The Letters Foundation is a foundation of last resort that provides humanitarian grants to people experiencing a crisis through no fault of their own and for whom no other options exist. These one-time grants provide a hand-up to individuals as they work to stabilize their lives. Established by Doris Buffett, the Letters Foundation reads and replies to letters from individuals living within the United States.  

Also established by Doris Buffett, the Learning by Giving Foundation (LxG) inspires and educates a new generation of leaders to be effective givers of their time, talent, and treasure back to their local community. LxG supports accredited college courses on experiential philanthropy with real grant funds for each class to distribute to high-impact, local nonprofit organizations. Each course teaches students to understand the social and economic roles of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy, and the processes through which social change is funded and implemented across sectors. Students develop critical leadership, professional, interpersonal, and analytical skills as they carry out an effective philanthropic strategy in their local communities. 

About the Role

Serving as a trusted advisor and providing administrative support to the Executive Director who leads two of Doris Buffett’s foundations, the Executive Assistant role requires superior organizational and coordination skills, being adept at dealing with a variety of constituents and stakeholders, scheduling significant events from beginning to end, juggling multiple priorities and being a truly interactive professional who is solution-driven and anticipates needs. The Executive Assistant protects and leverages the Executive Director’s time by screening, prioritizing, and redirecting issues, by strategizing and executing communications, and by managing the Executive Director’s schedule. The Executive Assistant’s primary areas of responsibility are outlined below.

Responsibilities

Administrative

• Manage Executive Director's schedule, including meetings with staff, volunteers, board members and other external stakeholders as well as events, professional travel and conferences, and outside professional commitments.

• Maintain coordination with the Director of Letters & Grants and the Associate Director of Operations for day-to-day activities impacting the Foundation

• Strategically coordinate Executive Director’s schedule based on her short and long term priorities, while also recognizing issues which require more immediate action.

• Ensure the Executive Director is appropriately prepared for all meetings.

• Assist Executive Director with planning for and maintaining scheduled deadlines.

• Assume responsibility for participant meeting notification, coordination of agenda and materials, follow up distribution of notes and tracking of follow-up activities.

• Arrange travel including booking transportation, arranging lodging and managing any additional logistics of trips.

• Provide general office support including, but not limited to, setting up and maintaining sensitive files.

• Review and assess potential speaking and interview requests

  Event Planning

• Manage the logistics of special events hosted by the Foundations, ensuring that the vision for the event is fully executed.  

• Create and manage all elements of the budget, including; venue, catering, audio visual, invitations and transportation/lodging as needed.

• Exercise sound judgment in order to successfully navigate unexpected situations.

• At least 5 years of Executive Assistant experience, with previous event planning and/or Public Relations experience a plus

• Impeccable integrity, judgment, and discretion along with a professional demeanor and interpersonal style that elicits trust 

• Strong organizational and time management skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with strong attention to detail

• Demonstrated diplomacy, judgment, initiative and problem-solving skills

• Strong multi-tasking skills; flexible and able to work well under pressure

• Adaptable, with a commitment to learning and growth

• Technologically adept; proficient with GSuite, and experience with Salesforce and Evernote preferred

While the above is intended to describe the general nature and level of work for this position, it is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of individuals in this role.

Please note this is a part time position (approximately 25 hours per week) based in Boston with flexibility to work remotely. 

To submit an application, please submit a letter of interest and resume.

The Letters Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse workforce. Women, LGBTQ, and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.