Senior Manager, Executive Assistant

About the California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling. When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it. About the Opportunity The Executive Assistant to the Executive Director serves as a highly trusted strategic partner responsible for ensuring seamless executive operations in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment. This role requires exceptional judgment, discretion, responsiveness, and organizational discipline. The Executive Assistant acts as gatekeeper, liaison, project manager, and operational lead for the Executive Director and Senior Leadership Team—managing complex scheduling, communications, travel, events, board coordination, and special cross-functional initiatives. The position demands professional presence, emotional intelligence, discretion and confidential judgement, and the ability to anticipate needs before they arise. This is an in-office role requiring a strong commitment to operational excellence and executive support. The Executive Assistant supervises and partners closely with the Board Liaison to ensure seamless coordination of board communications, meeting logistics, materials preparation, and follow-through on governance-related action items. Organizational Culture Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives – Hope for Reefs , Thriving California , and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives . We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position. This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below. Key Responsibilities Executive Support and Executive Office Lead Serve as partner and primary gatekeeper to the Executive Director’s time, assessing urgency and prioritizing access strategically. Manage complex calendar scheduling, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and eliminating conflicts. Prepare daily agendas including meeting purpose, participants, background materials, and recommendations. Track Executive Director’s commitments and deadlines, helping to ensure that plans and commitments are executed in a timely manner. Conduct background research on individuals, organizations, and topics to support executive preparation. Reply to invitations and correspondence on behalf of the Executive Director, maintaining tone and style consistency. Communication and Relationship Man ... (truncated, view full listing at source)