Executive Assistant- Strategic Business Support Partner

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Strategic Business Support Partner represents the next generation of Executive Assistant support, evolving from a traditional task-based role into a proactive, strategic partner to business leaders and the broader team.

This role combines high-level executive support with ownership of team cadence, communication, and operational coordination. The individual in this position is expected to anticipate needs, manage priorities, and drive execution across key business activities creating structure, clarity, and follow-through in a fast-paced environment.

Unlike traditional Executive Assistant roles that focus primarily on calendar, travel, and logistics, this position is designed to operate as a business partner to leadership, helping optimize how teams run, how decisions are executed, and how information flows across the organization.

This role supports the shift to a modern, scalable administrative model in which support professionals bring greater ownership, sound judgment, and stronger business alignment—moving from reactive execution to proactive impact.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Leadership & Business Support.

• Manage complex calendars and meeting requests with a strong understanding of prioritization and stakeholder dynamics.
• Coordinate travel, itineraries, and expense-related administrative tasks as needed, while supporting the transition of transactional work to centralized processes where appropriate.
• Support team communications, organization charts, recurring reporting, and other leadership support needs.
• Provide high-touch support to select local leaders or leadership groups, including complex scheduling, meeting preparation, follow-up tracking, and prioritization support.
• Coordinate leadership and team operating rhythms, including staff meetings, planning sessions, quarterly reviews, and recurring management forums.
• Prepare agendas, meeting materials, and pre-reads; track decisions and action items to ensure follow-through.
• Identify scheduling, communication, or coordination bottlenecks and proactively resolve them.

Office Wide Support & Coordination

• Support office-wide administrative initiatives such as onboarding, org changes, internal communications, employee engagement efforts, and recurring local programs.
• Act as a bridge between leaders, Facilities, HR, IT, Finance, Travel, and other support functions.
• Coordinate backup support and coverage planning across the local support team

Team Development & Process Improvement

• Provide guidance and day-to-day coordination to Business Support Partners and office support resources as needed.
• Standardize templates, trackers, meeting processes, and administrative workflows.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, service quality, and office support consistency.
• Provide backup support across leadership groups as priorities shift.
• Work in a team-based model that emphasizes flexibility, responsiveness, and coverage.

 Administrative Operating Model

• Serve as the local lead for the La Jolla business support model, helping define priorities, workflows, intake standards, and service expectations.
• Partner with the Corporate Services & Administrative Manager to implement pooled support practices, cross-coverage, and standardized administrative processes.
• Help distinguish work that should remain local versus work that should migrate to a centralized/shared-services model.
• Monitor heavy and fluctuating calendar, high volume of calls, e-mails, and flow of communication.
• Compose, draft, proof, edit, and finalize correspondence including e-mail and other documents.
• Track Executives' meetings, as well as necessary follow ups
• Review incoming mail and/or email, prioritize and summarize content, and process replies on own initiative or from executive's notes and directives.
• Plan and coordinate monthly and weekly team meetings as requested.
• Familiarity with StepStone Groups policies as outlined in the handbook and on-line, including but not limited to, travel, personal stock, IT, and record retention.
• Handle planning logistics for complex domestic and international trips using the Firm's contracted travel agency; provide detailed itineraries, agendas, directions, and backup materials.
• Prepare expense reports in timely manner ensuring accuracy and submit in accordance with Firm policy.
• Monitor executive's calendars and anticipate where problems might arise regarding calendar, meeting preparation, needs of executives involved, requests for meetings and telephone calls; communicate potential and/or confirmed changes to involved parties immediately.
• Schedule and coordinate complex meetings and executive events requiring detailed logistics handling and problem solving, inform attendees of dates and time, reserve meeting space, ensure the appropriate equipment/materials are available, coordinate hospitality services as needed; assist with various StepStone Group off-site meetings as requested in an upbeat and professional manner.
• Liaise with clients, investors, guests, and all StepStone Group personnel in professional and courteous manner adhering to StepStone Groups culture and values statements.
• Act in discreet and professional manner with others; sensitivity to the confidential nature of the Firm's business and consistently uphold such confidences and use this information only in the course of performing your job for StepStone Group.
• Assist StepStone Group guests with general office support and reservations (travel, dinner, and local transportation, etc.).

EDUCATION AND/OR WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• 7–10+ years of experience in senior executive support, administrative operations, chief-of-staff-lite coordination, or business support within a professional services, financial services, or similarly fast-paced environment
• Strong executive presence and judgment
• Ability to manage multiple senior stakeholders and competing priorities
• Demonstrated experience improving processes and creating structure in evolving environments
• Strong written communication, meeting management, and stakeholder coordination skills
• High level of discretion and professionalism

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Strategic, not just task-oriented
• Comfortable operating without a rigid playbook
• Strong at building trust and introducing structure
• Able to balance executive support with office-wide coordination
• Viewed as a partner, not simply an assistant
• Comfortable in a pooled model rather than dedicated support
• Strong with prioritization and ambiguity
• Able to operate independently and think ahead
• Good partner to both leaders and peers
• Interested in a broader, more strategic administrative career path