Executive Assistant

SNV is a global development partner, deeply rooted in the countries where we operate. Driven by a vision of a better world where all people live with dignity and have equitable opportunities to thrive sustainably, SNV strengthens capacities and catalyses partnerships that transform agri-food, energy, and water systems. We help strengthen institutions and effective governance, reduce gender inequalities and barriers to social inclusion and enable adaptation and mitigation to the climate and biodiversity crises.

With 60 years of experience and a team of approximately 1,600 people, we support our partners in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia, tailoring our approaches to different contexts to achieve large-scale impact and create more equitable lives for all.

Our core values of people-centeredness and respect, equity and equality, and diversity and inclusion, are fundamental to who we are, and what we do. This is reflected in our vision and mission, and strategy, which sets out our aspirations and commitments as our compass towards 2030.

For more information on SNV’s, please visit our website: www.snv.org.

Context and purpose of the job

The Executive Assistant provides executive, administrative and secretarial support to the Country Director (CD) and Directors of Finance, Operations, Programmes, and People & Culture, coordinating leadership time, meetings, information and follow-up of approved decisions and commitments.

Formal reporting is to the CD, who sets priorities and resolves competing requests. The Executive Leadership Team (ELT), Country Management Team (CMT), country teams and relevant regional/global functions are working relationships, not reporting lines.

The role works independently within agreed procedures and authority, preparing and checking executive materials and maintaining secure, version-controlled records. It anticipates needs, handles highly confidential information with discretion and follows SNV policies, corporate identity and information-security and data-protection requirements. Directors and action owners retain accountability for decisions and delivery.

Executive calendar and priority management:

• Manage the CD’s diary and coordinate Directors’ diaries and shared schedules as required. Protect agreed priorities and preparation, travel and transition time; assess requests, resolve routine conflicts, escalate competing priorities to the CD, track deadlines and communicate changes.

Executive meetings, decisions and action follow-up:

• Maintain forward agendas; request and check papers; circulate approved packs on time.
• Prepare minutes, decisions and actions for approval.
• Track owners, deadlines, dependencies and status; remind owners and flag overdue or blocked actions to the Chair without line-management authority.
• Coordinate leadership workshops, interviews, retreats and governance meetings.

Executive correspondence and communication:

• Draft, review, formalise, send and file correspondence, briefings, emails, presentations, reports and bulletins within instructions.
• Screen and route requests; answer routine enquiries within delegated authority and refer sensitive, technical or approval matters.
• Apply SNV identity, tone and confidentiality standards; coordinate reviews and release only approved communications to authorised audiences.

Executive briefing and information management:

• Prepare meeting, visit and event briefings covering background, previous decisions, stakeholders and pending actions.
• Summarise approved sources; flag gaps, inconsistencies and matters for Directors. Check completeness, clarity and readiness; advise on format, channel and tone within agreed standards and anticipate follow-up.

Stakeholder, protocol and leadership engagement coordination:

• Coordinate executive appointments and communications with government, donors, partners and regional/global colleagues.
• Maintain approved stakeholder records; arrange invitations, protocol, participant details, schedules and follow-up.
• Work with the Country Communications Coordinator on strategic communications, visibility and external positioning.

Travel, missions, visits and executive events:

• Coordinate travel, visas, accommodation, transport, itineraries and logistics with responsible teams and approved suppliers.
• Provide meeting details, contacts and documents; monitor changes and arrange contingencies.
• Organise senior visits, workshops, interviews, conferences and leadership events under agreed procedures; route expenses, documentation and post-travel actions to owners.

Confidential records and governance support:

• Maintain secure, version-controlled executive papers, approved minutes, decisions and action trackers, plus assigned policy registers, statutory and committee records, financial reports and official records.
• Apply approved access, naming and retention controls; distribute only to authorised recipients.
• Protect confidential management, governance, HR and organisational information; flag missing records, approvals, signatures or versions to functional owners.

Executive office coordination and service delivery:

• Coordinate with Operations, Finance, People & Culture, Programmes and other functions; clarify ownership and route requests without assuming functional accountability.
• Maintain service standards, administrative data, assigned registers and recurring processes using agreed formats.
• Support continuity during absences and peak workloads.

Digital working and continuous improvement:

• Use approved Microsoft 365 tools (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Excel, SharePoint and Copilot).
• Maintain templates, trackers, checklists and workflows; identify duplication, bottlenecks and risks, propose improvements and share guidance.
• Use approved AI under information-security and data-protection requirements and verify outputs.

• Relevant bachelor’s degree or equivalent higher vocational qualification in business administration, office management, public administration or a related field.

Experience:

• Substantial executive or senior administrative support experience, preferably in a complex, multicultural organisation.
• Experience with senior diaries, travel, correspondence, records, meeting packs, minutes, decision/action tracking and competing priorities across teams and organisational levels.
• Proven ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion and sound judgement.
• Excellent written and spoken English, with strong drafting, editing and minute-taking skills. Proficiency in relevant local language(s) is an advantage.
• Advanced practical proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Copilot, Teams and Excel.

Competencies:

• Problem analysis
• Planning and organising
• Judgement and discretion
• Flexibility
• Service orientation
• Accuracy
• Initiative
• Communication
• Cooperation
• Digital fluency

Authority and accountability boundaries

The Executive Assistant coordinates and follows up executive processes; Directors and functional owners retain technical, financial, HR, procurement, legal, communications and management accountability. The CD is the sole line manager and resolves priority conflicts or capacity constraints.

The role requests inputs, reminds owners and flags overdue actions without line-management authority. Release only approved information externally or to wider internal audiences. Immediately escalate material reputational, legal, security, safeguarding, data-protection or confidentiality risks through the appropriate channel.

Additional expectations

Maintain the highest standards of confidentiality, integrity, neutrality and professional conduct. Follow SNV policies, procedures, values, corporate identity and information-security and data-protection controls. Verify drafted, summarised and AI-assisted content before use; never enter sensitive information into unapproved tools. Undertake related duties consistent with the role’s purpose and level.

Additional Information

Contract Type: National

Expected start date: January 11, 2027

Duty Station:  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Contract Duration: The contract is for one year, with the possibility of extension based on performance and budget availability.

How to Apply

If you believe that your credentials meet, the outlined profile, we invite you to apply by uploading your CV and a letter of motivation before/on 23 November 2026. Please submit your application only via: >> Smart Recruiters. All information will be kept in the strictest confidentiality.

If we see that your experience and skills match the requirements of the position, we will contact you to advise on the next steps in the recruitment process.

Working at SNV

SNV offers a challenging work environment, opportunities to lead and innovate, and a commitment to growing your skills in a fulfilling and diverse working environment. Our staff benefit form and contribute to, an internal and global network of experts.

At SNV, inclusivity is at the heart of our ethos. We celebrate the diversity of our workforce and uphold a policy of non-discrimination based on factors such as disability status, religion, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, and more.

Vetting

SNV carries out rigorous background and reference checks concerning possible safeguarding incidents for all candidates applying for both national and International determined positions. As SNV participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, all reference checks include a request to past employers to fill in a questionnaire regarding Misconduct (sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment), the “Statement of Conduct“. This Statement of Conduct adopts the definitions used in the Scheme.

SNV is an equal opportunities employer and female candidates are encouraged to apply.