Career Center

Friends Community School (FCS) is a progressive co-ed Quaker K-8 day school serving a diverse student body from the greater Washington, D.C. area. FCS offers a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity, and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage. Faculty and staff are highly engaged and enjoy flexibility, autonomy, and creativity. FCS’s LEED-certified building is situated on 17 acres surrounded by Greenbelt National Park, nine minutes from the University of Maryland, College Park, and thirty minutes from Washington, D.C.

The Executive Assistant to the Head of School  provides executive-level administrative support to the Head of School, facilitating the smooth functioning of the School, and prioritizing the strategic implementation of the resources of the Head of School’s Office. The Executive Assistant organizes, coordinates, and performs administrative duties requiring independent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality. 

Strong organizational and communication skills and a professional demeanor are essential to this high-profile position. The Executive Assistant to the Head is a member of the Senior Administrative Team and supervises the Office Manager.

The Executive Assistant will be in frequent communication with faculty, administrators, trustees, parents, students, and alumni so that discretion, diplomacy, and courtesy are of the utmost importance. This position requires an individual who can assess, prioritize, and synthesize the varied requests. It will be important that this person enjoys both the details of the inner workings of the School and appreciates how the details inform the larger picture. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

• Prepare drafts of communications from the Head of School’s office; prepare and manage the preparation of reports, briefing materials, correspondence, proposals, and related documents to be disseminated school-wide.

• Provide support to Board of Trustees (BOT): attend board and committee meetings as requested; prepare materials and handle logistics for New Trustee Orientation; handle all BOT meeting logistics; oversee the preparation and distribution of BOT materials prior to board meetings; prepare meeting minutes; maintain BOT contact information document; maintain e-mail distribution lists for BOT and standing committees; assist with scheduling standing committee meetings as requested; prepare the BOT calendar of meetings and important events. 
• Manage along with the Office Manager, the Head of School’s calendar and schedule being sure her schedule is set to reflect her highest priorities and that she has all materials prepared for each appointment; field inquiries from and arrange for meetings with staff, faculty, parents, and alumni; arrange all travel; reserve meeting spaces; track all meeting attendance, and arrange for refreshments.
• Schedule administrative meetings and retreats, individual routine meetings with the Clerk of the Board, Clerks of Board Committees, the Clerk of Adelphi Friends Meetings, Parent Association and other parent meetings as requested, meetings with Trustees, meetings with guests, and candidate interview meetings.
•  Assist Head of School in arranging special events on campus, including in her residence; organizing and coordinating school-wide events such as faculty functions, trustee meetings, and varied special events (such as Opening party, End-of-year party, In-Service meetings), and working closely with the Office is Advancement.
•  Triage all mail (electronic and postal) sent to the Head of School; respond to certain types of mail as her representative.
• Develop and implement a communications plan for the Head of School’s Office that assures effective and strategic communication with various school constituencies, in concert with the Director of Communication.
• Provide support in responding to incoming telephone calls for the Head of School collecting reliable information to assist her in returning calls, or referring calls to more appropriate staff members.
•  Evaluate and improve workflow and efficiency in the School’s administrative offices.
•  Take the utmost care to maintain and protect the confidentiality of the Head of School’s Office and student and employee files.
•  Prepare, edit, and update printing projects including the School Calendar in consultation with the Director of Communications.
•  Perform routine office work including filing and other duties and special projects, as assigned by the Head of School.

Qualifications and Skills Required

• Bachelor’s degree preferred with 5-7 years of experience in a school or nonprofit setting
• The ability to effectively present information in writing and orally 
• Discretion and the ability to handle confidential and sensitive matters appropriately 
• State-of-the-art computer skills; facility with Google applications including Google Docs, Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Presentation, Google Spreadsheet; facility working with databases such as Blackbaud 
• Ability to effectively multi-task while working in a highly organized fashion – detail-oriented, flexible, unflappable and energetic 
• An open and collaborative work style 
• A positive outlook and a sense of humor 
• A high level of integrity and a strong work ethic

About Friends Community School

Friends Community School is a progressive K-8 school. FCS abides by Quaker values and practices. Our mission is to nurture lifelong learners, courageous risk-takers, and joyous peacemakers. We encourage young people to discover “that of God” within themselves and others, and to reach their fullest potential as individuals and contributing members of society. We have around 50 employees at FCS and provide benefits.

Connections working at Friends Community School