Executive Assistant

Official Title: Executive Assistant 

Program: Management

Position Location: Toronto, Ontario (Remote)

Term:  1 year with potential to extend

Salary: $42,000 - $50,000 annually     

Location: Toronto, ON

Position Level: SCI 4 

Date written/revised: April 29, 2021 

Reports to: Gillian Woolmer, Director of Finance and Operations, and Dr. Justina Ray, President and Senior Scientist

Supervises: Not applicable  

Application Deadline: 21 May 2021

Position Summary:

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada is Canada’s leading on-the-ground conservation science organization. We strive to protect Canada’s wildlife and wild places by bringing science to conservation action. As a medium-sized charity, we have a small, strong, and dynamic management team based in Toronto with projects dispersed across various locations in Canada.

Our team is growing and we are actively looking to hire an Executive Assistant. Reporting to WCS Canada’s President and Director of Finance and Operations, the Executive Assistant will be responsible for the management of all contract and grant agreement processes, task and event scheduling, board coordination and meeting planning, internal communications, and related tasks.

The ideal candidate will have an interest in our conservation work, be highly motivated, and detail-oriented. As an important member of the Toronto management team, the Executive Assistant will be skilled at managing coordination processes across a dispersed network of staff.

If you are motivated by our mission, vision, and values, and have a propensity for distilling information and meticulous attention to detail, we encourage you to apply.  

We believe this is an excellent opportunity for someone seeking to learn the inner workings of a national conservation NGO in a critical support position, embedded at its nerve centre. 

Position Objectives: 

The Executive Assistant will:

• Coordinate all contract administration, renewal, and reporting processes on behalf of the President and Director of Finance and Operations;
• Act as liaison between the Toronto management team and the WCS Canada board;
• Provide calendaring and meeting coordination support;
• Coordinate internal WCS Canada communications as required;
• Provide support to the Toronto management team and senior staff as needed.

Principal Responsibilities:

Administration:

• Provide administrative support to the President on various projects; communicate with project teams, manage timelines/deadlines, send reminders, and update the timeline as work proceeds.
• Coordinate staff and budget meetings, record and distribute minutes as required.
• Arrange travel (flights, hotel, car service).
• Prepare reports, presentations, spreadsheets, and other documents, including layout and formatting.
• Assist with the administration of various annual programs, including the Fellowship program.
• Additional administrative tasks as defined by the ongoing needs of the organization.

Contract Management:

• Lead the implementation of a contract management process to track legal agreements, relevant dates, and deliverables, including contracts, consulting agreements, MOU’s, and government funding agreements, etc.
• Coordinate the review, approval, and signing of legal documents and agreements with the Director of Finance and Operations and relevant parties.
• Maintain communication with project teams and finance teams regarding the status of contracts and agreements.
• Actively support government proposal and reporting submissions:
• tracking key dates
• coordinating across project and finance teams to collate required reporting information
• compiling documentation in compliance with firm deadlines

• Ensure timely and consistent digital filing of all documents utilizing standardized file naming practices.

Board Liaison:

• Schedule meetings of the Board of Directors and its sub-committees.
• Prepare, collate and distribute communications to the Board and its sub-committees
• Take notes at Board meetings and prepare board meeting minutes.

Required Qualifications:

• 2+ years of professional experience in executive administration leadership, or equivalent leadership in a relevant field
• Exceptional interpersonal skills
• Outstanding organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail
• Ability to prioritize and handle a high volume of diverse projects with hard deadlines
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Strong time-management skills and adaptability when facing competing priorities
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, from a remote location with minimal supervision;
• Experience with database administration including database entry and extraction
• Intermediate level of experience with MS Office, specifically Word, Excel, and PowerPoint including:
  • Advanced document formatting skills in Word
  • Moderate to advance Excel skills including formatting, use of advanced formula, data summaries, etc.
• Comfortable in a digital environment and adaptable to learning new applications and systems
• Passionate about our mission to save wildlife and wild places in Canada

Additional Considered Assets:

• Post-secondary education in administration or relevant field
• Non-profit or charitable sector experience
• Business or financial education or experience
• Experience with a contract management software
• Proficiency in French

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV with a cover letter explaining how your qualifications and experiences make you the ideal candidate for this role. Applications are to be submitted through the Fitzii portal.

For questions regarding the application process please contact Tina Dias at tdias@ wcs.org.

WCS Canada is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices. Applicants with a disability or any special needs may make a request for accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, and we will work with you to meet your needs. Such requests should be communicated to Tina Dias (tdias@ wcs.org) or by phone at 416-850-9038 ext. 30.

Deadline for applications: May 21, 2021

About WCS Canada: 

WCS Canada (www.wcscanada.org) was established as a Canadian conservation organization in July 2004. We are committed to championing accessibility, diversity, and equal opportunity. Our mission is to conserve wildlife and wild places by improving our understanding of and seeking solutions to critical problems that threaten key species and large wild ecosystems throughout Canada. We implement and support comprehensive field studies that gather information on wildlife needs and then seek to resolve key conservation problems by working with a broad array of stakeholders. We also provide technical assistance and biological expertise to local groups and agencies that lack the resources to tackle conservation concerns. WCS Canada is independently registered and managed while retaining a strong collaborative working relationship with sister Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) programs in more than 60 countries.