Senior Executive Business Partner

NCM Associates•Kansas City, MO

13d

About The Position

The Senior Executive Business Partner works directly with the COO to provide executive, operational, project, and leadership support across a broad range of business priorities. This role is responsible for managing the COO’s operating rhythm, coordinating priorities and follow-through across teams, preparing for meetings and key decisions, and ensuring important initiatives continue to move forward. As a senior partner within the COO’s office, this role is expected to demonstrate leadership by driving accountability, creating clarity around priorities, and helping teams navigate competing demands. The Senior Executive Business Partner will lead and coordinate cross-functional efforts, proactively identify and resolve issues, influence stakeholders at varying levels of the organization, and represent the COO’s priorities and expectations when appropriate. The role requires the confidence to take ownership, exercise sound judgment, and move work forward with limited direction. The role requires strong business judgment, organization, discretion, executive presence, and the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced environment. The Senior Executive Business Partner will also use AI and automation to streamline administrative processes, improve workflows, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the COO’s office.

Requirements

5+ years of experience supporting a senior executive, ideally a CEO, COO, or other C-level leader, or equivalent experience as a strong project manager or business operations professional.
Demonstrated ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
Exceptional organization, follow-through, and attention to detail.
Strong business judgment and the ability to distinguish between what is urgent, what is important, and what does not require executive attention.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt tone to the audience.
Comfort interacting with senior leaders and representing an executive with professionalism and discretion, including on sensitive matters.
Genuine curiosity about how the business operates and the judgment to understand what's really going on in a room, not just capture what was said.
Comfort with ambiguity and shifting priorities.
Strong technology skills and genuine enthusiasm for AI and automation, including a willingness to learn to build and supervise AI agents.
High level of discretion with confidential information.

Responsibilities

Manage and continuously optimize the COO's calendar, meetings, priorities, and time.
Anticipate needs, identify conflicts and competing priorities, and proactively recommend solutions.
Help the COO stay focused on the highest-value work by filtering, organizing, and prioritizing information and requests.
Prepare the COO for meetings and leadership sessions by gathering relevant information, identifying decisions needed, and ensuring follow-up happens afterward.
Know when something can be handled independently, when it should be routed to a director, and when it genuinely requires the COO's attention.
Represent the COO in select meetings and working sessions, capturing context and what she would care about, not just notes. This does not extend to representing her positions or making commitments on her behalf.
Own the operating rhythm surrounding the COO, including meeting preparation, follow-up, action tracking, and recurring executive processes.
Ensure commitments and action items from meetings and 1:1s don't get lost, following up with functional leaders and the leadership team as needed.
Coordinate across senior leaders and teams to keep cross-functional work moving, including time-sensitive initiatives like active M&A activity and the annual budget cycle.
Anticipate logistical or operational needs and resolve issues before they become distractions.
Help build systems, processes, and workflows that make the COO's office more efficient.
Support the COO on special projects and high-priority initiatives that require research, coordination, organization, or follow-through.
Pull together information from across the organization and turn it into clear, actionable summaries.
Coordinate work across multiple stakeholders when appropriate.
Step into ambiguous situations and figure out what needs to happen without waiting for a detailed playbook.
Occasionally own discrete workstreams on behalf of the COO.
Learn to build and manage Claude agents and other AI tools that handle scheduling, travel, and other administrative mechanics, overseeing accuracy and stepping in for exceptions.
Use AI proactively to improve executive productivity, decision-making, communication, and workflow.
Continuously look for smarter ways to work rather than simply maintaining existing processes.
Lead and mentor a small team of administrative professionals.
Provide guidance, feedback, and professional development opportunities to support their growth.
Ensure administrative operations are coordinated effectively, maximizing efficiency across the executive office.
Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement within the team.