Forbes Australia is the local edition of one of the world's most respected business media brands Launched in 2022, Forbes Australia has rapidly established itself as a premium platform celebrating entrepreneurial success, business leadership, and innovation.
We are seeking a highly capable Senior Executive Assistant with a strong operations and project coordination background to support the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and the Editor in Chief (EIC) of Forbes Australia. This is a dual mandate role designed to create leverage at the executive level by combining:
- Operational coordination and execution discipline for the COO; and
- High trust, judgement based executive support for the Editor in Chief, including inbox management, communications, and preparation across editorial, commercial, media, and events activity.
The Ideal Candidate:
This is not a traditional diary led EA role. The successful candidate will operate as an execution and coordination partner; ensuring priorities progress between reviews, stakeholders remain aligned and accountable, and both executives are able to focus on high value strategic work.
Project Management & Operations Coordination (30%)
- Coordinate operational initiatives end to end, ensuring priorities are clearly planned, tracked and progressed across teams
- Translate executive direction into clear actions, owners and timelines
- Maintain visibility of status, risks and dependencies between leadership reviews
- Hold stakeholders accountable for commitments with confidence and professionalism
- Identify issues early and recommend practical next steps
Executive Execution & Operational Support (30%)
- Provide hands-on execution support to the COO across key business and operational priorities
- Manage follow-up actions to ensure initiatives are prepared for review and ready for execution
- Oversee purchase orders, approvals and operational processes
- Support forecasting and planning through structured trackers and documentation
- Bring order and momentum to fast-moving or ambiguous situations
Editor-in-Chief Support – Inbox, Communications & Preparation (20%)
- Manage and prioritise the Editor-in-Chief's inbox daily, using sound judgement to action, draft, delegate, escalate or decline
- Draft high-quality communications for sign-off, aligned with editorial tone and Forbes standards
- Manage scheduling strategically, protecting focus time and aligning commitments with priorities
- Prepare the Editor-in-Chief for meetings, interviews, media engagements and on-stage appearances, including liaison with PR, marketing and internal teams
- Coordinate follow-up communication with contributors, speakers, partners and other external stakeholders
Administration, Diary & Coordination (20%)
- Provide strategic diary and logistics management for both executives
- Prepare agendas, briefs, context notes and meeting summaries
- Coordinate travel, expenses and administrative systems
- Support major events through speaker and stakeholder coordination, including the Women's Summit and future forums
- Maintain organised documentation across Excel, Word, Canva and project tools
Requirements:
- 5+ years demonstrated background in Executive Support with Project Management, Operations, or Program Coordination
- Experience operating in high‑trust executive support environments
- Strong judgement and confidence managing inboxes and communications on behalf of senior leaders
- Proven ability to create structure, prioritise effectively, and operate independently
- Exceptional written communication skills
- Advanced capability in Excel, Word, Outlook, and project tracking tools
- Comfortable using Canva to present structured, executive‑level information
- Ability to operate calmly in fast‑paced, editorially driven environments
- Bachelor's Degree Holder
Forbes Australia's head office is a creative space in Sydney and offers employees the flexibility required to be successful.
