Executive Assistant Job Description: Template + 12 Key Duties

Use the template as a role brief, then remove anything you won't delegate. State the tools, working hours, and required experience so candidates understand the job. The later sections explain how the scope changes for senior, remote, and first-time administrative hires.

Executive assistant job description template

Copy the block below into your job posting and edit the bracketed parts. It's written for a mid-level EA supporting one executive at a small or mid-sized company, and the section after it explains how to scale it up or down.

Executive Assistant to the [CEO / Founder / COO]

About the role

We're looking for an executive assistant to support our [title] directly. You'll own the executive's calendar and inbox, coordinate travel and meetings, and act as the first point of contact for internal and external requests. This is a role for someone who works ahead of problems rather than reacting to them.

What you'll do

• Manage a complex calendar: schedule, reprioritize, and resolve conflicts without being asked
• Triage the executive's inbox, draft replies, and flag what genuinely needs their attention
• Prepare agendas, briefing documents, and follow-up notes for meetings
• Book domestic and international travel, including full itineraries and contingency plans
• Track expenses and submit reports on a monthly cycle
• Screen calls and requests, and route them to the right owner
• Handle confidential information with discretion
• Coordinate small projects and chase deliverables across our team

What you'll bring

• [2 to 5] years supporting a senior leader, or equivalent coordination experience
• Strong written communication; you'll draft messages in the executive's voice
• Fluency with [Google Workspace / Microsoft 365], plus scheduling and expense tools
• Judgment about what's urgent, what's important, and what can wait
• Comfort with ambiguity and shifting priorities

Details

• [Location / remote policy]
• [Hours and time zone expectations]
• [Pay range, benefits, and employment arrangement]
• Reports to [title]

To apply, send a resume and a short note about the most complex schedule or project you've managed.

Keep two things in mind when you use it. First, delete any duty your executive won't actually delegate, because a posting stuffed with hypothetical tasks attracts candidates you'll disappoint. Second, name the tools you use. An EA who lives in Google Calendar will work differently from one trained on Outlook, and specifying the stack filters applicants for you.

The 12 key duties of an executive assistant

These are the tasks of an executive assistant that show up consistently across real postings and working EAs. Pick the eight or so that match your situation rather than pasting all twelve.

1. Calendar management. This is the core of the job. Beyond booking meetings, a strong EA defends focus time and knows which standing invites can move when something urgent lands. My calendar management guide covers the systems side of this in detail.

2. Inbox triage and correspondence. The EA reads incoming mail, archives noise, drafts replies for routine threads, and surfaces the handful of messages that need the executive personally. Done well, this alone saves an hour or more a day.

3. Meeting preparation and follow-up. The EA writes the agenda before the meeting and circulates notes with action items after it. The follow-up half gets skipped in most job descriptions, and it's the half that makes meetings worth holding.

4. Travel planning. The EA books flights, hotels, and ground transport, then compiles one itinerary document that holds up when a flight cancels. International trips add visa checks and time zone planning for meetings on arrival.

5. Expense tracking and reporting. The EA collects receipts, codes expenses, and submits reports on schedule. An executive finds this tedious, while an EA with a system knocks it out in an hour a month.

6. Gatekeeping. The EA screens calls, meeting requests, and pitches, then routes each one to the right person or a polite decline. This duty requires the most judgment and the most trust.

7. Document preparation. This covers formatting board decks, proofreading letters, and assembling reports from other people's inputs. It also means keeping shared files organized enough that anyone can find them.

8. Project coordination. The EA chases deliverables across departments and keeps a status list the executive can scan in thirty seconds. EAs often become the de facto project manager for anything without a formal owner.

9. Event and offsite planning. For board dinners, team offsites, and client events, the EA handles venue research, catering, invitations, and the run-of-show document.

10. Relationship and stakeholder management. A good EA remembers that a certain investor prefers morning calls and that a client's assistant is the real scheduler. EAs carry the institutional memory of the executive's network.

11. Confidentiality and records. The EA handles compensation data, legal documents, and sensitive plans without leaks, and keeps records organized for the day someone needs them.

12. Personal support. Many executives fold in personal tasks: family scheduling, reservations, gifts, and appointments. Decide up front whether this is in scope and say so in the posting, because surprising a professional EA with personal errands is a fast way to lose one.

