General Description:
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is an international membership organization that promotes sustainability in the cocoa sector. WCF provides cocoa farmers with the support they need to grow more quality cocoa and socially and economically strengthen their communities. WCF’s members include cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, processors, supply chain managers, and other companies worldwide, representing more than 80 percent of the global cocoa market. WCF’s programs benefit farmers and their communities in cocoa-growing regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.worldcocoafoundation.org.
Position Summary:
The Executive Assistant serves as a primary point of contact for internal and external global constituencies on all matters pertaining to the WCF President & CEO and Senior Directors. Working at the direction of the President & CEO, the Executive Assistant facilitates interactions with WCF’s Board of Directors (BoD), comprising senior executives at global chocolate and cocoa companies. This includes organizing logistical elements related to BoD meetings that take place 3-4 times yearly at locations around the world. The position requires an ability to work both independently and in teams handling a wide variety of demanding duties flexibly and creatively including preparation of meetings, events, and materials. The successful candidate will bring a professional demeanor, open communication style, and discretion with confidential matters coupled with the abilities to meet multiple deadlines and manage challenges on the fly.
Position Details:
This position is based at the WCF McPherson Square, Washington DC, office and will report to the WCF President & CEO. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. The salary for this role will be commensurate with experience. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Primary Responsibilities:
Senior Leadership Support (75%)
· Helps ensure efficient use of President & CEO and Senior Directors’ time by reading, researching, and routing correspondence; drafting letters and documents; collecting and analyzing information; creating and distributing presentations and meeting minutes; providing administrative support including time and expense reporting; and initiating telecommunications.
· Research and review industry reports, publications and press releases to distill information into summaries or presentations for Senior Leadership or other audiences as needed.
· Proactively manages President & CEO’s schedule; booking meetings, calls, teleconferences, events, and reaching out to members and stakeholders.
· Welcomes guests and members/stakeholders by greeting them, in person or on the telephone, and answering or directing inquiries.
· Schedules and prepares President & CEO and Senior Directors’ domestic and international travel working with WCF travel agents, field offices and member companies to plan effective, dynamic, and multi-faceted trips.
· Ensures optimization and operation of President & CEO’s equipment through preventive maintenance, troubleshooting malfunctions, liaising with IT support, and evaluating new software and technology.
President Support with Board of Directors/Members (15%)
· Schedules and prepares regular domestic and international BoD meetings working with BoD members and their assistants, WCF’s travel agents, venue staff and other stakeholders to ensure proper logistics for all attendees.
· Manages WCF content creation and preparation for BoD meetings.
· Prepares minutes for distribution after each BoD meeting.
· Fields member queries and ensures follow-up, in coordination with the President & CEO and Marketing and Outreach team. Manages President & CEO’s client and stakeholder contact and relationship information in CRM system.
Team Support (10%)
· Supports the Operations Team to receive guests and calls, hosting office events and visitors, and maintain a positive office environment.
· Supports other departments and programs as directed by the President & CEO. As a lean organization, all WCF team members help support special events and projects.
Desired Skills/Qualifications:
· Three years+ of relevant experience in assisting high level executives preferred,
· Demonstrable proficiency conducting research analysis with clearly communicated outputs,
· Experience organizing and executing logistics, meeting planning, and agendas/reports/minutes for a high-level international BoD,
· A bachelor’s degree in international affairs, international development, sustainability, agriculture or other related field preferred,
· Exceptional English writing skills; fluency in spoken business French desirable,
· Strong computer skills, experience with Microsoft Office Suite, especially PowerPoint and ideally Prezi for preparing effective and impactful presentations for executive and BoD meetings,
· Technical experience with CRM systems (Salesforce) plus web conferencing and teleconferencing tools (Skype, iMeet, WebEx),
· Evidence of being extremely detail-oriented and highly organized with the ability to multi-task and prioritize,
· Ability to manage documentation and filing, especially digital and cloud storage system for important and confidential documents,
· Experience organizing heavy international and domestic travel itineraries and global meetings for senior-level executives, and
· Ability to be on call during the President & CEO’s international travel and/or, on limited occasions, accompany the President & CEO on domestic and international travel.
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