Senior Executive Assistant

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Senior Executive Assistant

senior · Other

We are hiring an exceptional Senior Executive Assistant to partner directly with the Senior Country Officer (SCO) in Paris. This is not a traditional support role; it is a high-trust business partnership requiring outstanding judgement, commercial awareness, pace, and executive maturity.
The SCO office will be central to a significant culture and leadership reset, and to delivering a major transformation and growth agenda. Success will come from someone who brings sustained motivation, energy, and intensity - who creates momentum, raises standards, and keeps a complex agenda moving with calm control.

You will operate as an extension of the SCO’s office - anticipating needs, protecting time, enabling decision-making, and ensuring seamless orchestration of a high-profile agenda across internal leadership, clients, external organisations, and key control/support partners. You’ll need to be proactive, solutions-led, and unflappable under pressure, handling sensitive matters with impeccable discretion.

This role is 5 days in the office and requires flexible working hours aligned to the SCO’s schedule, business priorities, time-sensitive requests, and occasional out-of-hours stakeholder needs.
Banking experience is preferred but not essential. We are hiring first and foremost for attitude, discretion, judgement, and drive. We will consider:

• experienced Executive Assistants/Senior Assistants; and
• high-performing candidates from non-assistant roles seeking a career change into an Executive Assistant career path, provided they demonstrate the maturity, confidentiality, and stakeholder skills required to operate at SCO level.
  Fluency in French and English (written and spoken) is required.

Job Responsibilities

• Strategic business partnership to the SCO
  • Operate as a true business partner: understand SCO priorities and proactively manage time, access, and follow-through to accelerate the France agenda.
  • Act as a trusted gatekeeper: triage requests, protect focus, and constructively challenge when needed to ensure time is used for highest-value outcomes.
  • Drive pace and momentum: anticipate issues, remove obstacles, and push actions to closure across multiple senior stakeholders with minimal direction.
  • Be a culture carrier: model high standards, urgency, and professionalism; help create the cadence and discipline required for transformation.
• Expert executive coordination (calendar, inbox, travel, logistics)
  • Deliver advanced diary management across multiple time zones; orchestrate complex, fast-changing schedules with speed and accuracy.
  • Manage high-volume email flow with sound judgement: triage, draft responses where appropriate, and escalate critical items quickly.
  • Coordinate complex travel end-to-end (flights, accommodation, ground transport, check-ins, visas/immigration documentation as required) in line with corporate policy; remain calm through last-minute changes.
  • Own end-to-end meeting logistics (in-person/virtual via Zoom/Teams): rooms, materials, attendee coordination, transportation, printing, and tight turnaround changes.
  • Manage the SCO’s driver/chauffeur relationship and scheduling where applicable, ensuring real-time adjustments are handled seamlessly.
• Senior stakeholder engagement & communications
  • Interface confidently with senior internal leaders and high-profile external stakeholders with discretion, professionalism, and cultural fluency.
  • Apply diplomacy and emotional intelligence to navigate sensitive situations, protect relationships, and deliver outcomes.
  • Provide phone coverage and act as a reliable first point of contact when required.
  • Draft crisp, executive-ready communications that reflect the SCO’s voice and intent.
• Events, forums, and external engagement support
  • Partner with Marketing and business teams to coordinate high-profile client events and leadership engagements (calendar alignment, invitations, follow-ups, attendee coordination).
  • Support offsites, senior visitor programmes, and external speaker logistics, ensuring polished execution and policy compliance.
• Information management & executive readiness
  • Prepare briefing packs and meeting materials; ensure the SCO is decision-ready with the right context, documents, and actions.
  • Track actions and follow-ups across stakeholders; drive closure and accountability (including chasing, reminders, and status visibility).
  • Maintain disciplined information handling in a highly confidential environment.
• Operational excellence, systems, and governance
  • Process expenses, reimbursements, and reconciliations accurately and on time, including any personal amounts owing where applicable.
  • Navigate internal systems and procedures effectively; maintain strong awareness of policy requirements (cross-border, compliance, security, travel, expenses).
  • Apply sound judgement within a regulated environment when coordinating sensitive matters.
• Teamwork, leadership, and resilience
  • Partner with assistants locally and internationally to ensure seamless coverage and consistent standards.
  • Act as a role model in professionalism, ownership, service mindset, and “get it done” intensity.
  • Maintain composure and resilience amid constant change, competing demands, and time-sensitive requests.

Required Qualifications, Capabilities & Skills

• Fluency in French and English (written and spoken).
• Significant experience in a high-trust, high-discretion environment supporting senior stakeholders, or clear evidence of equivalent executive-facing responsibility and confidentiality in another role (career changers welcomed).
• Demonstrated judgement: ability to prioritise, protect executive time, and handle sensitive information with absolute discretion.
• High motivation and energy/intensity: proven ability to drive pace, create momentum, and sustain high standards in a demanding environment.
• Proven capability managing complexity and ambiguity with structure, speed, and calm professionalism.
• Strong stakeholder management: confident engaging senior internal/external contacts with diplomacy and executive presence.
• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through; consistently delivers high-quality outcomes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to craft concise, professional messages.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office / M365 (Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Willingness to work 5 days in the office with flexible working hours aligned to the demands of supporting senior leadership.

Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities & Skills

• Experience supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment with significant confidentiality and stakeholder complexity.
• Demonstrated executive presence, judgement, and discretion - able to act as a trusted gatekeeper and anticipate needs with minimal direction.
• Track record coordinating complex, high-stakes diaries, international travel, and senior stakeholder engagement across multiple time zones and priorities.
• Experience running high-profile engagements (senior visitors, external speakers, leadership offsites, client events/forums) end-to-end with polish and calm execution.
• Comfort operating within policy-driven / regulated settings and partnering effectively with control and support functions.
• Evidence of being a “force multiplier” in an executive office - raising tempo, tightening execution, and driving outcomes.