The Personal/Executive Assistant is the right hand of her manager. She works at the top of the organisation and is independent, proactive and often in charge. The assistant is usually 100% available, and occupies a key position within the organisation. This former ‘executive secretary’ facilitates, thinks along with and advises her manager.
Job description
The Personal/Executive Assistant is the strategic sparring partner of a director or manager. An indispensable pivotal figure within the company. The PA/EA is the first point of contact for the manager and replaces the manager in case of absence. She is highly educated, with solid experience and a pronounced maturity.
Position within the department and organisation
The Personal/Executive Assistant works together with her manager and is in constant contact with the other departments of the company. The PA/EA takes on her own projects in collaboration with HRM, marketing, communication, facility management, production, sales, logistics, legal, etc.
Responsibilities
First point of contact for the manager and relay to various stakeholders;
Content preparation of projects and policy notes;
Administrative tasks and general secretarial tasks such as diary management, correspondence, communication, making presentations and taking minutes of meetings
and taking minutes at meetings;
Planning and organising meetings, events, trips, seminars, incentives, etc;
Sparring partner, co-manager and back-up of your supervisor;
Both project leader and supervisor for specific areas.
Education
A higher professional education (hbo) degree in Management Support, Office Management or Management Assistant.
Or an MBO training for executive secretary, management or office support, with at least 10 years’ work experience.
Possibly additional training in the field of event or project management, HRM, marketing, (corporate) communication or business administration. If you have followed Executive Assistant Training Courses, it will really help you in getting a job in this field.
Competencies
Soft skills
Analytical, planning and problem-solving organiser with hands-on mentality;
Broad interest in social and economic topics;
Strong communicative skills: orally and in writing, verbally and non-verbally;
Loyal, honest, discrete, empathetic and diplomatic;
Decisive, assertive and experienced professional who also knows how to get others moving;
Strategic insight into business processes as a basis for identifying improvement processes;
Stress resistant and flexible multi-tasker who knows how to distinguish between main and minor issues.
Hard skills
Language skills: multilingual (at least Dutch and English and preferably French or German) with excellent editing skills;
Trained in the latest presentation techniques and technological developments (cloud applications, mobile applications, CMS, tools for taking minutes, video conferencing, online meetings, etc.);
Excellent knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Challenges
A Personal/Executive Assistant holds a position of trust. She works for and together with her manager, but also bears final responsibility for her own projects. The PA/EA creates a good balance between intuition and reason, effort and relaxation, and always knows how to push her limits.
Salary
The salary of a professional, experienced Personal/Executive Assistant can (certainly in international organisations) amount to around € 5,000 gross per month. The average salary is around € 3,900 per month. In addition to the salary, the remuneration package often includes benefits such as a smartphone, laptop or other mobile devices, sometimes a company car, reimbursement of expenses and reimbursement of certain insurances.
Career
Approximately 42% of Personal/Executive Assistants grow within the company. They grow along with their manager, the size of the company or move on to another function. Their broad business insight offers them an ideal springboard to the next (management) level.
