Position: Executive Assistant

Location:  Washington, DC
Date: August 21, 2009
Closing Date: Open Until Filled

 
About the Center for Community Change

The Center for Community Change is a national social justice non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1968 to honor the life and values of Robert F. Kennedy, we are one of the longest standing champions for low-income families and communities of color. Throughout our history, the Center has strengthened the leadership, voice and power of low-income communities nationwide to confront the vital issues of today and build the social movements of tomorrow.

Our work has contributed to the creation of the food stamp program, the enactment of the Community Reinvestment Act, the growth of community development corporations, and the creation and preservation of affordable housing. Today we are leading efforts to advance fair and humane immigration reform, increase voter participation in communities of color and develop the next generation of social justice organizers. The Center had brought the issues and values of low-income communities to the forefront of the political debate with presidential candidate forums in the 2004 and 2008 election cycles. For further information please visit our website at: www.communitychange.org.

Position Description:

The Executive Assistant in the Executive Office at the Center for Community Change (CCC), provides administrative and logistical support to the Executive Director and Managing Director including drafting correspondence or refining reports, letters or email; scheduling; and coordinating with other units, allies, partners, and government representatives. The Executive Assistant also provides support to the Board of Directors, including communications and logistical arrangements.

The Executive Assistant provides support for the entire Executive Office, including gathering data, designing graphics and publications, setting up calls, attending meetings, taking notes during meetings or calls, as requested, and ensuring follow-up items are handled and/or communicated to the appropriate parties.  The Executive Assistant should be capable of exercising initiative, discretion and good judgment.  Strong writing skills, professionalism and confidentiality are crucial to this role. A portion of time will be spent working on tasks related to CCC's sister organization, the Campaign for Community Change.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Schedule appointments, meetings and speaking engagements for the Executive Director and Managing Director;
• Coordinate, organize and schedule meetings and retreats for  CCC Staff and Senior Management Team;
• Process and submit expense, timesheets and leave requests for the Executive Director and Managing Director;
• Support Executive Director's and Managing Director's planning for meetings by creating agendas, capturing notes, and ensuring timely follow-up. When needed, solicit agenda items and supporting documents from other members of staff, prepare and distribute final agenda.

 
Event Coordination and Project Management

• Provide logistical support to Executive Director's and Managing Director's meetings, conferences, workshops and presentations.
• Work closely with allies, partners and units across the organization to coordinate CCC events.
• Work in close collaboration with the Senior Executive Coordinator to coordinate organizational-wide events and Board meetings, providing support as needed to ensure successful planning.
• Provide back-up support to Center for Community Change and Campaign for Community Change board meetings, including preparation of minutes.

• Manage Executive Director's and Managing Director's e-mail and hardcopy mail, taking direct action in responding, when appropriate, and/or forwarding items for action to the appropriate CCC employee. Maintain electronic and selective hardcopy desk files and records for the Executive Director and Managing Director. Maintain up-to-date and accessible electronic contacts database.
• Writing: prepare draft presentations, draft and format letters and emails as appropriate for general and routine correspondence; mail correspondence, including potentially confidential information, both internally and externally.
• Perform functions such as literature search, web research and provide writing support to the Executive Director and Managing Director including creating visual aids for presentations, graphs and charts, and draft of other communication products for conferences, publications, electronic dissemination and others.
• Preparation of travel-related documents, briefings, reports, etc.

 Qualifications:

• At least three years work experience in office management in a non-profit or similar environment including Capitol Hill.
• Experience providing support at the Senior Management level.
• Excellent writing skills, including writing for a number of audiences in a variety of formats, including meeting minutes and strategic documents. 
• Good computer skills with a high degree of fluency in using MS Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, Access and web search tools with the ability to learn new software as needed.
• Demonstrated experience with research and information gathering, including the ability to quickly gather data in a short timeframe, on a wide variety of topics.
• Strong organizational skills, a demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks, work under pressure, and meet deadlines. Highly detail oriented, with meticulous approach to follow through, including systems for tracking follow up.
• Strong interpersonal communication and relational skills; strong verbal communication skills; demonstrated ability to function in a collaborative and collegial environment, and to interact with diverse staff at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• A commitment to the values of the Center for Community Change.
• Good judgment, flexibility and patience; discretion in dealing with confidential and sensitive matters.

This position reports to: Senior Executive Coordinator

Salary & Benefits:  CCC offers a competitive salary. Temporary employees receive all legally mandated benefits.

Closing Date of Position: Open Until Filled

How to apply: Please submit resume, a cover letter that includes salary expectations and at least two writing samples to:

Human Resources
Re: Executive Assistant
Center for Community Change
1536 U Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
Fax: 202 387 4892

employment@communitychange.org