Executive Assistant to the Secretary General

Are you a strategic thinker, structured and with exceptional execution and communication skills? And are you motivated by the possibility of working to support the executive management in one of the largest displacement-mandated humanitarian organizations worldwide and by making a global impact? We are looking for an experienced, proactive, highly efficient and solutions oriented Executive Assistant to the Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council.

You will be part of a small and dynamic team, in the Secretary General’s office, and will be working closely with the Secretary General and the Executive Management Team, providing comprehensive management and administrative support.  You will be supporting the Secretary General in managing her daily work, planning and executing meetings of the Executive Management Team, ensuring that decisions are well communicated, and that follow-up takes place, and much more.

Who are we?

The office of the Secretary General is a small team, supporting the Secretary General, the Executive Management Team, the Board of Directors, and the Council of DRC. The office also supports DRC’s overall organizational processes and its overall strategy, provides management and administrative support to the Secretary General, and organizes global staff meetings. The office works and coordinates closely with departments in headquarters as well as DRC offices across the world.

About the job  

The Executive Assistant to the Secretary General has a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless operation and effectiveness of the Secretary General’s office while providing comprehensive management and administrative support to the Secretary General and coordinating with the rest of the organization as well as external actors seeking access to the Secretary General. The Executive Assistant plays a key role in improving and enhancing systems and processes in the General Secretariat and is responsible for planning and execution of management meetings and events and for documenting and communicating internally on management decisions and organizational processes.

The Executive Assistant will have the following main responsibilities:

• Organizing and preparing meetings of the Executive Management Team (EMT) and the HQ Executive Directors team, including preparation of agendas and presentations, decision-making documents and minutes, and follow-up on action points.
• Facilitating internal communication of management decisions in close collaboration with the internal communications advisor.
• Coordinating with colleagues in the organization, especially with the Communications and Advocacy teams, for the Secretary General to receive briefing materials and talking points for external engagements in a timely manner.
• Supporting preparation of regular bilateral meetings between the Secretary General and EMT members, including agenda setting.
• Elaborating agendas for global staff meetings and HQ all staff meetings, coordinating input for the presentations for the meetings, and responsible for logistical arrangements.
• Coordinating independently logistic / back-office planning of events including the yearly DRC Council meeting as well as handling practical planning and logistics of other meetings such as meetings of the EMT, Secretary General internal and external meetings, and global staff meetings.
• Managing the calendar for the Secretary General, booking and organizing meetings, organizing travels for the Secretary General and members of the Board of Directors, and managing the Secretary General’s e-mails in the absence of the Secretary General or as required and supporting on drafting of responses.
• Updating and archiving organizational documents such as organigrams, standard presentations, work plans etc. and collecting signatures from Chairperson, Board of Directors and Secretary General.
• Ensuring expense management in Microsoft Dynamics, related to Secretary General travels, events and meetings (primary task of student assistant)
• Ensuring legalization of documents required across the organization, including notarization, apostilles, and coordination with embassies and translation services (primary task of student assistant)

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to have:

• A relevant degree. Most probably you have a university degree, but it is not an absolute requirement.
• Experience from working in a large, global organization or company (3+ years)
• Experience from supporting and/or working close to executive management (2+ years)
• Experience from working in the humanitarian sector
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills, and an ability to maintain overview
• Strong interpersonal skills and a proactive, service-minded and flexible attitude
• A solutions-oriented approach, dedicated to improving and enhancing systems and processes, with a knack for innovative thinking and proficiency in leveraging technology
• Advanced user experience of working with the MS Office Suite; incl. Microsoft Office365. Experience with Dynamics, Teams, and SharePoint is an advantage (2+ years)
• An eye for detail and excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Full professional proficiency in Danish and English
• Basic knowledge of French and/or Spanish is desirable.

All employees should master DRC's core competencies: Communicating, Taking the lead, Collaborating, Striving for excellence and Demonstrating integrity.
 

We offer

An interesting workplace with excellent colleagues and plenty of scope for contribution with your own ideas.

The possibility of working closely with and supporting the Secretary General and the Executive Management Team, as well as colleagues across our global organization.

Possibility of contributing to the further development and professionalization of DRC’s general secretariat.
 

Contract length: Permanent Contract

Workplace: Borgergade 10, 1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
NB! Danish Refugee Council’s headquarters in Copenhagen will move to Lyngbyvej 100, 2100 Østerbro, just by Ryparken station, in the fall of 2025

Start date: June 2025

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with the agreement between DRC and the relevant organization. This is a national position for which local terms and conditions apply.

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter, and an updated CV in English.

Closing date for applications: 26th March. We expect to conduct interviews Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th April 2025.

Further information

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact Trine Korsholm Jensen, Executive Assistant to the Secretary General.

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.