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Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee

Executive Assistant to The President

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee

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Job Summary

Executive Assistant provides executive support in a one-on-one working relationship to the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This position serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the Office of the President. This position also serves as a liaison to the board of directors and senior management teams; organizes and coordinates executive outreach and external relations efforts; and oversees special projects. Executive Assistant to the CEO is creative and enjoys working within an entrepreneurial environment that is mission-driven, results-driven and community oriented. The ideal individual exercises good judgment in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. Must work independently on projects, from conception to completion, and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities and confidential matters with discretion. This position supports and fosters our deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, which is the foundation for creating a culture of belonging for all personnel.

Job Responsibilities

Executive Support:

  • Completes a broad variety of administrative tasks for the President & CEO including managing an extremely active calendar of appointments; completing expense reports; composing and preparing correspondence on behalf of the President & CEO; respecting and valuing extreme confidentiality; arranging complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agendas; compiling documents for travel-related meetings; and managing the reputation of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, along with its’ leadership.
  • Plans, coordinates, and ensures the CEO’s schedule is followed and respected. Provides “gatekeeper” and “gateway” role, and having the competency to research and prioritize meeting requests.
  • Communicates directly, and on behalf of the President and CEO, with Board members, donors, volunteers, staff, and others, on matters related to CEO’s programmatic initiatives – often times performing as a ghost writer.
  • Researches, prioritizes, and follows up on incoming issues and concerns addressed to the President, including those of a sensitive or confidential nature. Determines appropriate course of action, referral, or response.
  • Provides a bridge for smooth communication between the President’s office and internal departments; demonstrating leadership to maintain credibility, trust, and support with senior management staff.
  • Works closely and effectively with the CEO to keep him/her well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately. Acts as a “barometer,” having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment and keeping the President updated.
  • Provides leadership to build relationships crucial to the success of the organization and manages a variety of special projects for the President, some of which may have organizational impact.
  • Completes critical aspects of deliverables with a hands-on approach, including drafting acknowledgement letters, personal correspondence, and other tasks that facilitate the CEO’s ability to effectively lead the company.

Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matter expeditiously, proactively, and follows-through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressures.

 

Board Support & Liaison:

  • Serves as the President’s administrative liaison to Second Harvest Board of Directors. Including:
    1. Board Annual Calendar
    2. Prepping pre-read materials for Board and Committee Meetings
    3. Event planning and coordination, which may include meal planning, travel arrangements, and/or lodging.
  • Maintains discretion and confidentiality in relationships with all board members.
  • Adhere to compliance with applicable rules and regulations set in bylaws regarding board and board committee matters, including advance distribution of materials before meetings in electronic/paper format.

Senior Management Liaison:

  • Participates as an adjunct member of the Leadership team including assisting in scheduling meetings and attending meetings as identified.
  • Assists in coordinating the agenda of Leadership team meetings and off-sites, and all- staff meetings.
  • Supporting special projects like Strategic Planning management and reporting, scheduling, security and safety, etc.

Office Management & Supervisory Responsibilities

  • Front Desk cross-trained responsibilities:
  • Manage the Front Desk employee, including timecard reporting, employee review, and training
  • Purchases and maintains inventory of necessary break room and office supplies – fulfilling individual requests and maintaining supply for general use and consumption.
  • Security check-in for guests
  • Full job description review and back up of responsibilities
  • Provides weekly relief support to the Front Desk, on behalf of the Administration department, for morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks. Up to, and at times including, scheduled and unscheduled time off.
  • Coordinates purchase and sale of current inventory of Second Harvest Food Bank merchandise/swag.

Qualifications

Education:       Bachelor’s degree required.

Experience:     3-5+ years of experience supporting C-Level Executives. Experience and interest in internal and external communications, partnership development, and fundraising.

Skills & Capabilities:

  • Strong organizational skills that reflect ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail.
  • Very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including staff, board members, external partners, and donors.
  • Expert level written and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability.
  • Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be extremely effective independently.
  • Handle confidential information with discretion, be adaptable to various competing demands, and demonstrate the highest level of customer/client service and response.
  • Achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Forward looking thinker, who actively seeks opportunities and proposes solutions.
  • Consistently represents and values the reputation of the President & CEO, leadership, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, often times acting as representative of the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

​​​​​​​Allowable Substitutions: Combination of education, experience, and/or training that provides the required knowledge and skills for the position may be considered in lieu of education/experience at the organization’s discretion.

Additional Information

Benefits

TRAVEL

  • Occasional daytime travel required within the local service area.
  • Current driver’s license with copy of current auto insurance and acceptable Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) results required.

WORKFLEX

As a social services organization, we strive to be available for our clients, donors, and fellow staff members to work toward our mission to provide food to people facing hunger and work to advance hunger solutions. WorkFlex may be considered as a benefit to eligible positions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL DEMANDS/OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

The demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the tasks outlined in this job description.

Environment: The office is in the administrative area of the Main Distribution Center, attached to the food bank warehouse. The primary work area has high lighting levels, is temperature controlled, noise level is usually moderate and has limited potential for hazards. With forklift traffic in the facility and product stacked and stored throughout, this position requires someone who is mobile and who can watch for traffic and normal hazards of a warehouse environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. On occasion, warehouse and/or kitchen duties may be necessary as well as responding to issues outside of normal working hours (e.g., disaster response, community events, etc.).

Physical Demands: Required to sit; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to walk and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; and taste or smell.  The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Pushing, pulling, lifting, and/or carrying objects up to 25 pounds may be required.

Language skills: Read a variety of books, magazines, instruction manuals, financial reports. Ability to prepare memos, reports, and essays using proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Communicate distinctly with appropriate pauses and emphases; correct punctuation and variation of word order; using present, perfect, and future tenses. Respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.

Mathematical skills: Perform basic math and algebra skills, use decimals to compute ratios and percentages, and to draw and interpret graphs. Read and interpret financial statements and prepare budgets.

Reasoning ability: Define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Apply logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Deal with very difficult concepts and complex variables.

Organization Competencies: Judgement and accountability, teamwork, communication, inclusiveness, interpersonal relations and skills, job knowledge and potential and project management.

How to Apply

Think this sounds like a role and workplace where you would thrive? Apply now! You can express interest in joining our team, in any of the following ways:

  1. Online: employment application on our website: secondharvestmidtn.org/job-opportunities. Resume and cover letter can be uploaded with applications on the website as well.
  2. Email: Resume and cover letter can be sent to our Human Resources team at jobs@secondharvestmidtn.org.
  3. In person: applications can be completed by visiting us on-site at any of our distribution centers, locations can be found on our website: secondharvestmidtn.org/contact.

Thanks for your interest in working for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee – we love it here and think you will too!

Details

  • Date Posted: January 26, 2023
  • Type: Full-Time
  • Job Function: Administrative
  • Service Area: Community Development
  • Start Date: 02/15/2023
  • Working Hours: M-F, 8:00am-4:30pm