Senior Executive Assistant to Chairman / in Los Angeles, California

We are seeking an exceptional Senior Executive Assistant to support the Chairman of a private family office in the Los Angeles area. This is a high-trust opportunity for an experienced professional to serve as a strategic right hand, managing executive correspondence, driving priorities, and overseeing projects across business, investments, nonprofit leadership, and philanthropy.

This role extends well beyond traditional executive assistance. The Senior Executive Assistant will act as a professional proxy for the Chairman, exercising sound judgment in his voice, managing important relationships, and ensuring commitments are followed through to completion. Working alongside an established support team, this person will focus on higher-level responsibilities requiring intellectual curiosity, exceptional writing, discretion, and independent ownership.

The ideal candidate is a polished, intellectually curious professional who can quickly grasp complex topics, communicate with senior stakeholders, and operate with a high degree of autonomy. This is a long-term opportunity for someone who takes pride in building trusted relationships and wants meaningful responsibility across a broad range of business and philanthropic initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Chairman's inbox and draft responses in his voice to senior executives, business associates, nonprofit leaders, donors, university leadership, and other key stakeholders.
• Exercise independent judgment in handling correspondence, determining which matters can be resolved directly and which require the Chairman's personal attention.
• Track commitments and outstanding requests arising from correspondence, proactively following up to ensure timely resolution and maintain strong professional relationships.
• Maintain a clear view of the Chairman's commitments, deadlines, and pending decisions, including preparing regular summaries of open items and outstanding action points.
• Take ownership of assignments from initiation through completion, coordinating with internal teams, advisors, and external stakeholders to keep projects moving forward.
• Anticipate potential conflicts or challenges and resolve them proactively in coordination with the Chairman's existing support team.
• Maintain effective task management and tracking systems to ensure commitments, deadlines, and follow-ups are not overlooked.
• Support board, nonprofit, and philanthropic initiatives: Prepare briefing materials, agendas, background research, and concise meeting summaries to ensure the Chairman is well prepared for board meetings and other important engagements.
• Draft donor correspondence, stakeholder communications, thank-you notes, and other written materials with exceptional attention to tone, context, and relationship dynamics.
• Coordinate grant documentation and track requests, reporting requirements, commitments, and outstanding deliverables.
• Serve as a professional point of contact for nonprofit leaders, board members, institutional partners, and other stakeholders.
• Research people, organizations, and topics relevant to the Chairman's business and philanthropic interests, synthesizing findings into clear, actionable briefings and memos.
• Drive execution on selected business, investment, and philanthropic projects, coordinating stakeholders, tracking deliverables, and ensuring next steps are completed.
• Partner with finance teams, legal counsel, and outside advisors to gather information, coordinate follow-up, and move business-related matters forward.
• Identify meaningful connections across the Chairman's business interests, board commitments, and philanthropic initiatives, proactively surfacing relevant opportunities and insights.
• Improve office workflows, documentation, and task management through better systems and the thoughtful use of AI tools to streamline correspondence, summarize information, and reduce repetitive work.
• Maintain the highest standards of confidentiality, professionalism, reliability, and discretion when handling sensitive business, financial, philanthropic, and personal information.

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of relevant experience supporting a CEO, Chairman, founder, or other senior executive, ideally in a high-trust environment requiring independent judgment and ownership.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• Demonstrated experience managing executive correspondence and communicating on behalf of a senior leader with minimal oversight.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft polished, nuanced correspondence for senior executives and institutional leaders.
• Strong intellectual horsepower and the ability to quickly understand unfamiliar business, investment, and philanthropic topics and distill complex information into concise, actionable insights.
• Excellent judgment and emotional intelligence, with the ability to navigate sensitive relationships, understand context, and determine when to act independently versus escalate.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with exceptional follow-through and the ability to manage multiple priorities without constant direction.
• A strong sense of ownership and accountability, with a proactive approach to identifying issues, solving problems, and driving work to completion.
• High level of discretion and integrity when handling confidential information and sensitive relationships.
• Strong proficiency with Google Workspace, Gmail, and Microsoft Office, along with an interest in leveraging AI tools such as ChatGPT to improve workflows and productivity.

Location: Pacific Palisades (home office) and Santa Monica (office), in-person.

Schedule: 40-50 hours/week; 4 days in person in Santa Monica/Palisades. Evening and weekend availability is occasional, for time-sensitive matters, key meetings, or travel.

Compensation and benefits: $150k–$180k base salary, comprehensive benefits including healthcare, a technology stipend, and a performance-based bonus.

Pocketbook Agency is acting solely as a recruiting and placement firm for this position and is not the employer of record for this role unless otherwise explicitly stated. All hiring decisions, compensation, benefits, and employment terms are determined by the client employer. By applying, you acknowledge that submission of an application does not guarantee placement or employment.

Pocketbook Agency is an equal opportunity recruiting firm and does not discriminate in its recruiting, screening, or placement practices based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.