Admin & Support
Hire an Executive Assistant
An executive assistant protects a busy leader's time: managing calendars and email, preparing meetings, arranging travel and following up on actions.
The role
What executive assistants do
An executive assistant prioritises requests, manages complex scheduling across time zones, drafts communications, prepares briefing notes, and keeps track of commitments. Discretion and judgement matter as much as organisation.
Typical deliverables
- Managed calendar and meeting scheduling
- Inbox triage and drafted replies
- Meeting briefs and follow-up notes
- Travel planning and itineraries
- Tracking of priorities and deadlines
Tools you will see
- Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
- Calendly
- Notion or Asana
- Slack
- Travel booking tools
Choosing
How to choose executive assistants
What to look for
- Experience supporting senior leaders.
- Strong judgement on priorities.
- Discretion with sensitive information.
- Reliable overlap with your working hours.
Questions to ask
- 1How do you decide which meeting requests to accept?
- 2How do you handle confidential information?
- 3How would you prepare me for a busy day?
- 4What hours will you be available?
Planning
Before you post the job
Share preferences
Document scheduling rules, key contacts and communication style early.
What drives cost
Hours, seniority, time zone overlap and scope of responsibilities.
Hiring on Open Lance
- Posting a job and reviewing proposals are free.
- Each milestone is funded into escrow before work starts and paid when you approve it.
- Hire fixed-price, hourly, as a monthly Dedicated Hire, or buy a packaged Drop-In.
- Client fees are shown before you pay and added on top of the work.
FAQ
Questions about hiring executive assistants
Executive assistant or virtual assistant?
Executive assistants usually support one leader with more judgement and priority management.
Can they reply to emails on my behalf?
Yes, within agreed rules and templates.
Is a Dedicated Hire suitable?
Often, since executive support is usually steady and ongoing.
Related
Related skills
Post a job for executive assistants
Describe the work and compare proposals. You only fund the first milestone once you have chosen someone.