Senior Executive Assistant

GEMMABio is a therapeutics company focused on speeding the research of and global access to life-changing advanced therapies for those living with rare diseases. The company will provide research and product development functions to bring gene therapy discoveries from the bench to the bedside faster and affordably.

GEMMABio is led by gene therapy industry pioneer Jim Wilson and his team of experts, who previously conducted their work in academia. Wilson is also the Chairperson of Franklin Biolabs, a Contract Research Organization. The collective goal of the two affiliated companies is to translate innovative scientific work into clinical trials, to then commercialize and distribute the new therapies around the world to patients who need them most.

Job Summary

The Senior Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is a highly skilled professional providing comprehensive administrative, and strategic support to the CEO. This role supports a culture of high-performance by conducting advanced, diversified, and confidential duties requiring broad and comprehensive experience, skills, and knowledge. A successful candidate has exceptional organizational abilities, absolute discretion in the performance of their duties, and the ability to handle complex tasks in a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will be proactive, detail-oriented, and capable of managing confidential matters with the upmost professionalism and efficiency.

This position reports to the CEO and will also have supervisory responsibilities. This candidate will possess leadership and management skills with the ability to provide direction and guidance to a direct report.

Responsibilities and duties

• Manage the CEO’s calendar, schedule meetings, and coordinate appointments to optimize time management.
• Screen and prioritize emails, calls and correspondence, responding on behalf of the CEO when appropriate.
• Organize and oversee the technology and materials associated with all CEO-involved meetings in office and outside of the office.
• Handle domestic and international travel arrangements, including flights, hotels, visas, and itineraries, sometimes working with personal contacts and/or foreign agencies and government officials. This requires calendar confidentiality and travel security management on occasion.
• Ensure accurate and timely reconciliation of CEO expenses associated with travel or meetings.
• Coordinate logistics for board meetings, including preparing materials and planning event details for onsite meetings.
• Liaise with external and internal constituencies, board members, and stakeholders on behalf of the executive team, keeping them apprised of issues and action items as needed.
• Assist in the planning and execution of company-wide initiatives, events, and strategic priorities.
• Handle highly sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism at all times.
• Manage data records and the proper storage of files with initiative and sound judgment regarding confidentiality.
• Prioritize the workflow of multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining the integrity of the details.
• The Senior Executive Assistant to the CEO must have thorough knowledge of the organization and its policies or procedures for decision-making, sound judgment, and self-confidence to enable him/her to act independently in the absence of direction related to setting priorities and making on-the-spot decisions when necessary.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, communications, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years’ experience supporting C-suite executives, preferably in a corporate environment.
• Previous management experience of support personnel is preferred.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and collaboration tools (Zoom, Teams, SharePoint, etc.).
• Experience with querying databases and web content management systems (PubMed, EndNote).
• Excellent time management, multitasking, and organizational skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication abilities especially when working with diverse personnel worldwide.
• Ability to work independently, anticipate the needs of the CEO and broader organization, and proactively solve problems.
• High level of discretion, professionalism and attention to details is a must.
• This position requires strategic thinking with strong interpersonal skills, absolute discretion, resourcefulness, diplomacy and accuracy to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Regular and reliable attendance onsite 5 days per week is required. Nights and weekends may also be required at times.

NOTE: We are a dynamic organization in a rapidly changing industry where responsibilities associated with this position will change from time to time and in accordance with Gemma’s business needs. More specifically, the incumbent may be required to perform additional and/or different responsibilities from those set forth above.

GEMMABio is not accepting unsolicited resumes from search or staffing firms. All resumes submitted by search or staffing firms to any employee at GEMMABio via email, the Internet, or directly without a valid written search agreement for this role will be deemed the sole property of GEMMABio and no fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired.