Executive Assistant to the CEO

Happinest•Holmdel Township, NJ

3d•$80,000 - $90,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Executive Assistant to the CEO exists to increase the time the CEO spends on the seven things only he can do: setting the vision for the Happinest platform, defining and protecting the culture across every brand we own and acquire, allocating capital and leading acquisitions, building relationships with our Board and investors, carrying the company’s word to our franchisees when it has to come from the CEO, developing the leadership team, and taking on the problems that cross every brand and that only he can resolve. Every other responsibility in this role serves that purpose. Success is measured by how much of the CEO’s week is spent in those seven areas and how prepared he is when he arrives there. The role requires exceptional judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence. You will work closely with the CEO, senior leadership team, Board members, franchisees, investors, and external partners, coordinating communication, scheduling, and logistics on the CEO’s behalf. You will also need the confidence to respectfully challenge the CEO. This role is not about executing requests. It is about protecting the CEO’s time, focus, and effectiveness by asking thoughtful questions, offering alternative perspectives, and flagging when a request on his time conflicts with a stated priority. This is a salaried position built on flexibility rather than a traditional work schedule. Supporting a CEO means recognizing that business opportunities, travel, Board meetings, acquisitions, and unexpected priorities do not always fit neatly into a standard workday. This is a local hybrid role, offering flexibility to work remotely or from our New Jersey office. Because the role requires close collaboration with the CEO and executive leadership team, candidates must live within 50 miles or approximately 60 minutes of our New Jersey office and be available for in-person meetings, planning sessions, company events, and other business needs as required.

Requirements

Associate’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant executive support experience.
Seven or more years of Executive Assistant experience, including at least five years directly supporting a CEO, founder, president, or other C-level executive.
Experience preparing materials for and coordinating board meetings, and comfort working alongside board members, investors, and outside advisors.
Experience in an environment with real complexity, such as a private equity backed company, a multi-unit or franchise system, or an organization actively pursuing acquisitions.
A track record of operating independently. You are given outcomes rather than instructions, and you build the process yourself.
Proven ability to handle highly confidential information, including matters involving acquisitions, compensation, and personnel, with absolute discretion.
Evidence of building systems rather than absorbing work manually. You have created a process, template library, or automation that outlasted your own effort, and you are actively using current tools, including artificial intelligence, to do more with less.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Adobe Acrobat.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Communications, or a related field.
Ten or more years of Executive Assistant experience.
Experience supporting a founder-led or long-tenured CEO through a period of significant growth or transaction activity.
Experience serving as a strategic business partner in addition to providing executive support.

Responsibilities

Protect the EOS cadence as scheduled, and structure the CEO’s discretionary time around the highest-value opportunities and priorities.
Ensure that no new or external meeting reaches the CEO’s calendar without a stated purpose and a defined decision or ask.
Manage a complex calendar, inbox, travel schedule, and communication flow, anticipating needs and resolving conflicts before they reach him.
Prepare a briefing in advance of every Board session, sponsor conversation, franchisee visit, and significant new external commitment.
Capture the commitments the CEO makes, route action items to the right owners, and track them through to completion.
Protect the CEO’s time for building the models, frameworks, and prioritization tools the company runs on, then carry that output forward. You will turn raw thinking into something circulatable, schedule the working session with the Integrator, and track every idea until it has a named owner and a next step.
Draft correspondence, presentation materials, and talking points on behalf of the CEO, and build the systems that make his communication scale, including inbox triage rules, response standards, templates, and a working library of his voice.
Use current technology, including artificial intelligence tools, to automate recurring work, and partner with internal and external resources to build automations this role cannot build alone.
Handle highly confidential information, and research and prioritize sensitive matters requiring executive attention.
Support leadership meetings, planning sessions, off-sites, and company-wide events, including agendas, logistics, and follow-up items.
Serve as a professional point of contact on behalf of the CEO, and support the cultivation of key relationships with employees, franchisees, Board members, investors, and external partners.
Prepare and edit communications for stakeholders inside and outside the organization.
Coordinate travel, events, meetings, and special engagements.
Keep materials and information related to the CEO and the company accurate, current, and accessible.
Take ownership of CEO-sponsored projects from concept through completion with minimal direction.
Track deliverables, deadlines, and commitments, and remove obstacles before they become larger issues.