Senior Executive Assistant

Founded in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is a leading non-profit organization (501(c)3) in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their loved ones. NILC's mission is grounded in the belief that everyone living in the U.S. regardless of race, gender/gender identity, immigration status, or economic status — should have equal access to justice, resources, and educational and economic opportunities that enable them to achieve their full human potential. Together, NILC and the affiliated NILC Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF), a 501(c)4 organization, work to advocate more directly for federal immigration reform policies. NILC is committed to advancing its mission — which intersects race, immigration status, and class — through racial, economic, and gender justice and equity orientation.

Headquartered in Los Angeles with an office in Washington, DC, NILC seeks to achieve just laws and policies that address systemic inequities, create narrative and culture change for an inclusive and equitable society, and build a healthier and more powerful movement. For more information, please visit and

NILC is at an exciting moment in its organizational trajectory, supporting our five-year strategic framework and scaling the organization and its work through influencing systems, policy advocacy at the federal and state levels, engaging in movement and power building, and narrative and culture strategies in addition to continuous improvements to our operational model. We are looking for entrepreneurial, results-driven, relationship builders who are committed to NILC's mission and values of racial justice & equity, valuing diversity, fostering partnerships & collaboration, encouraging respect & personal well-being, and striving for transparency, integrity, and honesty.

The Senior Executive Assistant provides primary direct administrative support to the NILC and IJF President as well as to the Executive Team as assigned. The Senior Executive Assistant will be responsible for areas such as maintaining complex schedules/calendars, coordinating meetings, making travel arrangements, processing expense reports, composing correspondence, taking meeting minutes, researching, updating, and producing data for reports and other materials. The Senior Executive Assistant works closely with the executive office team and executive and senior management teams; organizes and coordinates external relations efforts. This position will also provide administrative support to the Board of Directors as needed. The Senior Executive Assistant must be comfortable working within a fast-paced environment that is mission-driven, results-driven and oriented to the communities we serve. The ideal individual will have the ability to exercise exceptional judgment in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, project management and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. The Senior Executive Assistant will have the ability to work independently on projects, from conception to completion, and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities and confidential matters with discretion.

The Senior Executive Assistant will be responsible for providing leadership and driving success in the following key areas:

Specific Position Responsibilities

• Maintains complex schedules/calendars, coordinating meetings and acting as a "gatekeeper" to ensure that the President's schedule is followed & respected creating win-win situations for direct access to the President's time, and attention.
• Provides support to the President and the Executive Office team when preparing for and following up from internal and external meetings.
• Ensures follow-up tasks from internal and external meetings are completed in a timely fashion, including preparation and debrief of meetings.
• Supports the Executive Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Team to plan and coordinate logistics for meetings and retreats, and conduct notetaking and track follow up from meetings as needed.
• Arranges complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agenda including compiling documents for meetings and travel.
• Reconciles expenses and complete expense reports for the President, Executive Office, and/or Board of Directors and supports payroll entries/reports as needed.
• May communicate directly, and on behalf of the President with Board members, partners, other executives, senior leadership, staff, media/reporters, and others, on matters related to NILC's programmatic initiatives and scheduling needs.
• Provides a bridge for smooth communication between the President and internal departments; demonstrating leadership to maintain credibility, trust and support with senior leadership and staff.
• Works closely and effectively with the Executive Office to keep the team well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately, acting as a "barometer," by having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment and partnering closely with Executive Office teammates.
• Stays on top of time-sensitive requests for the President and the Executive Office including development requests, ELT/SLT items, contracts management, invoice processing, and renewals as applicable.
• Successfully completes critical aspects of deliverables with a hands-on approach, including drafting personal correspondence, and other tasks that facilitate the President's ability to effectively lead.
• Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matter expeditiously, proactively, and follows-through on projects to successful completion, frequently at a fast-pace and with deadline pressures.
• Works with the Executive Office team as needed in coordinating strategic initiatives and activities.
• Collaborates with staff from other departments to conduct and compile thorough research for upcoming meetings with elected officials, funders, movement leaders, the media, internal meetings including ELT/SLT, etc.
• Works with the Development team, Executive Office team, and leadership as needed in coordinating the President's development-related strategic initiatives and activities.
• Follows up on contacts made by the President and supports the cultivation of ongoing relationships with external partners.
• Supports internal and external communications initiatives as needed.
• Support any other special projects the Executive Office oversees.
• May be a part of larger cross functional projects using the MOCHA framework/methodology

Supervisory Responsibilities

• May assist in management of outside consultants, third party administrators, and vendors.

