Executive Assistant to the CFO, CAO & General Counsel

About the Foundation

The Kresge Foundation is one of the top 20 private philanthropic foundations in the United States and the only one focused exclusively on expanding opportunities for people with low income in American cities. With an endowment of approximately $4 billion and a staff of over 100 employees, the foundation deploys grants and social investments across arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development. The foundation’s state-of-the-art headquarters maintains an array of energy-efficient, water-conserving and health-promoting systems. The foundation also operates an office in Detroit’s Midtown district.

About the Position

The Executive Assistant: VP, CFO & CAO and General Counsel (“Executive Assistant”) provides high-level administrative support and project-based assistance to the Foundation’s Vice President/CFO/CAO/Treasurer and to the Foundation’s General Counsel and legal office (“Executives”).  The Executive Assistant works closely with all parts of the Foundation, the Board and external partners, to support the work of the supported Executives by cultivating positive working relationships through open communication. This role is key to keeping the Executives informed of activities that impact the compliance and operations of the Foundation. The Executive Assistant is required to be proactive, self-directed, produce high quality work, possesses sound judgment and have high attention to detail, while exercising discretion and maintaining confidentiality. This position is responsible for effective handling of the Executives’ schedules, as well as coordinating and executing administrative functions including travel, expense reporting, budget monitoring, and proficiently handling documents and tasks for optimal organization. 

This position operates with great independence, making decisions and anticipating the needs of the Executives. The role may act as a gatekeeper, represent the Executive in certain situations, and resolve issues proactively without constant supervision.  The Executive Assistant often contributes to the Executives’ strategic goals by aligning tasks, communications, and priorities. May also participate in confidential discussions and assist in decision-making processes.

Primary Responsibilities

Scheduling and Calendar Management

• Organizes and maintains a high-stake, multi-calendar schedule of meetings, events and speaking engagements across various time zones.
• Performs and manages scheduling for internal and external meetings and convenings: coordinates calendars, assembles meeting materials, makes meal arrangements, and confirms appointments for the department.
• Serves as first point of contact and coordinates with internal/external colleagues for annual calendars, meetings, projects, etc.
• Prepares and maintains correspondence and materials for key meetings. 
• Proofreads, finalizes, and posts documents. 

Internal Operations

• Serves as first point of contact to internal stakeholders relating to systems, documents and information for the Executives. 
• Interacts regularly with local and national business, government and non-profit leaders.
• Prepares expense reports, completes internal forms for consulting contracts, invoices, and resolves discrepancies with Finance.
• Is responsive to emails/texts/calls in a timely fashion.
• Prepares correspondence, proofreads memos, creates charts, excel spreadsheets, and manages contacts and distribution lists.
• Completes special research projects and prepares written reports as assigned.
• Prepares presentations as assigned.
• Prepares mailings and shipment of materials, opens and distributes mail.
• Provides coordination for special events and meetings sponsored by the supported Executives. 

Budgets and Contracts

• Assists with budget management and tracking.
• Prepares and processes consulting agreements, contracts and statements of work.
• Works within the contract management system, ContractPodAi, and trains new administrative assistants on system use. Maintains and updates the contract log and manages the DocuSign process for all contract executions. 
• Processes and manages department invoices, contracts, and expenses, and resolves discrepancies with Finance as needed.

Travel and Logistics

• Arranges business travel, including airfare bookings, lodging accommodations and transportation services and creates detailed itineraries for Executives while effectively addressing contingencies and last-minute changes.

Board of Trustee Activities

• Works with the Executive office in coordinating activities for the Nominating & Governance Committee and other Trustee interactions as needed by the Executives.
• Produces quarterly Nominating & Governance books for Board Effect portal and other Board-related materials as needed for the Executives.

Special Projects

• Assists with major projects of the Foundation and other special projects as needed. 
• Sometimes oversees projects on behalf of the Executives.

Other

• Possesses advanced organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills, along with discretion, business acumen, and the ability to handle sensitive information. 
• Familiarity with industry-specific tools or concepts.
• Displays a strong commitment to the foundation’s mission and values. and demonstrates that commitment in daily interactions.
• Participates in scheduled team and foundation events to strengthen collaboration and enhance the overall work experience.
• Performs other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications 

• Associates degree required. Bachelor’s degree with course work in business communications, office management, or related commensurate work experience preferred.
• Five to seven years of professional executive assistant office experience. Experience with C-level executives is preferred. 
• Demonstrated exceptional organizational skills and superior attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills necessary to interact as a team member, with Foundation colleagues and Board and external partners.
• Proven experience with advanced features of Microsoft Office suite of products and other software essential to accomplishing the work of this position.
• Proven experience and skill with calendar management and travel arrangements.
• Demonstrated ability to proofread and meticulously review documents for accuracy, noting errors such as punctuation, spelling, and word usage.
• Proven ability to maintain confidentiality, practice discretion, and work effectively with sensitive information.
• Demonstrated commitment to learning, and willingness to give and receive feedback.
• Ability to be proactive and self-directed, must be solutions-oriented and possess sound judgment.
• Demonstrated commitment to producing high quality work while displaying a consistently collaborative and cooperative work style.
• Demonstrated highly professional, customer service focused interaction (orally and in writing); excellent communicator able to interact with people at all levels in a confident, polished manner.
• Demonstrated comfort in a high performing, fast-paced work environment, and demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated comfort with change and changing priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks in a heavy workload.
• Familiarity with web-based office management technology such as, ADP Workforce Now, Zoom, Box, Concur, DocuSign, and Google Docs preferred. 
• A strong commitment to the foundation’s mission and values.
• Highly collaborative approach to working in a team-based environment. 

This position is full-time. The starting salary for this position begins at $77,733.00 per year. Individual offers will be based on the candidate's years of experience and our practice of upholding salary equity within the foundation.

The application deadline for this position is Midnight EST on February 15, 2025. Please attach a cover letter for consideration for this position. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

This position is located in Troy, Michigan and currently has a hybrid schedule. Tuesday and Wednesday are the standard in-office days, however, there may be times when you will have to adjust the days based on work needs. 

This position requires occasional travel for foundation activities, events and professional development activities.

Some of the benefits include:

• Health, dental, vision and life insurance
• Paid time off
• Half day Fridays
• 401k with employer matching
• Tuition reimbursement
• Life, accident and disability insurance
• Comprehensive relocation package for qualified candidates

Kresge is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ applicants. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

The Kresge Foundation participates in E-Verify to confirm authorization to work in the United States. For more information on E-Verify and to know your rights please click here.