Executive Assistant

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 "Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For" by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

SUMMARY:

ABOUT RISE UP

Rise Up works to advance gender equity and justice in education, health, and economic opportunity by partnering with visionary local leaders around the world. We build power with women, girls, and their allies by providing training, funding, and connection to a global network to help them achieve meaningful, lasting change. Rise Up, based at the Public Health Institute (PHI), works with leaders in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the United States to create a future where all people can thrive. Since 2009, Rise Up's powerful network of 800 leaders has successfully advocated for over 185 new and improved laws and policies, positively impacting more than 160 million people around the world.

Rise Up is at an exciting time of growth, as we expand our team and global impact. Rise Up is currently a program of PHI that plans to shift operating processes to a separate 501(c)(3) organization in 2025. As a result, this is a time-limited position that is expected to last at least 90 days and up to one year with PHI.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Executive Assistant provides critical administrative, logistical, and strategic support to the Executive Director and serves as a key liaison to the Rise Up Board of Directors. This high-impact role is essential to keeping leadership focused, effective, and aligned with Rise Up's mission and momentum.

This role manages complex calendars, coordinates domestic and international travel, drafts high-quality communications and materials, and ensures the seamless execution of board meetings, internal operations, and cross-functional projects. Serves as a trusted partner to senior leadership-navigating a fast-paced, mission-driven environment with discretion and adaptability.

The Executive Assistant requires effective communication and project management skills, exceptional attention to detail, and a proactive mindset. In addition, this role will build strong relationships, handle sensitive information with ease, and be able to thrive on creating structure and clarity. This position plays a strategic role in the operational success of a growing nonprofit, by supporting the Executive Director and strengthening day-to-day systems, to ensure Rise Up operates with intention-amplifying our global impact and deepening our commitment to gender justice.

This is a full-time, hybrid position that requires the incumbent to work in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This position requires occasional travel to participate in key events and meetings such as board meetings, staff meetings, strategic retreats, or industry conferences in the San Francisco Bay Area. Standard work schedule is 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Pacific Time, Monday - Friday. Occasional extended hours for meeting deadlines or attending events or other work activities is required.

Full salary range for this position: $70,296 to $101,911 per year. The typical hiring range for this position is from $70,296 (minimum) to $86,104 (midpoint), based on 100% FTE. The starting salary is determined using a variety of factors, such as the candidate's knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as internal equity consideration and budget availability.

Employment Type: Full Time

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

Administrative Support

• Manage executive calendars, including scheduling, prioritization, and preparation of briefing materials.
• Coordinate complex domestic/international travel arrangements and process expense reports.
• Draft, proofread, and edit correspondence, presentations, reports, and internal communications.
• Maintain confidential files, records, and contact databases.
• Support organization-wide and leadership team meetings by coordinating logistics, drafting agendas, documenting key takeaways, and ensuring follow-up on action items.

Board Relations

• Serve as liaison between the Rise Up Board and executive leadership.
• Coordinate board meetings: logistics, materials distribution, minute-taking, and follow-up.
• Manage board retreats, committee meetings, and annual schedules.
• Maintain board records (resolutions, conflict-of-interest forms, contact updates).

Project & Event Management

• Lead special projects (e.g., research, interdepartmental initiatives, strategic initiatives).
• Plan and execute organizational events, conferences, and retreats (virtual/in-person).
• Track project timelines, deliverables, and stakeholder communications.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a diplomatic point of contact for staff, donors, partners, and the public.
• Support donor/funder relations and community outreach.
• Manage internal communications (e.g., newsletters, intranet updates).

Operational Support

• Develop and implement office procedures for efficiency.
• Provide backup support to other administrative staff.
• Oversee vendor management and office resources.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Associate degree, or substitute with two additional years of related experience.
• Experience:
• 5 years supporting C-suite executives, preferably in non-profits.
• Project/event management and cross-functional collaboration.

Other Qualifications

• Experience:
• Board liaison or governance experience highly valued.
• Experience with Salesforce or other customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
• Strong Organizational Skills: Effectively prioritize tasks, manage competing deadlines, and maintain attention to detail in fast-paced environments.
• Communication: Superior written/verbal skills; adept at drafting documents and liaising with diverse stakeholders.
• Discretion: Handle sensitive information with confidentiality and diplomacy. Works autonomously with minimal direct supervision and high discretion.
• Decision-Making: May make decisions as directed by Manager that influence the organization.
• Technical Proficiency:
• Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Collaboration Tools
• Virtual meeting and document management systems.
• Adaptability: Navigate changing priorities and solve problems proactively.
• Financial Impact: Requires supervisor approval, however, may be accountable for a small project budget.
• Interpersonal Skills: Build relationships, demonstrate emotional intelligence, and collaborate across teams.
• Education: Bachelor's degree preferred (Business, Communications, Non-Profit Management, or related field).
• Background Checks: Must be able to pass the background checks required for this position.

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) STATUS

This position is classified as exempt based on the job duties. However, based on the FTE, salary level of the employee, or federal/state/local laws, the employee may be classified as nonexempt.

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

To apply for any position, you must create an account on the Public Health Institute's job application site. After creating your account, you may search the open positions and apply for the specific position that interests you. Please note, mailed and emailed applications will not be accepted.

We're so pleased the Public Health Institute is an organization you would like to work with. Do you have questions about this opportunity? If so, email our recruitment team at Recruitment@phi.org.

Additional information about PHI's benefits and compensation offerings can be found here.

The Public Health Institute is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Recruitment Team at least 48 hours in advance at Recruitment@phi.org.