Executive Assistant; US Field

Life Unlimited

At Smith+ Nephew we design and manufacture technology that takes the limits off living.

Driven by our purpose of life unlimited, helping restore people’s bodies and their self‑belief, the Executive Assistant plays a critical role in enabling this purpose by acting as a highly proactive, trusted partner to a senior executive. The role goes beyond traditional administrative support, operating as an extension of the leader to enable focus on strategic priorities, support effective decision‑making, and ensure seamless execution in a fast‑paced, global, matrixed environment.

• Act as a trusted partner and advisor to the executive, anticipating needs, proactively identifying risks, and addressing issues before they arise.
• Exercise strong judgment to manage competing priorities, stakeholder requests, and executive access.

• Own end‑to‑end calendar and time strategy, ensuring the executive’s time is aligned to business priorities and enterprise outcomes.
• Proactively identify conflicts, inefficiencies, and trade‑offs; recommend solutions that optimize impact.
• Prepare the executive with briefings, context, and key insights ahead of critical meetings and decisions.

• Enable effective leadership forums, including agenda planning, pre‑reads, and follow‑up to ensure outcomes and accountability.
• Track decisions, actions, and commitments to ensure execution and closure.
• Support core business rhythms such as leadership meetings, operating cadence, off‑sites, planning cycles, and talent discussions.

• Serve as a professional and reliable point of contact for senior internal and external stakeholders, representing the executive with credibility and discretion.
• Draft and manage executive communications, ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment with Smith+ Nephew values and priorities.
• Handle highly confidential and sensitive information with integrity, discretion, and sound judgment.

• Partner cross‑functionally with HR, Finance, Legal, Communications, and other teams to enable efficient execution of executive priorities.
• Support preparation for key enterprise activities, such as talent reviews, business reviews, and leadership communications.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve processes, ways of working, and executive effectiveness.
• Book and coordinate all travel, including completing expenses report.

• Act as a role model for Smith+ Nephew behaviours, demonstrating collaboration, accountability, and inclusion.
• Provide informal mentoring or guidance to Executive Assistants, contributing to continuous improvement and capability uplift across the EA community.

• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence through judgment, credibility, and trust.
• Exceptional organizational skills with a proactive, anticipatory mindset.
• Ability to operate independently in a complex, fast‑paced, and matrixed global environment.
• High levels of resilience, adaptability, and attention to detail.
• Discretion and integrity in handling sensitive business and people matters.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to synthesize information and provide concise executive‑level insights.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams.
• Experience supporting senior leaders in a regulated or highly complex organization preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience supporting senior leaders at VP level and above.
• Proven track record of operating as a proactive executive partner, not solely an administrative support role.
• Experience navigating confidentiality, ambiguity, and competing priorities.
• Ability to travel infrequently for team or other meetings.
• This position is not offering any type of visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future.

• Inclusion and Belonging – committed to welcoming, celebrating, and thriving on…