Executive assistant

Executive assistants are advanced administrative professionals who work with top-level executives or in international facilities in various industries. They organise meetings, organise and maintain files, arrange travel, train staff members, communicate in other languages, and manage the day-to-day operations of the office.

The duties of an executive assistant include, but are not limited to:

• Preparing financial statements, reports, memos, invoices letters, and other documents.
• Answering phones and routing calls to the correct person or taking messages.
• Handling basic bookkeeping tasks.
• Filing and retrieving corporate records, documents, and reports.
• Researching and conducting data to prepare documents for review and presentation by boards of directors, committees, and executives.
• Helping prepare for meetings.
• Accurately recording minutes from meetings.
• Greeting visitors and deciding if they should be able to meet with executives.
• Using various software, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software.
• Reading and analyzing incoming memos, submissions, and distributing them as needed.
• Making travel arrangements for executives.
• Performing office duties that include ordering supplies and managing a records database.
• Experience as a virtual assistant.
• Opening, sorting and distributing incoming faxes, emails, and other correspondence.
• Provide general administrative support.

Executive assistants work in many kinds of offices. They usually work in a room close to their executives or managers. They often share office space with secretarial or other staff. Assistants to top administrators may have their own offices.

Most executive assistants work thirty-five to forty hours per week. The need to work additional hours depends on the type of organization. Some employers allow executive assistants to work flexible schedules.

Some executive assistants may be required to travel to plan events, attend meetings and complete specific tasks.

The following job titles also refer to executive assistant:

personal executive assistant
senior administrative secretary
executive secretary
executive administrative assistant
personal assistant
multilingual secretary
foreign language assistant
assistant manager
foreign language correspondent executive assistant

The minimum requirement for an entry-level executive assistant position is typically a high school diploma, but many executive assistants have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Some professionals choose to take general business, administration and computer proficiency courses to develop foundational skills and knowledge. Some employers may accept years of experience over education requirements.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Executive assistant is a Skill level 3 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to executive assistant.

management assistant
administrative assistant
legal administrative assistant
office manager
accounting assistant

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of executive assistant. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of executive assistant with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

marketing assistant
budget analyst
activism officer
election observer
humanitarian advisor

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of executive assistant.

• Company policies: The set of rules that govern the activity of a company.

These skills are necessary for the role of executive assistant.

• Translate keywords into full texts: Draft e-mails, letters and other written documents on the basis of keywords or key concepts outlining the content. Choose the appropriate format and language style according to the type of document.
• Perform business research: Search and collect information relevant for the development of businesses in different fields ranging from legal, accounting, finance, up to commercial matters.
• Coordinate events: Lead events by managing budget, logistics, event support, security, emergency plans and follow up.
• Organise travel arrangements for staff: Plan all arrangements for business travels including preparing schedules and booking transportation, dinners and accommodation.
• Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
• Process commissioned instructions: Process instructions, usually oral ones, provided by managers and directives on actions required to be made. Take note, inquire, and take action on the commissioned requests.
• Manage office facility systems: Keep management and service ability of the various office systems needed for the smooth and daily operation of the office facilities such as internal communication systems, softwares of common use inside the company, and office networks.
• Use office systems: Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
• Manage personnel agenda: Schedule and confirm appointments for the personnel of the office, mostly managers and directive employees, with external parties.
• Disseminate messages to people: Receive, process, and pass messages to people coming from phone calls, faxes, postal, and emails.
• Apply information security policies: Implement policies, methods and regulations for data and information security in order to respect confidentiality, integrity and availability principles.
• Observe confidentiality: Observe the set of rules establishing the nondisclosure of information except to another authorised person.
• Fix meetings: Fix and schedule professional appointments or meetings for clients or superiors.
• Perform clerical duties: Perform administrative tasks such as filing, typing up reports and maintaining mail correspondence.
• Communicate schedules to the people concerned: Convey relevant scheduling information. Present the schedule to the persons concerned, and inform them of any schedule changes. Approve the schedules and verify that everyone has understood the information sent to them.
• Build business relationships: Establish a positive, long-term relationship between organisations and interested third parties such as suppliers, distributors, shareholders and other stakeholders in order to inform them of the organisation and its objectives.
• Maintain register of shareholders: Keep a register of shareholders and monitoring changes in share ownership of the company.
• Draft corporate emails: Prepare, compile, and write mails with the adequate information and an appropriate language to make internal or external communications.
• Liaise with managers: Liaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of executive assistant. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• International tariffs: Know international tariffs, taxes, or duties that must be paid on a particular class of import or export materials.
• International import export regulations: Know the principles that govern the import and export of products and equipment, trade restrictions, health and safety measures, licenses, etc.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of executive assistant. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Work in an international environment: Guide your career to an international level which often requires the ability to interact, relate and communicate with individuals from different cultures.
• Create import-export commercial documentation: Organise the completion of official documents such as letters of credit, shipping orders, and certificates of origin.
• Communicate with customers: Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
• Support development of annual budget: Support the development of the annual budget by producing base data as defined by the operations budget process.
• Prepare presentation material: Prepare the documents, slide shows, posters and any other media needed for specific audiences.
• Prepare tax returns forms: Totalise all the deductible tax collected during the quarter or fiscal year in order to fill tax return forms and claim it back to the governmental authorities for declaring taxation liability. Keep the documents and records supporting the transaction.
• Speak different languages: Master foreign languages to be able to communicate in one or more foreign languages.
• Manage payroll reports: Maintain personnel records as well as payroll reports. Record evaluations, promotions or disciplinary actions.
• Prepare financial statements: Collect, entry, and prepare the set of financial records disclosing the financial position of a company at the end of a certain period or accounting year. The financial statements consisting of five parts which are the statement of financial position, the statement of comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity (SOCE), the statement of cash flows and notes.
• Show intercultural awareness: Show sensibility towards cultural differences by taking actions which facilitate positive interaction between international organisations, between groups or individuals of different cultures, and to promote integration in a community.
• Liaise with board members: Report to the management, boards of directors and committees of an organisation.
• Build international relations: Build positive communication dynamics with organisations from different countries in order to build a cooperative relationship and optimise information exchange.
• Revise drafts made by managers: Revise drafts made by managers in order to check completeness, accuracy, and formatting.
• Translate language concepts: Translate one language into another language. Match words and expressions with their corresponding brothers in other languages, while making sure that the message and nuances of the original text are preserved.

3343 – Administrative and executive secretaries

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References

1. Executive assistant – ESCO
2. Secretaries and Administrative Assistants : Occupational Outlook Handbook – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
3. Learn About Being An Executive Assistant | Indeed.com
4. Administrative Assistant Job Description, Career as an Administrative Assistant, Salary, Employment – StateUniversity.com
5. Executive Assistant Job Description – BetterTeam