Executive Administrative Assistant (CEO) in Itasca, Illinois at Fellowes Brands

Description

Our most important asset is our people. Who we are, what we do, how we do it and why we are passionate are all centerpieces of why we succeed.

We are proud to be recognized:

• Among America's Best Midsize Employers by Forbes in 2021, 2022 and 2024
• As a Chicago Tribune Top Workplace for four consecutive years (2021-2025)

We currently operate 4 days in-office and 1 day remote.

This position is not eligible for visa-based employment-based sponsorship.

Role Summary

As the Executive Administrative Assistant to the CEO, you will serve as a trusted partner, providing high-level executive support while helping drive organizational effectiveness and execution. This role combines traditional executive assistance responsibilities with business coordination, ensuring the CEO remains focused on the company's most critical priorities.

This individual works closely alongside the CEO, maintaining visibility into priorities, commitments, communications, and key business activities while ensuring information, decisions, and follow-up actions are effectively coordinated and executed. The ideal candidate is exceptionally organized, proactive, discreet, and comfortable operating with significant exposure to executive-level work and confidential information.

In This Role, You Will Provide…

Executive Support & Coordination

• Manage the CEO's complex calendar, priorities, and scheduling to ensure effective allocation of time.
• Prioritize meeting requests and coordinate logistics for executive meetings and engagements.
• Coordinate domestic and international travel, including detailed itineraries, logistics, and contingency planning.
• Prepare and reconcile expense reports in a timely and accurate manner.
• Prepare briefing materials, presentations, and meeting materials to ensure the CEO is well prepared for meetings, Board interactions, travel, stakeholder engagements, and key business discussions.
• Handle highly confidential and sensitive information with the utmost professionalism and discretion.

Executive Partnership & Follow-Through

• Serve as a trusted day-to-day partner to the CEO, helping coordinate priorities, commitments, communications, and execution of follow-up actions.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the CEO's calendar, meetings, priorities, and outstanding commitments, anticipating upcoming needs and ensuring preparedness for key engagements and decisions.
• Manage the CEO's email inbox, including reviewing and organizing incoming communications, prioritizing messages, flagging items requiring attention, and helping ensure timely follow-up.
• Attend key meetings with the CEO as appropriate, capturing important discussions, decisions, commitments, and action items.
• Maintain a centralized system for tracking priorities, commitments, decisions, and action items arising from meetings and ongoing business activities.
• Track deliverables and commitments owed to the CEO, proactively escalating upcoming deadlines, overdue items, and matters requiring executive attention.
• Develop and maintain tools and reporting mechanisms that provide visibility into key priorities, deadlines, commitments, and progress against action items.
• Organize and maintain meeting notes, correspondence, documents, and key information, ensuring easy accessibility and effective follow-through on critical items.

Executive Communications & Materials

• Assist in presentation preparation, reports, executive communications, and other executive-ready materials on behalf of the CEO.
• Gather and organize information from across the business to support the CEO's preparation for meetings, discussions, and communications.
• Support the preparation and coordination of leadership communications and organizational updates.
• Review and organize materials provided to the CEO, ensuring information is complete, clear, and prepared for timely review and decision-making.

Executive Effectiveness

• Identify and implement practical improvements to how the CEO's calendar, communications, meetings, information, and follow-up are organized and managed.
• Establish and continuously improve processes that drive accountability, information flow, decision tracking, and execution of follow-up actions.
• Continuously look for ways to reduce administrative burden and help the CEO operate more efficiently and effectively.

What You Bring to the Team

• A minimum of five (5) years of experience supporting senior executives, preferably at the C-suite or CEO level.
• Exceptional organizational, planning, and time management skills.
• Exceptional written communication skills are a must, with the ability to draft, edit, and refine clear, concise, executive-level communications and materials.
• Excellent attention to detail and follow-through.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt in a fast-paced environment.
• Professional judgment and discretion with the ability to handle highly confidential information.
• Strong command of analytical, presentation, and digital tools, including Excel, TEAMS, PowerPoint, AI-enabled tools, and Canva, with the ability to quickly learn and leverage new technologies to improve executive effectiveness.
• Demonstrated initiative with the ability to anticipate needs and solve problems independently.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the confidence and professionalism to interact effectively with senior leaders.
• Ability to quickly understand the CEO's priorities, working style, and preferences.
• Ability to organize and manage a high volume of information, communications, and competing priorities.

What Success Looks Like

• The CEO remains highly organized, well prepared, and focused on the highest-priority strategic and operational matters.
• Executive operations, including calendar management, communications, meetings, and follow-up, run seamlessly and proactively.
• Important commitments, decisions, and action items are captured and do not fall through the cracks.
• The CEO maintains clear awareness of obligations, outstanding commitments, and responsibilities requiring attention, follow-up, or decision-making.
• Meetings are executed seamlessly, with thorough preparation, clear documentation, and proactive follow-through on commitments and action items.
• Calendars, travel, meetings, and executive logistics are managed seamlessly and proactively.
• The Executive Assistant is viewed by the CEO and senior leaders as a trusted, proactive, and highly reliable partner.

The hiring range for this position in Itasca, Illinois is $85,000 to $100,000 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills and experience, among other factors. An annual incentive may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered. An overview of our benefits offering is available here: Fellowes Benefits Overview.

Fellowes Brands - A Family Business Since 1917
For over a century, Fellowes has been committed to positively impacting people through our culture, relationships and solutions. We have evolved toward relevance with each decade and generation, responding to a constantly changing world. Today, we are on an ambitious journey to grow our influence and impact in enhancing and maximizing work experiences worldwide. We are a “Brand on the Move” and remain committed to finding new ways to help people work better and feel better.

Visit our Careers Site: www.fellowesbrands.com/us/en/careers/Pages/overview.aspx

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Fellowes, Inc. does not accept unsolicited resumes from any agencies that have not signed a mutual service agreement. All unsolicited resumes will be considered Fellowes' property, and Fellowes will not be obligated to pay a referral fee. This includes resumes submitted directly to hiring managers without contacting the Talent Acquisition Departme