Executive Assistant, Business Operations

Gates Foundation•Seattle, WA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Assistant provides high-level, strategic administrative support to the COO and the Director, Strategy Planning and Management, and Chief of Staff. The position also serves as an operational backbone for the Business Operations division and the Office of the COO (OCOO), supporting division-wide programs and the OCOO team's operations, knowledge management, and leadership support. It connects across operations divisions and works closely with the offices of members of the Executive Operations Action Group: the COO, CFO, CLO, and CPO. The role combines executive support with operational, program, and project management. It manages complex executive schedules and travel while scoping and coordinating division-level work, maintaining team systems and processes, and organizing meetings, retreats, and initiatives from planning through follow-up. It also identifies opportunities to simplify recurring work through approved AI and automation tools and supports colleagues in adopting practical solutions. The position requires independent judgment, discretion, adaptability, and ownership across fast-moving executive support and structured operations work. The position is based in Seattle, Washington. The stated pay range for Seattle and Washington, D.C. is $46.92 to $70.38 USD; new-hire salaries are typically between the range minimum and midpoint, with placement depending on job-related skills, experience, and expertise. Employment is contingent upon successfully completing a background check. The Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent demonstrated experience.
At least 5 years of experience in executive support, administrative leadership, team operations, and/or project or program coordination in a fast-paced organization.
Experience with complex calendar management, travel coordination, and event or retreat planning.
Deep knowledge of the mission, values, resources, culture, systems, and business strategies.
Excellent judgment and discretion, with the ability to prioritize and re-prioritize in ambiguous, fast-moving situations.
Demonstrated ability to independently run and optimize programs or workstreams, including scoping work, tracking deliverables, identifying process gaps, and driving cross-functional follow-through at team and division or organizational levels.
Experience building, curating, and maintaining knowledge management systems, libraries, or collaboration platforms, including organizing and governing content for broader team or organizational use.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to represent leadership and the team accurately and diplomatically.
High familiarity with and hands-on daily use of AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude across scheduling, correspondence, meeting preparation, and knowledge management.
Advanced proficiency in MS Office/Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively and shift between executive support and structured operations, program, and knowledge management work.
A proactive builder’s mindset, including demonstrated initiative in identifying inefficiencies, creating practical solutions, testing improvements, and helping others adopt better ways of working.
Unrestricted work authorization in the country where the position is located; the Foundation does not provide immigration-related sponsorship or other immigration support for this role.

Nice To Haves

Experience curating AI resources, use cases, or learning content for a team is a strong plus.
Experience with collaboration and knowledge platforms such as Teams (SharePoint), Loop, or OneNote.

Responsibilities

Independently manage a complex, high-volume calendar across multiple time zones, aligning the principal’s schedule with priorities and re-prioritizing as needed.
Manage complex and confidential correspondence, exercise judgment on prioritization and escalation, and represent the principal’s voice and perspective.
Coordinate briefing materials, track deliverables, and follow up on outstanding action items.
Manage end-to-end domestic and international travel logistics, including complex itineraries, visas as needed, travel materials, trip-partner coordination, and on-the-ground support when required.
Coordinate the OCOO rhythm of business, including team meetings, leadership sessions, agendas, decks, recurring processes, and follow-up trackers.
Support OCOO team operations, including space planning, onboarding and offboarding, day-to-day operational needs, and accessible onboarding information and shared resources.
Support OCOO leadership team meetings and operations through meeting design, agendas, decision and action capture, team communications, and coordination.
Liaise with internal partners, route requests, and support operational processes such as approvals and communications workflows.
Coordinate Business Operations division-wide activities, including business reviews, annual review cycles, performance and partnership check-ins, and annual planning.
Scope, run, track, and continuously improve division-level programs and initiatives, surfacing risks and driving work to completion.
Manage the day-to-day operation of the foundation’s policy library and administrative process, coordinating content, structure, access, updates, and documentation with policy owners and managers in accordance with protocols.
Coordinate across leadership, the Chief of Staff function, and division stakeholders to provide visibility into commitments, manage dependencies, and follow up across workstreams.
Identify process and system improvements and build tools, templates, trackers, and appropriate AI-enabled or automated solutions.
Create, maintain, and improve knowledge management systems and collaboration platforms for the OCOO team and division-wide programs, and encourage organized, consistent information practices.
Design knowledge resources around user needs so colleagues can find accurate, current documents, decisions, guidance, and context.
Build and run the OCOO’s AI learning agenda by sourcing and evaluating tools, use cases, and resources; maintaining a learning library; and facilitating sessions, demonstrations, and tip-sharing.
Model and promote practical use of AI tools in calendar management, correspondence, meeting preparation, and knowledge management, and help colleagues adopt effective uses.
Promote responsible use of approved AI tools, protection of sensitive and confidential information, and compliance with foundation guidance and security practices.
Plan and execute team and division-wide events, offsites, and retreats, including logistics, run-of-show, materials, and post-event follow-up.
Advise on event and meeting design to align content and format with leadership priorities and team culture.
Represent the principal and OCOO in internal and external communications with discretion and professionalism.
Represent the assistant/coordinator community in division-wide initiatives and contribute to a connected support culture.