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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Business Assistant

💰 $45,000 - $80,000

AdministrationSupportOperationsBusiness

🎯 Role Definition

The Business Assistant provides high-touch operational and administrative support to managers, teams, or executives, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations across calendar management, travel and expense processing, meeting preparation, and cross-functional coordination. This role combines traditional executive assistant duties with project coordination, basic data analysis, CRM upkeep, and process improvement responsibilities. Ideal candidates are organized, proactive, and skilled at communicating with internal and external stakeholders while maintaining discretion and driving efficiency.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant
  • Office Coordinator
  • Customer Service Representative

Advancement To:

  • Executive Assistant / Senior Business Assistant
  • Office Manager / Operations Manager
  • Project Coordinator or Project Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • HR Coordinator
  • Sales Operations Coordinator
  • Marketing Operations Associate

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage complex, high-volume calendar scheduling for one or more executives or teams, proactively resolving conflicts, prioritizing meetings based on business objectives, and coordinating across multiple time zones to maximize executive productivity.
  • Act as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders on behalf of assigned leaders; screen calls and emails, draft responses, escalate urgent matters, and ensure timely follow-up to maintain strong stakeholder relationships.
  • Coordinate detailed domestic and international travel arrangements including flights, ground transportation, visas, hotel bookings, itineraries, and any required changes; prepare pre-travel briefs and ensure compliance with corporate travel policy.
  • Prepare, proofread, and format professional presentation decks, meeting materials, summary notes, and briefing documents using PowerPoint, Google Slides, and MS Office, ensuring all materials are on-brand and deliverable-ready.
  • Process and reconcile expense reports using Concur, Expensify, or in-house systems; ensure accuracy, adherence to policy, timely submission, and resolution of discrepancies with finance teams.
  • Lead meeting logistics from agenda creation to attendee coordination, audio/visual setup, room bookings, minute-taking, action-item tracking, and distribution of follow-up communications to ensure accountability and momentum.
  • Maintain and update CRM records (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) including contact information, activity logs, opportunity status, and campaign tracking to support sales and operations transparency.
  • Support project coordination tasks: track project timelines, update task lists in Asana, Trello, or Jira, coordinate cross-functional resources, and escalate risks to project owners to support on-time delivery.
  • Conduct research and compile concise executive summaries and market or competitor snapshots to inform leadership decision-making, including data gathering from public sources and internal systems.
  • Manage vendor relationships and procurement tasks for office supplies, subscription services, and ad hoc vendor needs—solicit quotes, negotiate terms, and coordinate invoices with procurement and finance.
  • Execute confidential administrative duties including HR onboarding support, offboarding processes, document retention, and maintenance of sensitive records with strong adherence to confidentiality requirements.
  • Implement and refine administrative processes and SOPs to increase efficiency, reduce friction, and scale support workflows—document procedures and train teammates on best practices.
  • Facilitate cross-functional communications and project handoffs between departments such as Finance, Legal, Marketing, and IT to ensure alignment and remove operational blockers.
  • Perform weekly and monthly reporting tasks such as KPI dashboard updates, meeting cadence reports, and status summaries using Excel or Google Sheets, leveraging pivot tables and formulas to synthesize data.
  • Coordinate internal events, team offsites, and stakeholder workshops including venue logistics, catering, agenda planning, and travel coordination to ensure high-impact, on-budget events.
  • Manage and maintain shared drives, filing systems, and document repositories (Google Drive, SharePoint) including version control, access permissions, and regular clean-ups to improve information findability.
  • Handle ad-hoc operational requests such as contract routing, signature gathering, filing, and document scanning; ensure timely completion and proper escalation when needed.
  • Support budgeting and basic financial administration tasks such as PO creation, invoice tracking, and month-end close support to aid managers in budget adherence.
  • Prepare and distribute internal communications, announcements, and executive messaging drafts; coordinate approvals and ensure consistent tone and timing across channels.
  • Provide light data entry and system administration for HRIS or ERP systems, ensuring data integrity and supporting HR or operations teams with periodic audits.
  • Manage prioritization across competing requests by applying clear triage criteria and communicating realistic timelines and dependencies to requestors.
  • Serve as an ambassador for company culture by onboarding new hires to office protocols, technology access, and local logistics, setting up new team members for success.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to extract insights, prepare charts, and summarize findings for internal stakeholders.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by recommending tools, processes, or integrations that streamline information flow and reporting.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering or IT requirements, participating in scoping discussions and acceptance testing when required.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering or operations team as a representative of business stakeholders to help prioritize work.
  • Assist with compliance initiatives and internal audits by gathering requested documents, compiling historical records, and supporting remediation plans.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Excel [VLOOKUP, pivot tables], PowerPoint) and Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, Slides).
  • Calendar and inbox management for senior leaders across multiple time zones; experience with scheduling tools like Calendly and Microsoft Bookings.
  • Expense reporting and travel management using Concur, Expensify, or similar T&E platforms.
  • CRM experience (Salesforce, HubSpot) including data entry, contact management, and basic reporting.
  • Familiarity with project management tools: Asana, Trello, Jira, or Monday.com for tracking tasks and cross-functional work.
  • Basic data analysis and reporting skills: creating dashboards, using Excel functions, producing clear visualizations and executive summaries.
  • Presentation design and document formatting skills to produce polished executive-level deliverables.
  • Experience with virtual meeting platforms and A/V logistics (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet) including hosting, recording, and troubleshooting.
  • Knowledge of procurement and vendor management processes, including simple contract review and invoice reconciliation.
  • Working knowledge of internal collaboration and messaging tools (Slack, Teams) and document management systems (Google Drive, SharePoint).

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills tailored to executive audiences and cross-functional teams.
  • Strong organizational and time-management ability with proven prioritization and multitasking under tight deadlines.
  • High degree of discretion, professionalism, and trustworthiness handling confidential information.
  • Proactive problem-solver with a service-oriented mindset who anticipates needs and drives solutions without constant direction.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and interpersonal skills; comfortable interacting with C-level executives and external partners.
  • Attention to detail and persistence in follow-through to ensure tasks are completed accurately and on time.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with shifting priorities.
  • Strong initiative and ownership mentality; sees tasks through from intake to resolution.
  • Team player who collaborates across functions and supports a positive, inclusive workplace culture.
  • Ability to distill complex information into concise, actionable items for decision-makers.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; relevant administrative certifications or vocational training preferred.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Communications, Finance, Information Systems, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Communications
  • Finance or Accounting
  • Information Systems / Technology
  • Project Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of relevant experience in administrative support, executive assistance, operations, or related roles.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years supporting senior leaders or cross-functional teams in a fast-moving corporate environment, with demonstrable experience in calendar management, travel coordination, expense processing, CRM maintenance, and basic reporting/analytics. Experience with enterprise tools (Salesforce, Concur, Asana) and prior exposure to confidential or legal/HR documentation is a strong plus.
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