Administrative Assistant, Office of the President – Cambridge, MA

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) seeks an exceptionally organized, detail-oriented, and enthusiastic Administrative Assistant to help support the President, Vice President – Research, and Vice President – Assessment and Advisory Services. Reporting directly to the President’s Special Assistant and working closely with staff across the organization, this full-time role will provide vital administrative support including calendaring, meeting preparation, and other initiatives in need of administrative support.

This is an opportunity to help advance CEP’s organizational mission of creating insight so philanthropic funders can better define, assess, and improve their effectiveness. If you are seeking a mission driven and socially meaningful administrative opportunity to support a highly motivated and dynamic team in a fast-paced environment, we encourage you to apply.

This position is based in our Cambridge, MA office.

The Ideal Candidate

You are highly organized and detail oriented. You consistently produce high-quality, error-free work, reflecting an ability to complete tasks on or ahead of time with quality and accuracy.
You demonstrate proactivity and good judgment and can independently manage multiple work streams and demands.
You are enthusiastic about serving as a key administrative resource. You have a strong orientation towards successful problem-solving and suggest opportunities for improving current systems.
You have experience being a key player in ensuring activities stay on track in a supportive office environment.
You work well within a close-knit team as well as across other departments at the organization.
You are flexible and adaptable in a fast-paced environment; you are gifted at managing up and have a desire to go beyond standard expectations in exceptional situations.
You are a strong communicator, both in writing and speaking. Your interpersonal skills allow you to interact effectively with staff at all levels of the organization as well as external contacts and clients.
Your highly positive attitude, shared commitment to excellence, and thoughtfulness are an asset to CEP.
You are an excellent ambassador of CEP’s values, both internally and externally, across multiple settings.

Key Responsibilities

Supporting the President, Vice President – Research, and Vice President – Assessment and Advisory Services through:

Scheduling meetings and appointments and balancing complex calendars
Supporting executives with travel arrangements
Coordinating meetings and speaking engagements with a wide range of external audiences
Assisting with meeting preparation (e.g. arranging meeting spaces, logistics, printing materials, and preparing and providing briefing materials)
Preparing expense reports
Taking notes during meetings and preparing minutes, memos, and agendas
Helping to maintain CEP’s mailing lists and contact database. Conducting internet research to update information and performing quality control of databases including research sample development
Working independently and as part of team on special and ongoing projects

Working closely with the Special Assistant to the President on various tasks related to the President’s office, including but not limited to:

Assisting in scheduling and organizing four board meetings per year, Board Committee Meetings and calls, New Board Member Orientation Meetings, and Advisory Board annual meetings
Working on additional tasks and special projects as needed and assigned by the President and the Special Assistant to the President
Organizing President’s Office events involving both internal and external audiences

Qualifications and Requirements

3 to 5+ years of full-time work experience required; at least three years of full-time, directly relevant administrative experience is strongly preferred.
Strong computer/technical skills; demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook; familiarity with Salesforce, and Asana a big plus.
Outstanding writing and communication skills with a keen attention to detail.

Benefits

We successfully compete for top talent across the public and private sectors and offer competitive compensation and benefits, including:

A commitment to pay parity and salary equity. The annual salary for this role is $67,500.
Performance based incentive compensation plan
Comprehensive health and dental insurance plans
Generous paid time off plan, including up to 15 holidays, three weeks of accrued vacation, and two personal days per year
Flexible working schedule options
401(k) plan with a 1:1 Employer Match up to 5% of total compensation
Generous annual personal professional development allowance
Flexible spending and dependent care tax free savings plans
Life insurance covered 100% by the organization

Location

This role will be based in our Cambridge, Massachusetts office in the heart of Central Square.

Given the role’s requirements, the Administrative Assistant is currently expected to be on-site a minimum of two days each week to effectively support the President and Vice Presidents.

About CEP

For over 20 years, CEP has led the movement to improve philanthropy through a powerful combination of dispassionate analysis and a passionate commitment to improving lives. CEOs and trustees of grantmaking institutions as well as individual donors have come to rely on our research for insights on a wide range of topics, from assessing performance to developing strategy to managing stakeholder relationships. More than 350 grantmakers around the world have used CEP’s assessment tools to gather honest feedback from their stakeholders in an effort to learn how to be even more effective. Our highly regarded programming—including our biennial conference—gives philanthropic leaders an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity to connect with their peers. Through custom workshops and peer learning cohorts, our new Learning Institute supports funders in driving changes in their philanthropic practice. CEP is based in Cambridge Massachusetts, with a second office in San Francisco, California. Strengths of CEP’s work culture are entrepreneurialism, accountability, teamwork, collegiality, diversity, and mutual respect.

To Apply

Please fill out our application for employment and attach a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position. If you have any questions, please contact Leaha Wynn, Sr. Manager, People & Culture and D&I Strategist or Alyse d’Amico, Vice President, People & Culture and Advisor to the President at jobs [at] cep [dot] org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

We believe that a diversity of thoughts, experiences, backgrounds, personalities, and identities helps us think bigger and better, and enables us to reach our goals more effectively. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Once a candidate begins our process, we discourage outreach to our staff for interviews or conversations that are outside our standard interview process. We have worked hard to design a process that is fair and rigorous and achieves a good match between candidates and CEP.

We evaluate candidates based on their merits. We strongly discourage unsolicited references. We will ask for references if and when a candidacy reaches a finalist stage.