An executive personal assistant supports a senior leader with daily tasks such as diary management, travel booking, communications, and document prep, keeping the executive focused and on time.
The role is within a company but often crosses into the executive’s personal life when work and home needs overlap, which needs trust and sound judgment.
Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, explains, “The executive assistant manages the corporate part for the CEO, but sometimes she manages the personal side as well.”
This can include booking personal travel, arranging appointments, and dealing with urgent issues outside work, with the balance between business and personal support changing based on what the executive needs.
If you are writing a job ad, this provides a clear base, and our executive assistant hiring page covers costs, hybrid working, and what discretion means at C-suite level.
Example of an executive personal assistant job description
This is a working brief for an executive PA supporting a private equity CEO in Manhattan. You can tailor it to your sector and city. Employment law varies across US states and European countries, our recruiters can assist to prepare a job description that fits in with local rules.
Job Description
We’re hiring an executive personal assistant to support the CEO of a Manhattan private equity firm. The contract sits with the company. You’ll run his diary, screen his inbox, prepare him for back-to-back meetings, and step into the personal-side logistics that cross into his working week. Three days in our 260 Madison Avenue office, two days from home.
Key responsibilities
- Run an international calendar across three or more time zones.
- Book flights, hotels, ground transport, and visas through Concur Travel and Amex GBT.
- Prepare board packs, briefing notes, and signature folders.
- Screen email and phone calls, drafting replies on the CEO’s behalf.
- File monthly expense reports through Concur and reconcile receipts.
- Take minutes on senior leadership and investor calls.
- Arrange investor dinners, off-sites, client lunches, and internal town halls.
- Liaise with the household team, the family office, and the chief of staff.
- Hold the line on confidentiality across every part of the work.
Qualifications
- Five or more years supporting a C-suite executive in finance, law, or professional services.
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, communications, or a related field, or equivalent senior-level support experience.
- Strong written and spoken English, second language welcome for international roles.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace, Concur, and senior travel platforms.
- Calm under pressure and confident dealing with board members, investors, and clients.
- Sound judgment when the CEO is unreachable.
- Clean references covering five to seven years of senior-level work.
- Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) credential is a plus.
Conditions
- $150,000 to $200,000 base salary, plus performance bonus.
- Health, dental, vision, and 401(k) match.
- 25 days paid time off.
- Hybrid working with three days in the Manhattan office.
- Non-disclosure agreement signed on the first day.
- Light international travel, mostly to London, Paris, and Dubai.
How is an executive PA different from a personal assistant?
The difference shows up in small, everyday details. A private personal assistant might arrange a birthday gift and have it delivered, while an executive PA flags the date in advance and reminds the executive so he can handle it himself or pass it to the household.
They answer to different people and work in different settings. An executive PA supports a senior leader within a business, even when personal tasks come into the day, while a personal assistant works directly for an individual or family and handles a wider range of private needs.
According to Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, “An executive assistant normally works Monday to Friday, not overtime on the weekend. When you’re a personal assistant, you can be called anytime.”
Career moves tend to go in one direction, we see that many executive assistants want to move into private roles. Pay is often higher on the private side when a UHNW family is involved, the budget is determined by the principal, and the working relationship is closer.
Demand is strongest in finance and in main cities, with our team in the 260 Madison Avenue New York office seeing two to three requests each month, mainly from private equity and hedge funds, while Dubai has grown fast due to company moves into tax-free zones. Our recruiters in the UAE now see three to five requests a month, often from finance firms, real estate developers, and family-owned businesses.
For more on the private route, see our hire a personal assistant page.
Using this job description
Treat this draft as a starting point and shape it around your CEO, your sector, and your city. The role shifts based on how senior the executive is, how much personal support sits within the job, and the market you are hiring in.
Set a few points before you post the ad. Decide if the contract is for a company or, in some family-run businesses, is signed with the principal as well. Be clear on how much personal work the EA will handle and whether pay reflects that. Confirm hybrid days, travel needs, and NDA terms.
Morgan & Mallet places executive PAs through our offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Monaco, and Dubai. Every candidate sits a 90-minute structured interview, clears a criminal background check, and has references called going back five to seven years before any client sees the file.
If you’d like help shaping the brief or running a confidential search, you can contact our offices or call +1 (646) 965-2308.
If you’re looking for an executive PA role, you can search for current opportunities on the Morgan & Mallet job board.