Bilingual Executive Assistant

Bilingual Executive Assistant

Abu Dhabi

AED 23,000 per month

The Executive Assistant is a trusted partner to the Executive Director, enabling them to operate at maximum effectiveness across the group of companies. The role brings order, foresight and disciplined follow-through to a busy, high-visibility office, ensuring that executive time, attention and information remain focused on the matters that create the greatest organisational impact. The role also provides rigorous quality control, ensuring that nothing reaches the Executive Director incomplete, inaccurate or unvetted, and that all information is presented with the context required for effective decision-making. Working with discretion, sound judgement and exceptional attention to detail, the role manages the executive office, protects and coordinates the priorities of the Executive Director, for internal and external engagements, and ensures decisions, commitments and actions move forward. The Executive Assistant represents the Office with senior government, Advisory board, investor, partner, VIP and internal stakeholders, and works seamlessly with other executive support resources to provide consistent coverage. Fluent Arabic & English is essential. This role is not open to candidates who do not currently reside here and who aren’t prepared to reside in Abu Dhabi.

Description:

  • Manage a complex and frequently changing calendar, ensuring time is deliberately aligned to strategic, commercial, stakeholder and people priorities.
  • Actively protects the Executive Director’s time by assessing urgency, importance, readiness and required attendance; challenge, redirect or delegate requests where appropriate
  • Maintain a clear daily and weekly view of priorities, decisions required, deadlines, key relationships and emerging risks, highlighting matters requiring attention before they become urgent
  • Anticipate competing demands, resolve conflicts and build appropriate preparation, travel and thinking time into the schedule
  • Coordinate professional and, where required, personal appointments with complete discretion and sensitivity
  • Own the day-to-day rhythm and organisation of the Office of the President & CEO, ensuring information, requests, records and follow-ups are managed in a disciplined and responsive manner
  • Serve as a central point of coordination across companies, creating visibility of key meetings, commitments, dependencies and matters requiring executive direction
  • Establish and maintain effective office systems, trackers, protocols, filing structures, contact records and ways of working that support pace, confidentiality and continuity
  • Manage incoming correspondence, invitations and requests; screen, prioritise, draft responses, redirect or escalate using sound judgement and clear agreed protocols
  • Coordinate effectively with the leadership team, fellow Executive Assistant and other employees to ensure seamless handovers, coverage and information flow across the business
  • Identify practical improvements to executive-office processes and introduce simple, efficient solutions that reduce duplication and improve responsiveness
  • Ensure the Executive Director is fully prepared for every engagement through concise, accurate and timely briefs, agendas, biographies, context notes, talking points and supporting materials
  • Proactively gather and quality-check inputs from relevant employees, challenging gaps, inconsistencies or late submissions and ensuring materials are executive-ready
  • Prepare meeting packs and daily briefing folders in a clear, prioritised format, with decisions, sensitivities and recommended next steps highlighted
  • Attend selected meetings where required, capture minutes, decisions and actions accurately, and maintain disciplined follow-through with accountable owners and deadlines
  • Monitor commitments made by or to the Executive Director and provide regular visibility of outstanding actions, risks and overdue matters
  • Undertake focused research and prepare short summaries to support engagements, stakeholder discussions and decision-making
  • Plan and coordinate complex domestic and international travel, including detailed itineraries, transport, accommodation, visas, security or protocol requirements, meeting schedules and contingency arrangements
  • Ensure travel programmes are practical, efficient and fully aligned across business and personal commitments, with all relevant information available in one clear itinerary
  • Coordinate executive, Advisory board, leadership, VIP and external meetings from end to end, including venue, attendees, hospitality, technology, access and supporting documentation.
  • Anticipate logistical risks and maintain workable alternatives for time-sensitive or high-profile engagements
  • Manage relevant expenses, invoices, memberships, subscriptions and records accurately and in accordance with company requirements
  • Handle highly confidential, commercially sensitive and personal information with absolute discretion and integrity.
  • Exercise sound judgement when making decisions on access, prioritisation, communication, escalation and representation of the Office
  • Maintain appropriate information security, document-control and privacy standards across physical and digital records
  • Recognise emerging operational, stakeholder or reputational risks and escalate promptly with clear context and proposed recommendations for next steps
  • Remain calm, solutions-focused and highly dependable during periods of ambiguity, pressure or rapid change

Criteria:

  • Significant experience as an Executive Assistant, Senior Executive Assistant or equivalent supporting a CEO, Chair, Executive Director, principal, ministerial office or similarly high-profile executives
  • Demonstrated experience managing complex executive priorities across multiple businesses, entities or stakeholder groups
  • Experience working with senior government, Advisory board, investor, VIP or international stakeholders is strongly preferred
  • Proven capability in executive-office management, complex travel, briefing preparation, meeting coordination and action tracking
  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience; relevant executive-support or business-administration qualifications are advantageous
  • Fluent written and spoken English and Arabic is essential for this bilingual role
  • Must currently reside in the UAE and must be prepared to reside in Abu Dhabi

Please respect the criteria requirements and only apply if you meet these as you will not be considered if you do not. We thank you for your application, however due to the high volume of candidate applications, we only accept online applications in the first instance. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted, however if you are not successful on this occasion, your CV will be stored on our database but to make sure you do not miss out, keep checking our website, follow us on Twitter and follow our Sapphire Recruitment LinkedIn page.

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