Executive Support Specialist

About Community Housing Network

Community Housing Network (CHN) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing homes for people in need through proven strategies of homeless prevention, housing assistance, affordable housing development, community education, advocacy, and referrals. Since 2001, CHN has served as the leading housing resource nonprofit organization in southeast Michigan and serves thousands of families and individuals annually who are facing homelessness, people with disabilities, low-income households, and other vulnerable Michigan residents.

Community Housing Network is Opening Doors and Transforming Lives through a work environment dedicated to empowering a work/life balance success through our Core Values: Inclusion, Integrity, Innovation and Passion.

CHN is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness which includes:

• Creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace to provide better services for participants and staff.
• Utilizing a trauma informed approach to build rapport with vulnerable populations.
• Making available educational resources related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, all the while providing a platform for conversation.

Community Housing Network provides excellent employment opportunities with competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefit package. All full-time employees enjoy a rich package of benefits including:

• Health Insurance
• Dental
• Vision
• Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending
• 401k
• Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Products: Aflac, Short Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance
• Generous Vacation and Medical Leave Time

Community Housing Network is an equal-opportunity employer recognized by the Detroit Free Press as a Top 100 Workplace and honored as a Crain’s Cool Place to Work.

Executive Support Specialist

Department: Operations

Reports to: Vice President – Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Employment Status Classification: Full Time, Exempt

Job Description Summary:

The Executive Support Specialist will provide high-level administrative support to the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Reporting directly to the COO, the Executive Support Specialist provides executive aid in a one-on-one working relationship to keep the COO organized, informed, and prepared. The Executive Support Specialist also serves as a liaison to the board of directors and senior management teams; organizes and coordinates executive outreach, external relations efforts and oversees special projects.

The Executive Support Specialist must be creative and enjoy working within a nonprofit environment. The ideal candidate will have the ability to exercise good judgment in a diversity of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, project management and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. The Executive Support Specialist will provide and spearhead collaboration to both internal and external parties with a high level of professionalism in a manner that reflects positively on the organization.

Essential Functions:

• Works closely with the COO to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and obligations, following up appropriately. Act as a "barometer," having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment by keeping the COO updated.
• Ensure COO’s needs for preparation are met in advance for meetings, speaking engagements, conferences, etc. This will entail collaboration with the organization’s staff.
• Provide sophisticated calendar management for COO. Prioritize inquiries and requests while troubleshooting conflicts; make judgements and recommendations to ensure smooth day-to-day engagements.
• Arrange and organize travel for COO.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the COO, including those of a highly confidential or critical nature. Prioritize and establish appropriate course of action, referral, or reply, exercising judgement to reflect COO’s style and organization policy.
• Provide project management assistance and coordination for complex planning and execution of COO related initiatives including content coordination for Thought Leadership initiatives.
• Work cross-functionally internally and with external vendors to host at the organization’s upcoming events.
• Respond to inquiries with little to no supervision.
• Facilitate various internal and external meetings by scheduling, creating meeting agendas, note taking, providing timely meeting minutes, and appropriately following up on deliverables.
• Draft, edit, and proofread memos, correspondence, meeting materials, and presentations.
• Research, analyze, and summarize reports of emerging trends, policies, regulations, and Thought Leadership areas of content.
• Manage the process of collecting edits and updates to agency performance dashboard for the COO.
• Process expense reports, check requests, corporate credit card statements.
• Conduct research and evaluation on potential partners.
• Follow up on contacts made by the COO; including follow up correspondence to encourage the cultivation of ongoing relationships.
• Track relationship developments in Client Relationship Management (CRM) (e.g., adding contacts, creating accounts, updating notes)
• Other projects/duties as assigned for the overall benefit of the organization.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor's degree preferred; High School Diploma/GED required.
• 5 years of related experience preferred working within an executive assistant role supporting C-Level executives.
• Advanced Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally.
• Flexible hours as dictated by the needs of business for projects and meetings.
• Preferred Attributes:
  • Business sense - has a strong business sense and can decipher priorities and make sound judgment calls when needed.
  • Commitment to excellence - perform duties at the highest level possible on a consistent basis.
  • Excellent communicator - ability to interact with people of all levels in a self-assured and professional manner.
  • Demonstrate ability and temperament to work with sensitive and confidential information.
  • Team player - have team-oriented experience and approach.
  • Service focus - dedicated to meeting the expectations of the COO and other senior executives by maintaining effective relationships with interested parties and a focus on the Organization’s mission.
  • Ability to think outside of the box with a sense of urgency.
  • Anticipate the COO’s needs by having a solid grasp of the big picture, be able to think ahead and make sound judgements that help achieve the goals of the organization.

Work Environment and Physical Demands:

• This is a hybrid position.
• To work from home, candidate must have a home office that allows for privacy.
• Primary functions of this job are sedentary and may require the ability to be active, including walking, standing, bending, climbing stairs and lifting; this position also requires activities of commuting to the corporate office.

Disclaimer:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.