Executive Assistant, Business Operations at Gates Foundation in Seattle, WA

Job description

The Foundation We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally. The Team Business Operations is the division led by the Chief Operating Officer (COO), providing the foundation's operational infrastructure and enabling programmatic impact across the organization. The Office of the COO (OCOO) sits inside that division as its connective layer — running the division's rhythm of business, supporting the COO and division leadership team, and building the infrastructure that enables operations to work cohesively across divisions. This role sits at the intersection of both: it carries responsibilities that serve the Business Operations division as a whole (division-wide programs, policy, and rhythm of business) as well as responsibilities specific to the OCOO team itself (team operations, knowledge management, and leadership support). This position will be based out of Seattle, Washington This role will be posted 10/23 to 11/6 Your Role The Executive Assistant provides high-level, strategic administrative support to the COO and the Director, Strategy Planning and Management, and Chief of Staff, while also serving as an operational backbone and a catalyst for smarter ways of working for both the Business Operations division and the Office of the COO team. This is a dual-scope role in two senses: it balances principal-facing executive support with team- and division-facing operations work, and within that operations work, it spans both division-wide responsibilities (owned on behalf of Business Operations as a whole) and OCOO-specific responsibilities (owned in service of the immediate team). Additionally, this role serves as a connector across operations divisions, working closely with the offices of members of the Executive Operations Action Group (COO, CFO, CLO, CPO). Success in this role means being equally comfortable managing a principal's calendar and driving a division-level program forward, and developing practical systems, tools, and AI-enabled ways of working that improve access to information, streamline processes, and make the team more efficient and effective. The person in this role works independently at times and collaboratively across stakeholders at others, comfortably switching between fast-moving executive support and more deliberate, structured operations, program, and knowledge management work. This role goes beyond traditional administrative support. It combines strategic advisory, delivery, and program and project management skill: the ability to scope, sequence, run, and optimize workstreams at both the division and team level; build and maintain the systems, templates, and processes the team relies on; and coordinate the moving pieces of team-wide meetings, retreats, and initiatives from planning through follow-through. The role also calls for AI technology enablement: identifying opportunities to simplify recurring work with approved AI and automation tools, developing usable solutions, and helping colleagues adopt them. Ideal candidates are self-motivated and proactive, with excellent judgment, discretion, and follow-through. They bring experience in both executive support and operational or project/program coordination, are comfortable with ambiguity, and take genuine ownership of making the divisio