Executive Assistant, Climate & Resilience

~ The Rockefeller Foundation is helping to increase capital flows into climate and resilience solutions and projects that improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people. ~

From earthquakes to rising sea levels, people all over the world are increasingly threatened by destructive natural disasters and the impacts of rapid changes in our climate. We believe it is possible to help make communities around the world more resilient to the physical, social, and economic challenges of the 21st century.

The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to tackling these immense challenges, which require creative, blended capital solutions to address at scale.  Our Climate and Resilience initiative identifies, designs and supports opportunities that increase climate and resilience capital flows into financial solutions, companies and projects that have a positive impact on the lives of world’s most vulnerable people. It also integrates climate and resilience principles throughout the Foundation’s work in food, health, power and economic mobility, in addition to coordinating grant making for disaster recovery situations.

Position Overview

The Rockefeller Foundation is seeking an experienced Executive Assistant to join the Climate & Resilience team.

The Executive Assistant will support the Managing Director, Climate & Resilience, and contribute to the development and execution of a multi-year initiative focused on identifying, designing and supporting opportunities that increase climate and resilience capital flows into financial solutions, companies and projects that have a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable populations. It will also integrate climate and resilience principles throughout the Foundation’s work in food, health, power and economic mobility, in addition to coordinating grant making for disaster recovery situations.

• This role will be critical in enabling the Managing Director (MD) and the Climate & Resilience team in achieving our desired impact in the climate and resilience space. To be effective in this role, the candidate must be able to advance work independently.
• The Executive Assistant reports to the Managing Director, Climate & Resilience. The Executive Assistant (EA) will provide administrative support, coordination and organizational support for the Climate & Resilience team. The EA will partner closely with key administrative staff on behalf of the MD, overseeing her calendar and schedule, planning meetings and related organizational events. Will work on Executive level presentation and materials including Board Presentations, the budget and forecast, and be a key point person in the MD’s office regarding any sensitive or confidential matters. Effectively manages the MD’s schedule, time, conference calls and travel plans. Creates agendas for key meetings for the MD, and is able to document and summarize complex content in a clear and actionable fashion.
• The EA serves as an important partner working collaboratively with colleagues and teams across the Foundation. The EA knows instinctively and intuitively how to prioritize requests and information to enable the MD to function to their highest ability. Internally and externally, they are an important ambassador for the Foundation representing the organization as needed.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Serves a key partner to the Managing Director.
• Anticipates needs and is highly responsive to direct and anticipated requests; providing fast, accurate, and thoughtful replies to requests, following up on action items on behalf of the MD.
• Serves as the gatekeeper to the MD and provides senior level administrative support including reading, researching and routing correspondence, drafting letters and documents, collecting and analyzing information as needed, contact management. Must be comfortable initiating communications.
• Responsible for managing the MD’s time. Must be comfortable with heavy scheduling and calendar management including coordination of complex meetings including multiple participants and locations with a high level of efficiency and accuracy.
• Coordinates both domestic and international travel arrangements ensuring tight schedules and well-articulated itineraries. Creates and modifies travel itineraries quickly and accurately. Informs and plans actions based on the itinerary with appropriate parties, with monitoring throughout. Supports team members as needed with travel and scheduling.
• Working with the rest of the climate team, assists in creating agendas for the Climate & Resilience team’s meetings and serves as the heart of coordination and logistics in the execution of critical administrative duties and responsibilities for the MD.
• Ensures that the MD’s office and technology and any tools or equipment they require to successfully and flawlessly perform their work is operating effectively. To this end, coordinates with other departments in the organization to support the MD with Employee Services, IT and any other infrastructure groups necessary to support the team.
• Working with the MD, coordinates work between the Climate & Resilience team and other internal teams, and helps to create a smooth process of information exchange between teams.
• Actively builds relationships across the Foundation with other key leaders and their senior level administrators and maintains a close and highly responsive partnership with a busy MD.
• Assists the MD, and other members of the team in creating high level presentations and any other documentation required on an ongoing basis. This includes but is not limited to: Board Presentations, budgets and forecasts, complex schedules and events and travel and expense documents.
• Serves as an active ambassador of the team inside and outside of the Foundation, contributing to creating a positive values-driven culture that engages managers and staff across the Foundation and ensures that the organization’s people are aligned with the Foundation’s new vision, direction and strategy.
• Assists the MD, to be sure they have any data and information they need for Board Meetings, Business Process Review meetings, any other management meetings.
• Manages meeting logistics, conference rooms, AV equipment, displaying presentations, etc.
• Prepares and processes expense reports, vendor invoicing paperwork, and purchase requisitions, including monthly expense reconciliation and on-demand expense reports.
• Works on special projects as directed by the MD.

Qualifications

Education, Experience and Skills:

• A bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or a related field is preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of executive level administrative experience in supporting an Executive Leader is required.
• Must have previous work experience in a complex, fast-paced and highly professional role and global organization with multiple offices and with a strong mission and focus on people or a related role in a not-for-profit organization focused on a highly dynamic, evolving organization and work environment.
• Direct experience in managing sensitive and confidential matters with a high level of professionalism and grace under pressure.
• Strong execution and organization skills and demonstrated experience in prioritizing and executing multiple priorities seamlessly with excellent attention to detail.
• Demonstrated proactive problem-solving skills with strong decision-making capability.
• Work effectively both independently, as well as, in a team-oriented, collaborative and collegial environment.
• Has the ability to identify, prioritize and manage agendas, employee communications, high level presentations and documents and is comfortable multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment.
• Has excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills and is effective in developing positive and productive relationships with all levels of staff and management across the organization.
• Proven experience working effectively as part of a team and autonomously.
• Proven excellent project management and organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to deliver high quality, accurate work on time.
• Has experience within a highly collaborative, dynamic organization and in an entrepreneurial environment where building policies, program and processes are necessary. Demonstrated technical proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.
• Must have experience booking and managing international travel. International work experience a plus, proven intercultural competence.

Additional Qualifications and Competencies:

• Communication: Excellent interpersonal abilities; outstanding listening skills, writing and verbal skills; Awareness of reputation, positioning and brand management.
• Partnership and Relationship Building: Sensitive to organizational culture, strong professional representation of the Foundation. Strategic partnership building, adaptable and flexible. Commitment to The Rockefeller Foundation's mission and core values.
• Strategy: Highly strategic mindset with ability to identify and prioritize what’s important in any project, demonstrates innovative approaches to work, ability to organize chaos into coherent plan.
• Project Management: High operational and project management ability; proactive. Sound, mature judgment, integrity, and respect for others.
• Decision-Making: Analytical and strong problem-solving abilities, takes initiative, drives for results, ability to prioritize work, communicates problems and proposes solutions, as appropriate.
• Execution: Strong project management skills; meets deadlines; ability to multi-task and work under pressure; detail oriented. Sense of urgency and responsibility, flexible work style; a self-started who can work independently as well as in and across teams.
• Passion and Optimism: Deep enthusiasm for the mission and people of the Foundation; entrepreneurial energy around connecting an engaged staff with the overall impact of the Foundation’s work.

The Rockefeller Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and to compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

To this end, the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status or liability for service in the United States Armed Forces.