Shared Organization Responsibilities

• Champions NILC & IJF's mission of advancing the rights of immigrants with low income by demonstrating a commitment to human rights, and racial, economic, and social justice.
• Attends and actively participates in NILC meetings at the organization, department, project, and individual level .
• Develops relationships and supports NILC and IJF colleagues across all teams, recognizing that each individual brings a unique background and perspective to the work and assuming good intent from each other.
• Follows through on commitments acting with a clear sense of ownership individually and collectively by taking personal responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures, establishing clear responsibilities and processes for monitoring work and measuring results, and designing feedback loops into work.
• Learns quickly when facing new situations by experimenting to find fresh solutions, taking on the challenge of unfamiliar tasks, and extracting lessons learned from failures and mistakes.
• Acts with integrity by following through on commitments, being direct and truthful, keeping confidence, and showing consistency between words and actions.
• Commits to centering NILC's values of racial justice & equity, valuing diversity, fostering partnerships & collaboration, encouraging respect & personal well-being, and striving for transparency, integrity, and honesty in all decisions and actions.
• In recognition of the fluidity of the work and ecosystem that NILC operates in, other duties may be assigned depending on organizational need.

What We're Looking for in This Role

• Commitment to NILC & IJF's mission of advancing the rights of immigrants with low income and a demonstrated commitment to human rights, racial, economic, and social justice, and equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice for all.
• Collaborative, proactive, and action oriented working style with a strong service mentality promoting mutual accountability and inspiriting trust and confidence from colleagues, other NILC team members, and NILC leaders alike.
• Demonstrates sound judgement in decision-making, high integrity, and utmost respect for confidentiality.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills: ability to read, analyze, and interpret as well as draft documents such as reports, correspondence, and meeting summaries for various audiences.
• Self-starter with a strong strategic ability to move daily tasks forward in alignment with NILC's broader organizational needs and goals.
• Excellent organizational skills, exceptional attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills: ability to proactively define problems, conduct research, and coordinate competing priorities.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including staff, board members, external partners, and others.
• Emotional maturity, change agility, and comfort with ambiguity.
• Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be effective independently.
• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion, be adaptable to various competing demands, and demonstrate the highest level of customer/client service and response.

Qualifications Required

• High school diploma required.
• 7+ years of experience supporting C-Level executives, preferably in a non-profit or social justice organization.
• Experience working directly with members of an Executive Leadership Team.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply the principles, policies and practices related to techniques of association, administration, and functions of a highly sensitive and confidential executive office.
• Ability to recognize sensitive material and maintain a high degree of confidentiality.
• Available to work flexible hours required.
• Intermediate to expert level proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point), Adobe Acrobat, and other administrative platforms.
• Strong knowledge and experience with expense systems, travel booking, and other administrative tools and software.
• Experience with project management and collaboration tools (Asana, Trello, others).

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Experience with project management and collaboration tools (Asana, Trello, others) a plus.
• Strong work tenure: 10+ years of experience supporting C-Level executives, preferably in a non-profit organization preferred.
• At NILC, we know that talented people may have different backgrounds or experiences, and if your education and experience doesn't exactly align with the above that's okay NILC believes that diversity in all dimensions of the organization supports and bolsters the innovative thinking essential to its success and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants. NILC's goal is for our people to reflect the communities in which we live and serve and to ensure representation of people of color, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities in our organization. We encourage you to apply and let us know in your cover letter why you are qualified and the right fit for this role and NILC.

Work Environment

• Location & Travel:
• NILC's offices are located in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, California. For this role, up to 30% of overnight interstate travel may be required; travel is typically quarterly to the NILC Washington, DC office or another location within the US for 3-5 nights.
• Compensation & Benefits:
• NILC's compensation and benefits philosophy is to provide a competitive offering in the nonprofit sector and ensure equity across the organization. The salary range for this role is $71, ,300 per year. Compensation for the role will depend on several factors including qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience.

Physical Demands

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Repeating motions, like typing or answering a phone, that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.

NILC is an equal opportunity employer; people of color and individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. NILC does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, citizenship status, ethnic background, religion, political orientation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other protected class. We consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative.