Executive Assistant

About the role

The Gardens of Golden Gate Park unite three historic gardens—the landmark Conservatory of Flowers (1879), the Japanese Tea Garden (1894), and the 55-acre San Francisco Botanical Garden (1940)—featuring more than 10,000 different kinds of plants from around the world, from rare orchids and cloud forest species to California native plants and serene Japanese landscapes. Our pioneering public-private partnership between the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department and San Francisco Botanical Garden Society combines the city's expertise in horticulture and facilities with the nonprofit’s strengths in visitor experience, education, philanthropy, membership, marketing, curatorial services, interpretation, and community engagement. Together, we connect people to plants, the planet, and each other, cultivating an internationally renowned destination where conservation, natural beauty, and community flourish.

Responsibilities

• Calendar management for Chief Financial Officer, Chief Experience Officer, Director of Advancement, and Chief of Staff (COS manages the CEO’s calendar with support from EA).
• Track key initiatives to meet critical deadlines and deliverables in alignment with ET’s strategic priorities, proactively following up to ensure progress to completion.
• Plan, organize, and prepare for meetings: compose and collaborate to prepare agendas and notes, ensuring ET and their guests are fully prepared by confirming logistics, clarifying objectives, and providing necessary materials in advance.
• Prepare, edit, and format presentation slides, memos, reports, and other documents, ensuring the organization's brand guidelines and organizational voice.
• Board of Directors: support the COS in providing high-level, exceptional, and prompt support for the Board of Directors. Work with COS to prepare meeting packets for timely distribution for in-person quarterly board meetings and annual board retreat. In partnership with events and operations teams, provide catering/technical support and room setup for in-person board meetings; support ET members in leading their respective quarterly remote board committees.
• Hospitality: ensure and lead by example that the organization prioritizes a hospitality-driven, visitor-centric lens in all Gardens operations, sites, and offices.
• Support and partner with ET and Senior HR Manager on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) initiatives and strategic priorities; champion the enhancement of organizational culture.
• Support donor-related activities that require occasional evening and weekend commitments.
• Support organization-wide events such as Flower Piano, Lightscape, member events, other programming and special projects as assigned - sometimes accommodating a flexible work schedule, including evenings and weekends.

Experience & Qualifications

• Progressive experience (5+ years) supporting executive leadership.
• Experience with nonprofit board governance and stakeholder engagement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office Suite: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams; highly proficient in Adobe Acrobat; highly proficient in CRM and project management systems, such as Salesforce and Asana.
• A track record of keeping confidentiality and experience working on critical matters.
• Personal Attributes: Exemplifies highest standards of integrity, professionalism, discretion, personal accountability, and excellence; demonstrates emotional intelligence and self-awareness; inspires confidence and trust.
• Genuinely enjoys engaging people; warm, approachable, and comfortable interacting with staff, board, high-level donors, and city leaders.
• Highly collaborative: a team player able to motivate and organize staff, understanding departmental intersections within the institution to work towards shared goals.
• Commitment and excitement to learn about the Gardens’ mission, vision, values, and collections.
• Able to think strategically with a big picture, outcome-driven focus, staying connected to broad institutional goals, while also being detail and analysis oriented.
• Proactively and strategically anticipates needs before issues arise.
• Ability to work well in a fast-paced environment and under pressure to easily adapt to changing priorities; exercises good judgment and stays focused on overarching goals.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; able to build collaborative relationships across a team and with external partners.
• Demonstrates a genuine commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) and the ability to lead with an equity lens.
• Upholds an unwavering commitment to great visitor experience and a genuine interest in the Gardens’ mission.

Additional Expectations

• Must work at least 3 days a week onsite, up to 2 days a week may be remote if the work schedule allows, but a regular onsite presence is essential for success in this role.
• Must be able to work across all three Garden sites in varying weather conditions outdoors year-round and inside a tropical conservatory, as well as in shared office spaces.
• Able to engage in a range of physical motions including standing or sitting at a desk or computer, walking on uneven surfaces, climbing stairs, and occasionally working outside in varying weather conditions.
• Able to manage risk, adhering to the Gardens’ safety and emergency protocols.