Executive Assistant to CEO & Director of Administration Exempt

Executive Assistant to CEO & Director of Administration

At Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park
, we are seeking a highly trusted executive partner to serve as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Director of Administration
. This role sits at the center of leadership, governance, and strategy—supporting the CEO, Board of Trustees, and Executive Leadership Team through sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to anticipate what’s needed before it’s asked. This is a role for someone who thrives in complexity, values confidentiality, and brings calm, credible leadership to high‑stakes environments.

• Serves as primary liaison with Board of Trustees
• Coordinates BoT and EC meetings with internal and external partners, prepares materials, maintains minutes
• Assists with scheduling and coordination of Board committee and LPZEF meetings
• Coordinates Trustee orientation
• Maintains accurate and up-to-date records for Trustees of the Society, Directors of the Endowment, local, state, and federal governmental officials, and other constituents
• Complies with applicable rules and regulations set in bylaws
• Maintains content on Board portal
• Completes a variety of administrative tasks on behalf of the CEO
• Offers confidential counsel to CEO
• Composes and prepares correspondence that is sometimes confidential
• Plans, coordinates and ensures the CEO's schedule is followed and respected; is both “gatekeeper" and "gateway”
• Completes expense reports
• Arranges travel plans, itineraries, and agendas; and compiles documents for travel-related meetings
• Serves as a representative on behalf of the CEO with community leaders and other key stakeholders on matters related to the CEO’s programmatic priorities
• Builds relationships crucial to the success of the organization, and manages a variety of special projects for the CEO
• Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously, proactively, and follows-through on projects to successful completion
• Maintains discretion and confidentiality in relationships with all Trustees, Directors, and community leaders
• Assists with development of leadership succession plans, identifying competencies, gaps, and training resources
• Researches, prioritizes, and follows up on incoming issues and concerns addressed to the CEO
• Acts as a "barometer," having a sense for the issues taking place in the environment and keeping the CEO updated
• Represents the office of CEO in community events, public appearances and networking settings
• Schedules and attends leadership team meetings, takes minutes and distributes where appropriate, and initiates follow up on action items
• Facilitates cross-divisional coordination of travel
• Assists other departments as directed by the CEO
• Manages ZooVIP program
• Conducts all activities in alignment with AZA standards and guidelines, all relevant laws and regulations, safety standards, and standards that ensure animal welfare
• Other duties as assigned

• Oversees/activates PMT and Zoo operating units:
  Support, Program, Green, GET, Safety
• Collaborates with CEO to identify and coordinate specialized trainings and professional development for high performing leaders
• Plans, initiates and directs recurrent training based on evolving institutional priorities as identified by CEO
• Coordinates legal affairs – Maintains updated legal specialist roster, link internal stakeholders with appropriate external legal specialists (outside of employment law), archives historical data on Zoo utilization of legal resources
• Coordinates Zoo advisors – Works with ELT members involved and overall Zoo needs, manages advisor budget, contracting, and ongoing communications on Zoo happenings
• Manages Administrative Assistant

• Bachelor's degree required or equivalent supplemental professional experience
• Must have at least five years of senior administrative experience
• Exceedingly strong organizational and time management skills with excellent attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Expert level written and verbal communication skills
• Strong problem-solving…