Executive Assistant – Board Liaison

Drug Policy Alliance

Executive Assistant supporting the Executive Director at the Drug Policy Alliance. Managing schedules, coordinating travel, and serving as board liaison for governance activities.

Posted 5/14/2026full-timeNew York City • New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $78,000 - $98,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Manage the Executive Director’s complex and fast-moving calendar, requiring interaction with both internal and external stakeholders, prioritizing the most sensitive matters and using sound judgment.
Prioritize and manage the Executive Director’s multiple projects and requests and help with follow through in a timely manner.
Coordinate travel arrangements and itinerary planning (for domestic and international speaking engagements and conferences, internal events, donor trips) that align with the Executive Director’s preferences.
Work closely with the finance team to reconcile the Executive Directors monthly credit card reconciliation report, and plan for board, finance committee, budget, and audit meetings
Support the work of the leadership team, by scheduling, handling logistics of their weekly meetings, preparing meeting agendas in consultation with team members and tracking the calendar of items for discussion and any follow up items, distributing meeting minutes, preparing monthly email updates to the staff, and at times facilitating meetings.
Work collaboratively with the Development team to send weekly email correspondence to partners, funders, and prospects, maintain an up-to-date meeting tracker, and support the timely preparation of post-meeting donor debrief memos.
Maintain a document file retention and storage system for the Executive and Leadership Teams with the highest regard for confidentiality.
Manage any board meeting related activities including administrative and logistical support, driving the process, managing the collection of materials for the board book, and recording meeting minutes and tracking of action items that come out of meetings
Manage the board committees including scheduling meetings, notetaking and supporting the next steps of the Audit and Finance, Nominations, and Executive committee meetings
Manage all board communications around events that require board participation and/or involvement, aiding with travel and hotel arrangements, where necessary
Serve as the chief manager of the board portal and the appropriate storage and cataloguing of all pertinent and historical information in a way that is intuitive and accessible
Coordinate onboarding for incoming board members, including scheduling and facilitating the biannual live orientation meeting and ensuring all new directors have access to the onboarding materials on the board portal
Handle all compliance related items such as the signing of annual conflict of interest and independence disclosures, monitoring board elections and terms, and the annual submission of the necessary board information related to the audit

Requirements

What you’ll need

Minimum of 5 years of experience supporting an executive or other senior-level position, preferably in a nonprofit organization.
Utmost ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion especially when it comes to sensitive and confidential information
Genuine commitment to drug policy reform and the mission of the Drug Policy Alliance; an understanding of and alignment with the organization’s values and approach to social justice
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including staff, board members, external partners and donors
Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to anticipate needs before they arise — proactively stays ahead of the Executive Director's schedule and priorities, flags issues and opportunities before they become problems, and drives processes forward without waiting to be asked.
Ability to balance competing priorities, complex situations, and tight deadlines
Strong organizational, communication, and project management skills
Comfort with digital tools including Microsoft Office, board management platforms, Slack, and Zoom; familiarity with project management software a plus; experience leveraging AI tools and applications to automate workflows and augment working capacity

Benefits

Comp & perks

comprehensive health insurance and coverage (including dental and vision)
403b retirement plan with 10% employer matching contribution after completion of one-year
paid time off including 20 days of vacation, plus national holidays, sick days
organizational closure at the end of December
year-round early dismissal on Fridays

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

calendar managementproject managementcredit card reconciliationmeeting facilitationdocument retentionlogistics coordinationcompliance managementonboarding coordinationattention to detailstakeholder engagement

Soft Skills

sound judgmentdiscretioninterpersonal skillsrelationship buildingproactive problem solvingorganizational skillscommunication skillsability to balance prioritiescommitment to social justiceadaptability