Special Assistant, Executive Office
PEN America, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of literature and human rights, seeks a highly organized, proactive, and efficient special assistant to support the senior leadership team. This position offers a significant opportunity for high levels of responsibility in a dynamic administrative role that touches on all areas of PEN America’s activities. The successful candidate will be ready to become immersed in the work of a growing global human rights and literary organization with an ambitious agenda to heighten its impact. This is a full-time position based at PEN America’s New York City headquarters.
The special assistant will support the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff and facilitate the effective functioning of the management team including the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Trustees. The role also liaises with all members of staff, as well as external supporters and counterpart organizations. Key duties include preparing meetings, maintaining schedules, drafting and reviewing correspondence, reports, and presentations, minuting meetings and carrying out follow up actions, arranging travel, and handling expense reconciliation. The special assistant also will work in tandem with staff across the organization to assist with events and special initiatives.
The special assistant will have the opportunity to make an important difference in a fast-paced environment in a mission-driven organization, coming in contact with leading human rights advocates, eminent authors and others from the literary community, and notable representatives of the nonprofit and public interest sectors. As PEN America continues to evolve and expand, there will be opportunities for increased responsibilities over time.
In alignment with PEN America’s current protocol for this position, all applicants should be available to report to the office five days a week. This policy is subject to change.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Prepare meetings, including managing calendars and scheduling and coordinating travel
- Draft correspondence including emails, letters, and memos, and ensure communications are channeled appropriately and receive a timely response
- Develop and review reports, presentations, and other documents
- Contribute to supporting the Board of Trustees, including in scheduling and planning meetings and events, developing informational materials, maintaining minutes and other records, and engaging Trustees in other PEN America activities
- Conduct research, collect information, and draft content to prepare for meetings and speaking engagements
- Maintain comprehensive and readily accessible files
- Engage with and cultivate the participation of writers, donors, public programming participants, and other supporters in PEN America
- Liaise across the senior leadership team to facilitate activities and organizational priorities
- Support communications, meetings, and other interactions involving the executive office, senior leaders, and the wider staff
- Track action items and ensure priority projects are progressing
- Undertake special projects, all-staff events, and other organizational activities
- Other duties as assigned
All PEN America staff are considered to be stakeholders in the development of our shared organization. As such, staff play a role in varied activities within the workplace as part of their job responsibilities. These may include committees or task forces to work on office issues, diversity and inclusion, strategy projects, training, or other initiatives.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- B.A. degree and demonstrated academic achievement
- At least one year in a similar assistant role in a demanding, fast-paced environment, either in business or with a nonprofit organization, supporting a person in a leadership position
- A formidable work ethic and the stamina to keep up with the demands of a busy office
- Outstanding writing skills and the ability to draft complex correspondence quickly and accurately
- Superb analytical and processing skills; the ability to absorb and act upon a broad range of information quickly
- Proven ability to adapt to a complex workplace and devise ways to create efficiencies and solve problems
- Capacity to effectively facilitate communication between leadership and a growing staff
- Exacting attention to detail, and capacity to track and systematize information
- Ability to stay highly organized and multi-task in a dynamic environment, and to work quickly and accurately under pressure
- Independence, good judgment, and diplomacy as well as demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment and forethought even in the execution of mundane tasks
- Professionalism and excellent interpersonal skills
- Exemplary capacity to maintain confidentiality and discretion
- Facility with meeting technology, preparation and hosting
- Interest in non-profit organizational management, literature, human rights, and/or advocacy a plus
Salary and Benefits: PEN America offers competitive compensation and full benefits. The salary range for this position is $52-65k, commensurate with experience. Candidates whose expectations are outside this range are welcome to apply, as PEN America is open to considering talented individuals at varying stages of their careers. PEN America’s benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision health insurance, paid time off, 10 paid holidays, pre-tax commuter benefits and a 403b retirement plan.
TO APPLY:
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and unedited writing sample to jobs@pen.org. Use “Special Assistant, Executive Office” and your name as the subject of your email (for example, “Special Assistant, Executive Office – Jane Doe”). Please also share where you heard about this position in the body of your email. Only complete applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
PEN America is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and, in order to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.
No phone calls, please.
ABOUT PEN AMERICA:
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.