Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant
Permanent Full Time

For more than 155 years, The Bishop Strachan School has empowered talented girls to grow into fearless women, equipped with intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and compassion to navigate the world. We inspire our students to discover their purpose, build confidence, and express themselves with a strong, independent voice. As an inclusive, non-profit institution, we are dedicated to educating students from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12. We are now also almost two years into our strategic plan. Launched in January 2023, we set out to educate more female leaders and we have made a great deal of progress since that launch. Check out what we have achieved by going here. Join BSS and be a part of inspiring girls to be fearless and educating them to be leaders.

The Executive Assistant plays a pivotal role in supporting the Head of School (Head) and the Deputy Head of School (Deputy Head) with strategic and high-level administrative and operational duties of broad scope and complexity requiring outstanding professional ability, mature judgment, and a thorough knowledge of school programs and organizational structure. The Executive Assistant also provides support for the Board of Governors, and is the key point of contact for internal and external constituents, fostering strong relationships, supporting leadership priorities, and is a key contributor to the overall success of the Head’s Office and its relations with the school community. 

The Executive Assistant maintains the highest standards of professional integrity and confidentiality. Demonstrating exemplary customer service, they serve as the primary liaison to the Head and Deputy Head with a commitment to fostering innovative practices and positive community relationships.

What You’ll Do:

Specific Accountabilities

Head and Deputy Head Support

• Assists the Head and Deputy Head on managing their administrative workload by providing accurate and timely support in areas such as:
  • Proactively manages high volume and complex calendar scheduling, arranges meetings and a schedule that balances immediate operational needs with long-term strategic needs; 
  • Anticipates needs for Head and Deputy Head’s requirements in advance of requests and plans accordingly, in short and long range planning;
  • Prepares the Head and deputy Head for the next day and weeks’ meetings, including gathering any instructions/directions/documents/agendas prior to the meeting, including long range planning for scheduling and speaking.
  • Supports management of email, including creating draft responses and reminders of priority emails;
  • Creates, edits and refines documents, including presentations, meeting agendas minutes, supporting documents etc. through Microsoft products;  
  • Coordinates travel arrangements and expenses; manages reconciliation of expenses. 
  • Gathers and summarizes details and agendas for upcoming speaking engagements, meetings and events, including agendas and support materials.
  • Maintains document records and archiving, in conjunction with other departments as needed and maintaining and leading the School’s use of Record Management 
  • Reviews important correspondence (letters, emails) and drafts responses for the Head of School, or Deputy Head, as appropriate, or forwards to the appropriate person for response and/or reply. 

Board Support

• Strengthens governance effectiveness by supporting the arrangement and management of governance meetings, including developing and distributing agendas; capturing accurate meeting minutes and documenting decisions and action items. 
• Complies with established Board governance practices in regard to following policies and procedures accurately and in a timely manner, liaising with Board Chair and/or Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of Human Resources.
• Communicates directly with Board members on behalf of the Head, Deputy Head and/or the Chair of the Board of Governors.

General

• Attends Board of Governors Meetings and Committees or other school functions that may occur outside regular work hours.
• Collaborates with other administrators across the school on such matters as calendar, events, speaking, and other procedures.
• Liaises in a timely, confidential and professional manner with students, employees, parents, Governors, Trustees, Parent Association Co-Chairs, donors and community on behalf of the Head and Deputy Head.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or a related field preferred. Equivalent combination of education and high-level executive support experience may also be considered
• Minimum of three (3) years of demonstrated experience providing high-level administrative support to senior leaders or C-suite executives required; five (5) or more years preferred
• Experience supporting an executive office and managing complex calendars, meetings, correspondence, and confidential materials required
• Leverages advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel), with demonstrated ability to produce accurate executive-level materials and governance documentation.
• Polished and professional interpersonal/verbal and written skills to effectively serve a broad variety of internal and external clients
• Excellent judgment, confidentiality, discretion and diplomacy to deal with the various school stakeholders and the multiplicities of the position
• Troubleshoot conflicts calmly with innovative solutions and a customer service focus.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.

Why Work at BSS?

At BSS, we value and recognize the following core competencies in our employees; trust and integrity, collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, initiative, community focused and strong communication skills. Our employees are lifelong learners and apply these core competencies in all aspects of the school environment. 

Additionally, BSS offers a competitive total compensation package that includes:

• Extensive health and dental benefits package
• Robust pension plan with up to 8% match
• Lunch provided everyday!
• Use of on-site fitness center
• Professional Learning opportunities
• And a chance to be part of a great community!

Salary: $75,000 - 85,000

BSS Values Diversity:
BSS is committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse and respectful environment. We believe that diversity in our school fosters a rich, inclusive and creative environment. We are actively engaged in building a more diverse school and encourage all qualified applicants to apply. 

How to Apply:
Interested applicants should visit our website and click Apply Now.

We are committed to providing an accessible experience and an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, beginning with the recruitment process. If you have restrictions that need to be accommodated to fully participate in any phase of the recruitment process, please contact the HR Admin at 416-483-4325, ext. 1920 or by email at hradmin@bss.on.ca. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Please note, this is an existing vacancy at the school. We thank all candidates for their applications; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.