Overview

Discovery Institute’s American Center for Transforming Education (ACTE) is seeking an Executive Assistant to join its growing team. This position reports to the Director of ACTE.

This is a full-time hybrid role for a candidate located within approximately 15 minutes of Edmonds, Washington. Scheduled work hours are required, with occasional evening and weekend work for time-sensitive tasks. The Executive Assistant is expected to be fully available and exclusively focused on work responsibilities during scheduled hours.

The full-time salary range is $60,000–$70,000, commensurate with experience, and includes vacation, holidays, sick leave, and health insurance (medical, dental, and vision).

This Job Is for You If…

You find genuine joy in executing directions with exact precision, hold yourself to an unusually high standard of meticulous professionalism, and take genuine pride in a job exceptionally well done. Whether coordinating an important engagement or sending a three-sentence email, you ensure everything is communicated and executed with care, accuracy, and attention to detail.

You love a constant, ever-changing list of action items focused on supporting someone else. You move quickly, think ahead, learn the Director’s preferences, and anticipate what will be needed next, and get satisfaction from turning a stream of requests and directions into completed action items and strong results for a high-performing organizational leader. You genuinely love working behind the scenes and taking ownership of execution. You would rather make the leader shine than be in the spotlight yourself. You don’t need your name on the work or recognition for making it happen. Ghostwriting and drafting constant communications for someone else throughout the day sounds energizing. You enjoy learning another person’s voice so well that your drafts sound as though they wrote them.

You double-check your work — even the simplest text message — before hitting send. Typos and missed details bother you, and when you make a mistake, you own it, learn from it, and put systems in place to prevent it from happening again. You turn detailed directions into precise systems and checklists and execute them accurately and consistently without reminders. You thrive on high expectations, fast-moving priorities, and exceptional attention to detail while juggling multiple action items at once. You follow through, report back when something is complete, and adjust quickly and with ease when plans change. You take pride in being highly dependable, discreet, resourceful, and able to anticipate needs while staying closely aligned with the Director’s expectations and preferences.

The Role

The Executive Assistant will work closely with the Director to manage the Director’s communications, scheduling, logistics, writing, media, speaking, travel, an extensive professional network, and organizational leadership.

A significant portion of the role involves writing, scheduling, and gathering and preparing materials. This high-trust position requires exceptional judgment, discretion, follow-through, ownership of execution, and a commitment to excellence in both large responsibilities and the smallest details.

Key Responsibilities

  • Draft and ghostwrite emails, letters, talking points, social media posts, thank-you notes, invitations, and other communications in the Director’s voice.
  • Proofread communications for tone, grammar, accuracy, formatting, etc.
  • Create and maintain precise systems and checklists to ensure responsibilities are completed accurately and without reminders.
  • Manage a complex calendar, scheduling requests, correspondence, invitations, and follow-ups.
  • Maintain and continually reprioritize a fast-moving list of action items to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
  • Coordinate travel, including flights, hotels, transportation, itineraries, meetings, and schedule changes.
  • Prepare materials and coordinate logistics for speaking engagements, media appearances, meetings, and events.
  • Track deadlines, commitments, and follow-ups through completion.
  • Coordinate with colleagues, media contacts, professional contacts, donors, and other stakeholders.
  • Maintain organized electronic files, records, administrative systems, and platforms.
  • Handle errands, appointments, reservations, purchases, returns, mail, vendors, and other administrative needs.
  • Anticipate needs, proactively solve problems, and handle confidential information with exceptional discretion.

Qualifications

  • Strong alignment with the mission and work of Discovery Institute.
  • Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills, including the ability to write in another person’s voice.
  • Extraordinary attention to detail, organization, and follow-through.
  • Ability to turn detailed instructions into repeatable systems and execute them with exceptional consistency.
  • Strong judgment, professionalism, discretion, and personal accountability.
  • A proactive mindset with the ability to anticipate action items and work independently.
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt quickly to changes.
  • Strong proficiency with email, calendars, documents, spreadsheets, social media platforms, and common productivity tools, including AI.
  • Previous executive assistant, communications, personal assistant, chief of staff, or similar experience preferred.
  • Ability to work virtually within approximately 15 minutes of Edmonds, Washington, with availability for in-person meetings and errands and flexibility for occasional time-sensitive work outside set scheduled hours. This role may also require up to five full workdays per month in the Seattle office.

To Apply

To apply, qualified individuals should submit the following application materials in one PDF document:

  • Cover letter including:
    • An introductory paragraph describing why you are drawn to Discovery Institute.
    • Salary requirements
  • Resume

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Katie Krout, Project Manager at Talent Market, who is managing the search: [email protected].

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

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