Special Assistant to the CEO

JOB SUMMARY:

Public Rights Project (PRP) is a national nonprofit organization that helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We build their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convene and connect them on key issues, and provide legal representation to help them win in court for residents. Since 2017, we've recovered over $46 million in relief for marginalized people; built a network of over 1,300 government offices, elected officials, and community-based organizations in 50 states; trained 130 prosecutors and government lawyers in 24 states; and secured court victories on abortion, immigrant, workers’, and voting rights. Learn more about our work.

Public Rights Project seeks to hire a Special Assistant to the CEO to join our team. This is a remote, full-time, exempt position reporting to the Chief of Staff within Public Rights Project’s Executive Office. This role requires strong coordination with the Chief of Staff in support of internal and external stakeholders. You'll help ensure the CEO’s initiatives are executed with excellence and efficiency, managing cross-functional administrative activities, projects and workflows, while representing her values and leadership priorities.

The ideal candidate is a mission-driven operator who thrives in supporting visionary leadership behind-the-scenes as well as bringing the highest level of professionalism and judgment with external stakeholders. You are energized by complexity, operate with emotional intelligence, and bring both precision and care to your work. If you excel in fast-paced, mission-driven environments and enjoy thinking several steps ahead, this role may be a powerful fit.

If you are a professional with interest and/or experience in the non-profit, public policy or government landscape and aspire to a Chief of Staff role and/or people operations role in the future, this role will help bolster your depth of understanding of the landscape and position you even more strongly for a leadership position in the medium term.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Executive-Level Support (35-50%)

• Provide high-level administrative support to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), including managing calendars, scheduling, and preparing correspondence, reports, memos, and meeting materials.
• Anticipate executive needs and proactively manage scheduling, communication, and workflow challenges.
• Review and prioritize incoming communications on behalf of senior staff and external stakeholders, summarizing and routing as appropriate.
• Coordinate CEO travel, accommodations, expense processing, and logistics for external meetings, including board meetings, convenings, and speaking engagements.
• Maintain accurate records; support contract and invoice processing; manage CEO expenses and reimbursements; and other administrative tasks as needed.
• Support Executive Leadership Team travel and logistics periodically.
• Support time-sensitive projects and rapid-response efforts with flexibility and sound judgment.

Stakeholder Communications (25%)

• Serve as the primary scheduling contact between the CEO and internal team members and external stakeholders.
• Draft correspondence, staff updates, and executive communications; attend and document meetings, ensuring timely follow-up on action items.
• Coordinate logistics and communications for engagements with policymakers, funders, advocacy partners, and the Board of Directors.
• Support scheduling and logistics for CEO media interviews, prep calls and speaking engagements, in coordination with the communications team.
• Ensure all external stakeholders experience professional, timely, and organized interactions with the executive office.
• Work with development to support prospective and current funder engagement, including proactive communication and follow-up.
• Route media inquiries directed to the CEO to the communications team for vetting, coordination, and alignment with the overall media strategy.

Project Management (25%)

• Partner with the Chief of Staff, coordinators, and cross-functional teams to ensure seamless operations and information flow.
• Support Chief of Staff and CEO in preparation for quarterly and committee board meetings, and Executive Team retreats.
• Collaborate across departments to provide the CEO with necessary background materials, research, talking points, and success metrics for stakeholder engagements. Conduct research and data analysis as needed to support CEO preparation for events and meetings.
• Support the Chief of Staff on special projects aligned with the Executive Director’s priorities, including knowledge management, tracking priorities and cross-organizational workflows.
• Support team events, retreats, and initiatives that foster an inclusive culture and strong collaboration.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

• 4+ years of Executive Assistant experience, ideally supporting senior executives in nonprofit, philanthropy, government, or advocacy settings.
• Experience with expense management and board reporting required, with demonstrated accuracy and attention to detail.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Exceptional organizational and planning skills with the ability to manage competing priorities with discretion and sound judgment.
• Personal Skills: High emotional intelligence and cultural competence. Intrinsic motivation, resourcefulness, and a “no task too small” mindset.
• Skills: Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, Outlook), G-Suite, Salesforce, Asana (or similar project management software) and Zoom. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are essential.
• Task and Project Management: Ability to juggle multiple high priority projects simultaneously, with strong judgment in prioritizing and timely execution. Experience with complex cross-team project management a plus.
• Flexibility: Must be adaptable, able to handle shifting priorities, and comfortable working independently in a remote setting.
• Dependability & Discretion: High level of discretion and confidentiality, with a strong sense of responsibility and professionalism.
• Event Support: Prior experience with event planning and travel logistics is a plus.
• A belief in the power of state and local government to make positive change in the world and a passionate commitment to economic, racial, gender, and environmental justice.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Other duties as assigned.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP:
Reports to Chief of Staff

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Requires sitting, talking and listening for up to 8 hours per day. Certain situations may require lifting items up to 20 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Fully remote organization and team. This role may require travel a few times a year to PRP events or meetings. We currently have remote staff in Oakland, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), and Washington, DC, as well as other cities.

COMPENSATION:
The determined salary range for this level 3 role is set at $82,735 - $111,935. Due to efforts to ensure compensation is equitable, PRP will not engage in negotiation of compensation.

PRP HIRING COMMITMENT:
PRP is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. A diverse and inclusive workplace, both at PRP and within the government offices we serve, is a key ingredient for achieving our mission of building equitable enforcement capacity within state and local government.

We aim to assemble a team that reflects the world we live in and the communities we serve with respect to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and immigration status. People with personal or family experience with the type of harms we seek to combat, including wage theft, predatory lending, fraud, discrimination, and environmental degradation are particularly encouraged to apply.