Executive Assistant

Human Capital Education•Chicago, IL

11d•$90,000 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Human Capital Education (HCE) enables colleges and universities to grow with purpose by providing the systems, expertise, data, and strategy needed to attract, enroll, and support students more effectively and efficiently. HCE works across undergraduate, graduate, online, and adult programs, helping institutions translate strategy into actionable insights that deliver sustainable results. In January 2026, Human Capital Education acquired Kennedy & Company Education Strategies, bringing together complementary organizations with a shared commitment to helping institutions navigate change, strengthen performance, and achieve long-term sustainability. Together, HCE and Kennedy & Company now serve more than 300 colleges and universities nationwide, offering integrated strategic enablement services spanning research, enrollment management, financial analysis, institutional strategy, and technology implementation. Human Capital Education seeks a proactive, highly dependable Executive Assistant to serve as a trusted operational partner to the EOA team and Managing Directors. The role combines executive support, client coordination, deliverable development, business operations, and project follow-through. The Executive Assistant creates capacity for senior leaders by anticipating needs, strengthening client relationships, coordinating high-quality work products, and supporting sound operational decisions. Although the role includes calendar and travel coordination, its primary purpose is to help the EOA team operate effectively and deliver exceptional client service. The ideal candidate is a strong communicator and problem-solver who can support multiple leaders, build trust with clients and colleagues, exercise sound judgment with confidential information, and move fluidly between executive support, business operations, and client deliverables in a fast-paced consulting environment.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in executive or administrative support, project coordination, or a comparable business operations role, including experience supporting multiple senior leaders or client-facing teams.
Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with close attention to detail.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting, editing, and quality-checking polished business materials.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft 365, particularly PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, and Teams, including the ability to build and refine polished presentations, manage complex spreadsheets, and organize collaborative workflows.
Experience with budgeting, contract administration, financial forecasting, or project financial management.
Professional judgment and discretion when handling confidential, financial, contractual, employee, or client information.
Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs, solve problems independently, and follow work through to completion.
Ability to build trusted relationships with clients, senior leaders, and cross-functional colleagues.
Ability to adapt quickly and remain effective as priorities change.
Ability to adjust working hours occasionally to support client meetings, team events, travel disruptions, and time-sensitive deliverables.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree.
Experience in consulting, legal, or another professional services environment.
Experience in an analytics- or data-oriented role.
Familiarity with the higher education industry and enrollment lifecycle.

Responsibilities

Anticipate the needs of the EOA team and Managing Directors, identify risks, and help leaders prioritize the work with the greatest client and business impact.
Build and maintain strong client relationships through responsive, professional communication, consistent follow-through, and thoughtful coordination of requests and next steps.
Prepare leaders and project teams for client meetings by assembling agendas, background materials, analyses, and presentation content; document decisions and drive follow-up.
Manage client deliverable workflows from initial planning through final distribution, including version control, review cycles, approvals, and production timelines.
Review and edit client-facing deliverables for clarity, accuracy, consistency, and visual cohesion; contribute to deliverable development as needed.
Support budgeting and financial management by maintaining budget data, tracking actuals against forecasts, identifying variances, reviewing expenses, and preparing updates for leadership.
Support contract administration by reviewing agreements for completeness and consistency, tracking approvals and key dates, coordinating signatures, maintaining records, and escalating substantive legal questions to the appropriate reviewer.
Arrange complex, multi-destination travel and anticipate staff needs by providing itineraries, meeting materials, client context, contact information, and contingency plans.
Draft and edit executive correspondence, internal communications, reports, presentations, and other materials in a polished, audience-appropriate voice.
Manage calendars and meeting logistics for supported leaders, using judgment to resolve conflicts, protect focus time, and align schedules with client and business priorities.
Handle sensitive financial, contractual, employee, and client information with discretion and sound judgment.
Improve templates, workflows, documentation, and operating processes to increase quality, consistency, and efficiency.