The Organization

The Heinz Endowments (the Endowments) is a regional foundation formed from the Howard Heinz Endowment, established in 1941, and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, established in 1986. It is the product of a deep family commitment to community and the common good that began with H. J. Heinz, and which continues to this day.

The Endowments seeks to help the region thrive as a whole and just community, and through that work to model solutions to major national and global challenges. They concentrate on advancing a sustainable future for our community and planet, successful learning outcomes for young people and their families, and a culture of engaged creativity for all our citizens.

With grantmaking that averages almost $90 million annually, the Endowments is among the leading foundations in the United States. The impact of their grants lies in the possibilities they create, the critical need they address and the transformative change they help to bring about.

The Heinz Endowments seeks to:

Help ignite and sustain a new era of regional transformation by facilitating demonstrable and exemplary progress in areas critical to the community’s future.
Have a material and systemic impact on the priorities identified by its program areas and special initiatives.
Be a leading national benchmark for foundation effectiveness, ethics, regional focus, and general excellence in philanthropy.
Promote the advancement of a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive society.
Preserve its ability to sustain its philanthropic impact over time by continuing the prudent and longstanding practice of living within its means and managing its assets for the long term.

Learn more at: https://www.heinz.org/

The Opportunity

The Heinz Endowments seeks an Executive Assistant to the President to serve as the primary staff interface for the Endowments’ President with Board Members, grantees, and selected community members, all while maintaining a level of professionalism, confidentiality, and efficiency consistent with the standards expected of the President’s office of a major national philanthropy.

Reporting to the President, the Executive Assistant manages and effectively executes all planning and communication related to Board meetings, events and convenings, often in collaboration with other Leadership Team members. Additionally, the Executive Assistant manages the President’s external schedule, travel and administrative support needs. The Executive Assistant protects the organization’s confidential information by the appropriate handing and archiving of sensitive information and documents is a critical factor.

The Executive Assistant will be primarily responsible for the following:

Administration, Communication, & Partnerships

Support of the day-to-day operations of the President’s office including, but not limited to, scheduling and maintaining a complex meeting calendar, including travel related planning and communication, coordination of incoming/outgoing mail and selected e-mail, preparation/distribution of various written communications as assigned.
Support the organization by ensuring continued strong fiscal and administrative adherence to organizational budget and policy as well as conflict of interest standards.
Often in coordination with other departments, serve as an Endowments frontline liaison with external colleagues and constituencies in ways that ensure maximum impact through effective engagement.
Serve as a liaison with selected community stakeholders in developing meeting logistics and agendas, scheduling coordination, communicating, and managing expectations.
Serve as the key conduit with internal communications staff on important information from the President’s office necessary to share with all staff.
Forge strong, equitable collaborations and strategic alliances with diverse partners across sectors and communities to consistently generate insights and connections with regional resources, conveners, and partners.
Serve as needed on internal, cross-department working groups on matters related to organizational management, performance and communications.

Foundation and Program Outreach, Meeting Planning

Coordinate and execute special projects, symposiums, conferences, and special events hosted by the Endowments, often in support of their programmatic strategies and initiatives.
Serve as the key event coordinator role for large scale conferences with responsibilities including a full range of highly detailed coordination pertaining to all levels of conference planning.
Provide support and guidance to other staff members in the planning and implementation of Heinz hosted large meetings/events and where applicable identify new opportunities for special projects which strengthen the business operations and core values of the Endowments.

Board Relations

Schedule Board and Board Committee meetings; coordinate internal and external meeting schedules and agendas; assist with written communications and ensure that the President is updated on substantive, Board related issues.

Serve as on-call support for Board members who may incur special needs associated with Board service, including transportation, document delivery and related matters.
Provide administrative support, arrange for appropriate supplies and meal provisions, coordinate and collaborate with operations and facilities colleagues to ensure appropriate planning of all board, board committee meetings and employee engagement events.
Provide transport of necessary documents, maintain and secure official minute books, and agenda files related to board and board committee meetings.
Maintain records related to board members, contact information, composition of Committees, board appointments, terms, etc. in coordination with the Finance and Operations Department and Communications Department.

The Candidate

As a key liaison between the President, the Board, and the Endowments’ staff as well as a between grantee, nonprofit, business and government leadership, the new Executive Assistant will need to work collaboratively, efficiently, and effectively towards the Foundation’s goals. The successful candidate will require highly-refined time management skills, an exemplary service mindset, and collaborative spirit.

The Executive Assistant will work towards the Endowments’ mission and vision with the President and a dedicated team reflecting family interests, values, and history combined with diverse experience and backgrounds, domain expertise, and ability to work across department expertise and will possess a deep commitment to a culture of learning, collaboration, effectiveness, and efficiency.

The President’s Office is fast-paced and the Executive Assistant must juggle many critical priorities simultaneously with a servant leadership mindset toward all internal and external constituencies.

All candidates should have exceptional administrative skills, as well as possess a combination of the following skills and attributes:

Passion for and commitment to the Endowment’s mission and vision.
Experience in highly professional and fast-paced work environments where maturity, approachability, confidentiality, and discretion are essential.
The ability to prioritize, reprioritize, and execute on assignments without detailed direction combined with the ability to know when and how to ask for clarification or more information to be successful.
Exemplary time management, project planning, and organization skills which enable multi-tasking with the consistent achievement of quality and meeting deadlines.
A level of attention to detail which creates ‘right the first time’ outcomes and a consistent pattern of ‘follow-up’ on critical items.
Strong oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
Effective travel planning skills, large-scale and complicated event management and budgeting experience, expense management and processing acumen is preferred.
A level of personal motivation which is conducive to independent work and effective team contributions.
The ability to identify potential improvements to the efficiency of the office and to introduce these ideas to other staff members.
Must work to the highest standards of integrity and confidentiality.
Positive attitude, sense of humor and a commitment to being part of an energetic and goal-oriented work environment.

Compensation & Benefits

This position offers a competitive salary range of $90,000 - $110,000 and a progressive benefits package.

The Heinz Endowments has retained Nonprofit Talent to assist with this important organizational change process. Specific questions related to the position may be emailed to Michelle Pagano Heck, President, at [email protected]. Please direct all inquiries related to this position to Nonprofit Talent, and do not contact the Heinz Endowments.

Resume, position-specific cover letter, and salary expectations can be uploaded via this portal:

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY 5PM ON MARCH 29th, 2024

About Nonprofit Talent

Nonprofit Talent is a boutique executive search firm with a deep understanding of the nuanced cultural and financial landscape of the nonprofit and philanthropic community. We know the organizations and the people that commit to the sector. Our candidates, through regional and targeted national recruitment, frequently come from the same communities as our clients. We firmly believe in uplifting the extraordinary talent of our region in addition to seeking out new and vibrant talent through national networks.

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Executive Assistant to the President, The Heinz Endowments