Executive Assistant for Marketing and Business Development

at  Ropes Gray

ABOUT ROPES & GRAY

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent, global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top-three on The American Lawyer’s prestigious “A-List” for seven years and is ranked #1 on Law.com International’s “A-List” in the U.K.—rankings that honor the “Best of the Best” firms.
The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.
The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.
Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT JOB SUMMARY:

The Executive Assistant provides executive support to the Marketing and Business Development department. They serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the Marketing and Business Development department.
The Executive Assistant must be a creative problem solver, and enjoy working both independently and collaboratively in a fast - paced, results-driven and collegial environment. The ideal individual will have the ability to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. The Executive Assistant will have the ability to work independently on projects, from conception to completion, and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities and confidential matters with discretion.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong organizational skills that reflect ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail
• Very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including partners, senior leadership, and internal/external clients
• Expert level written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability
• Emotional maturity
• Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be extremely effective independently
• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion, be adaptable to various competing demands, and demonstrate the highest level of customer/client service and response
• Demonstrated ability to achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fast paced environment
• Forward looking thinker, who actively seeks opportunities and proposes solutions

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree required. preferred
• Five to 10 years of experience supporting C-Level Executives.
• Experience and interest in marketing and business development.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point), Adobe Acrobat, and Social Media web platforms.
• Strong organizational skills that reflect ability to seamlessly perform and prioritize multiple tasks with excellent attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Expert communication skills.
• Proactive approach to problem-solving and strong decision-making capability.

• Completes a broad variety of administrative tasks for the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer(CMBDO) and other senior members of the team.
• Utilizes creative problem solving skills to solve challenging requirements. Manages multiple calendars and supports scheduling requirements across multiple persons, offices and time zones. Demonstrates an exceptional understanding of Microsoft Outlook. Able to schedule and manage Zoom and other remote communications platforms.
• Maintains subject matter level expertise in the Firm’s core applications. Understands and adheres to best practices.
• Provides superior client service with internal and external clients displaying a proactive, “can do” attitude when meeting individuals, answering telephone calls, and acting on behalf of the Marketing and Business Development department on various requests.
• Acts as the gatekeeper prioritizing conflicting needs. Handles matters confidentially, expeditiously, proactively and independently and follows through on tasks until successful completion. Suggests new processes/procedures to expedite projects and day-to-day workflow.
• Works with the CMBDO to plan, coordinate and ensure his schedule and tasks are followed and completed. Triages incoming requests and inquiries and, whenever possible, redirects them to other individuals or departments and ensures they are followed through to completion.
• As a representative of Marketing and Business Development, offers a collegial and collaborative work style to all interactions. Fosters open and frequent communication with team to ensure expeditious support. Provides a bridge for smooth communication between the department and other internal teams; demonstrating leadership to maintain credibility, trust and support.
• Works closely and effectively with the team to keep them well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately. Acts as a “barometer,” having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment and keeping those that need to know updated. Thinks strategically, and sees the “big picture,” in order to successfully prioritize competing demands and recognize impact of decisions on firm operations and client matters.
• Proactively completes critical communications with a hands-on approach, including drafting acknowledgement letters, personal correspondence, and other tasks that facilitate the Chief’s relationships throughout the firm. Actively works to be familiar with Chief’s internal and external relationships, and takes initiative in suggesting and drafting communications around special events and anniversaries, professional achievements and the like. Must communicate articulately, clearly and concisely and know what, when and how to communicate depending on audience, subject matter, sensitivity and timing.
• Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously, proactively, and follows-through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressures.
• Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and can implement edits to documents in those programs.