Executive Assistant, Office of the Founding Director

The mission of the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is to transform medicine by dramatically accelerating the understanding and treatment of disease. Through our partnerships with MIT, Harvard, and the Harvard teaching hospitals, along with collaborations across the globe, we've become a worldwide hub of cutting-edge biomedical science. We are committed to building and sustaining a culture that pursues and rewards intellectual curiosity and innovative thinking.

We are looking for a talented, dependable, and enthusiastic Executive Assistant to join the Broad Institute and directly support Dr. Eric Lander, Core Member and Founding Director of the Institute. They will interact with all levels of the organization, board members, high-profile donors, and academic and industry professionals. 

This candidate should be passionate about the mission of the Broad and must have excellent communication and organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to work in a highly demanding and fast-paced environment. The candidate must be able to use judgment to handle complex situations and effectively prioritize a wide variety of tasks, balancing multiple longer-term projects and goals with the immediate needs of the office.

What You Should Know...

• This role will require an in-office work capacity, with the expectation to be in the office five days a week.
• Seeking excellent oral and written communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills, including the demonstrated ability to influence others and build working relationships.
• Seeking strong organizational and time management skills; the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Seeking exceptional proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google business apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive).

Job Description:

The Executive Assistant will perform high-level, complex administrative duties. They will anticipate needs and seek creative solutions to prepare for and address a wide range of operational and administrative issues.

Responsibilities will include:

• Work as part of a team to ensure coordination and visibility, and ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
• Strategically and effectively manage a hectic calendar and handle complex scheduling requests, including arranging internal and external meetings, lab meetings, teaching responsibilities, press interviews, speaking engagements, etc.
• Stay up-to-the-minute on multiple sources of information, including several email inboxes, Slack, text messages, and phone calls, collating requests and tracking correspondence.
• Plan and coordinate extensive/complex domestic and international travel for Dr. Lander, often on tight timelines.
• Handle expense reimbursement, track spending vs. budget, and ensure consistency with policy.
• Represent the Institute in a professional manner, exercising judgment and discretion with regard to confidential issues and materials when responding.
• Prepare and organize daily briefing and homework materials for Dr. Lander; track and manage follow-up items.
• Draft and proofread correspondence and other written material on behalf of Dr. Lander.
• Work cross-functionally to help plan and execute events, including identifying and coordinating catering, creating agendas and itineraries, identifying and booking appropriate off-site space when necessary, etc.
• Manage office records, files, and/or other documents, including careful handling of sensitive material.
• Support the activities of Dr. Lander’s lab, including scheduling lab meetings, ordering catering, and planning socials.
• Coordinate closely with the staff of Dr. Lander’s policy organization, Science for America, to ensure that calendars and travel plans are fully integrated.
• Independently track and manage all potential conflicts of interest and outside activities and ensure accurate reporting and compliance with all relevant Broad, MIT, and Harvard policies; ensure that all disclosures are accurate.
• Ensure that Dr. Lander is on time for, and has all relevant materials for, all meetings, appointments, and events.
• Work closely with the Broad Human Resources Team to coordinate interviews of professional and laboratory staff.

Requirements:

• Associate's degree with 8+ years of experience or Bachelor’s degree in a related professional discipline with 5+ years of relevant experience.
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize work by considering its risk, importance, urgency, and potential implications.
• Proven experience supporting senior executives or C-suite leaders.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and accuracy, including careful proofreading/copyediting of materials.
• Comfortable experimenting and working with AI tools (e.g. Claude and Gemini) to automate administrative workflows.
• High sense of urgency, drive, and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done.
• Demonstrate high standards and commitment to the Broad mission.
• Willingness to take ownership of and tackle interesting challenges.
• Ability to demonstrate discretion in handling confidential information and dealing with high-level executives.
• A sense of humor and ability to thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Ability to work both independently and highly collaboratively as part of a team.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills, including the demonstrated ability to influence others and to build working relationships.
• Exceptional proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google business apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive).
• A flexible schedule.

The Broad Institute will not offer visa sponsorship for this job opportunity.