Executive Project Specialist

Summary

Join Upstream USA's Development and External Affairs team as an Executive Project Specialist! This blended role combines executive support for the CDEAO and CEO with project management responsibilities. You will manage complex calendars, coordinate meetings, prepare communications, and support various initiatives. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, and possesses strong communication and project management skills. This position requires a hybrid work model with 2-3 days per week in the Boston office and up to 15% travel. Upstream offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and more. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a mission-driven organization.

Requirements

• Demonstrated professional experience in administrative support, project execution and event planning with high-profile or high-stakes audiences
• Solid project management skills, including an ability to organize, prioritize and problem-solve in a fast-paced setting
• Exhibits confidence working independently, exercising sound judgment, demonstrating initiative, and making well-informed decisions with limited direction and supervision
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; confident and diplomatic under all circumstances; establishes rapport quickly with all levels of diverse staff members; collaborative and supportive; strict adherence to confidentiality; high level of discretion required
• Possess the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, with senior leaders, external partners, and internal employees. Skilled in drafting communications that authentically reflect the executive voice and align with organizational tone and objectives
• Demonstrates professionalism and the ability to remain calm and composed l under pressure
• Ability to organize, prioritize and coordinate multiple work activities to meet deadlines in a fast paced and nimble work environment
• Displays a strong teamwork orientation, with a commitment to collaboration and a focus on continuous process improvement
• Proven ability to collaborate and work effectively across multiple organizational functions and subject areas. Skilled in communicating, influencing, and building strong and effective working relationships with diverse teams and staff members
• Strong technical competency, specifically with Google’s G-Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Gmail and Google calendar. Experience with Salesforce a plus

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day schedules of CDEAO and CEO, ensuring logistical details are in place and resolving conflicts
• Support complex calendaring requests for CDEAO, CEO, the team and across the org
• Leverage a deep understanding of executive and organizational priorities, along with strong customer service, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, to help ensure our executive’s time is allocated effectively. Support the coordination of pre- and post-meeting materials for external meetings to maximize productivity and alignment with key objectives
• Coordinate pre- and post-meeting materials for CEO and CDEAO external meetings, ensuring briefings are ready for internal participants, materials and SWAG are prepared, thank-you notes are sent within 24 hours, and notes and action items are captured in Salesforce
• Collaborate and partner with the External Affairs team to accurately record relationship and activity data, supporting effective relationship management for CDEAO and CEO external relationships
• Assist in creating highly personalized executive communications by preparing and occasionally drafting emails that are polished, error-free, and carefully tailored to reflect the executive's tone and relationship with each recipient
• Coordinate executive travel and support expense reporting for executives
• Order and maintain Boston office supplies, serve as liaison for our property management company and for our sponsored lunch program, communicate office closures and activities, and promote team building and organizational culture through planning and support of office activities and gatherings
• Coordinate planning and facilitation of key cross functional meetings to support priority information sharing, collaborative communication and team building
• Build working relationships with administrative and executive support staff to support organizational effectiveness
• Support the External Affairs team by creating bios for executive lead briefings and other written materials as assigned
• Lead small projects from start to finish working collaboratively and communicating progress milestones
• Support project planning and execution for multiple, concurrent, small-and-large scale projects from initiation to delivery across the team, helping to advance critical initiatives and operationalize programs
• Support engagement across cross-functional teams, supporting workstreams to create and execute on project deliverables
• Coordinate cross functional communications on project status and execution
• Provide support for process and continuous improvement initiatives within the department and the office of the CEO
• Identify areas for efficiency and improvement in all initiatives
• Perform other duties and project work as assigned

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree is desirable but not required

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life insurance
• Long and short term disability
• 401K with a match
• Generous vacation, personal, sick and holiday time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development
• A fitness and cell phone allowance for all full time employees and part time employees who work a minimum of 24 hours per week