Not every duty on this list needs a full-time salaried hire. A growing number of founders hand duties 1 through 5 to a remote assistant service instead. Magic is the option I'd point you to for that route: it matches you with a dedicated remote assistant who covers most of what a standard executive assistant job description asks for, at the lowest cost tier and without a recruiting cycle or a long-term contract. It's worth pricing out before you commit to a full-time line on the payroll, and my guide on how to hire a virtual assistant walks through the comparison.

Other names for executive assistant

Candidates search under several titles, so the one you pick changes who applies. These are the common variants and how they differ.

If you post as "chief of staff" but the duties read like EA work, expect mismatched applicants. The reverse also stings: strategic EAs skip postings titled "secretary."

Skills and requirements worth listing

Requirements sections fail in one of two directions: a vague "strong organizational skills" or a wish list so long that qualified people self-reject. List the few things you'd actually screen for.

• Written communication you can test. The EA drafts in the executive's voice. Ask for a writing sample or set a short drafting exercise instead of taking the resume's word for it.
• Tool fluency, named specifically. Name your suite, whether that's Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, along with your expense and video tools. Naming the stack shortens ramp time and lets candidates rule themselves in or out.
• Judgment and discretion. A resume can't show these. Behavioral questions about handling a conflict between two urgent requests reveal more than years of experience do.
• Years of experience, honestly calibrated. Two years supporting a director is plenty for a first EA hire at a startup. Demanding five years of C-suite support for a coordinator-level role just shrinks your applicant pool.

A degree requirement is optional and increasingly omitted. None of the ea duties above depend on one, and dropping it widens the candidate pool.

Adapting the template for seniority and location

The template above assumes a mid-level, in-office or hybrid hire. Three adjustments cover most other cases.

For a senior EA or C-suite support role, add board meeting logistics, management of other administrative staff, and budget ownership for travel and events. Raise the experience bar and say whose calendar they'll own, because supporting one CEO differs from supporting three VPs.

For a first admin hire at a small company, cut the posting down to calendar, inbox, travel, and general coordination. Small-company EAs cover a wider range of tasks, so note in the posting that scope will flex.

For a remote or virtual EA, state the time zone overlap you need and the hours you expect coverage. Specify how you'll communicate through the day, whether that's Slack, email, or scheduled check-ins. My virtual assistant tasks list shows which duties translate cleanly to remote work; nearly all twelve above do.

Setting the budget for the role

Use the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupation guide for current US employment and wage context, and check local requirements when preparing a job advertisement. Compensation needs to reflect the responsibilities, location, experience, and hours in the actual role.

For managed services, cost tiers distinguish $ offshore dedicated, $$ mid-market, $$$ standard US-based, and $$$$ premium US or European support. Magic is my recommended offshore dedicated option for recurring executive admin. Compare the scheduled hours and support included before treating a fractional package as equivalent to a full working week.

In the job description, leave room for the employer to insert the pay range, benefits, and employment arrangement that apply. Candidates need those details to decide whether the role fits. A precise scope also gives you a better basis for reviewing compensation when the responsibilities change.

FAQ

What is an executive assistant's job description in one sentence?

An executive assistant provides dedicated administrative and operational support to a senior leader, owning their calendar, inbox, travel, meeting preparation, and confidential correspondence so the executive can focus on decisions only they can make.

What are the top three duties of an executive assistant?

Calendar management, inbox triage, and meeting preparation with follow-up. Most working EAs spend the bulk of their week on these three, and the rest of the duty list builds around them.

What's the difference between an executive assistant and an administrative assistant?

An administrative assistant supports a team or office with general tasks, while an executive assistant supports one or a few named leaders, handles confidential material, and exercises more independent judgment. EA roles typically require more experience and pay more.

Is executive assistant the same as chief of staff?

No. A chief of staff owns projects, strategy, and sometimes people management on the executive's behalf, while an EA owns the executive's administrative operations. Some senior EAs grow into chief of staff roles, but the job descriptions should stay distinct.

Can an executive assistant work remotely?

Yes. Nearly every core EA duty, including calendar, inbox, travel, and document work, happens in software, so remote EAs are common. Magic is my recommended service for dedicated remote assistants who work from a standard executive assistant job description, which suits leaders who need the support without adding headcount.

How many years of experience should an executive assistant job description require?

Match it to the seniority of the executive. Two to three years of administrative experience suits a first EA hire or director-level support, while C-suite roles at larger companies commonly ask for five or more years supporting senior leadership.