerate Change’s work with others on this list: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Facebook and Instagram Ads, podcasts, streaming shows.

Benefits

• Flexibility for work and life: Unlike a lot of places, we actually believe that people should only work 40 hours each week, except for occasional sprints that require more time in a week. We also trust everyone to make a schedule that works for them, as long as you’re able to join all necessary meetings. Want to work more one day and less the next? Fine by us. Work better in the middle of the night than during the afternoon? Go for it. Need to shift your hours to be able to pick up your kid from school? All good.
• Health care after 3 months, with individual premiums fully covered and cost-share for dependents. Vision and dental plans are available at-cost to the individual.
• Professional development funds, with renewal of funds each fiscal year
• 401(k) plan after one year, with 100% employer match on the first 3% and 50% employer match on the next 2%
• Cell phone and internet reimbursement (or co-working reimbursement): We acknowledge that working from home requires using your own internet and phone for work purposes so we offer a set reimbursement amount for cell phone and internet usage. If working from home isn’t for you, we also have the option for folks to rent a co-working space and get reimbursed for their monthly costs.
• 15 paid vacation days, 6 paid holidays, 3 paid floating holidays each year and 7.5 paid sick days each year
• $67,000 - $77,000 salary range, with exact salary depending on experience and new staff rarely starting at the top of the range.