The Ada Initiative is looking for an Executive Assistant in the Boston area to support our Executive Director, Crystal Huff. The Ada Initiative works to increase the participation and status of women in open technology and geek culture through an explicitly intersectional feminist approach. In joining us, you will be part of an effort to change the world toward a more feminist future. We are a growing, financially healthy nonprofit with 3 staff members and several contractors.
This is a fulfilling, exciting, and challenging job. As a feminist organization, any successful candidate with The Ada Initiative will have a strong identification with intersectional feminism. We explicitly welcome candidates from marginalized communities. It is our goal as an organization to work with a wide spectrum of people, so we are in search of someone who appreciates and respects all walks of life.
This is a contract position starting at 20 to 25 hours per week. You will be expected to attend meetings for at least 10 hours a week at our office in the Cambridge, MA area but we are flexible on the days. For the remaining hours, you may choose to telecommute or to work from our office. Taking into account what Executive Assistants of similar organizations are paid, the competitive market for the skills required for this job, and the cost of living in the Boston area, this position will pay from $28 to $40 per hour, depending on experience. A permanent position may be available to the chosen candidate in future.
As an Executive Assistant at The Ada Initiative, you will support the Executive Director specifically and also be part of an administrative team supporting all facets of our nonprofit organization. You will help coordinate the schedule and travel needs of the Executive Director and the routine administration of the Cambridge-area office. Research and documentation will be frequent tasks. You will be part of a team that establishes, maintains, and updates files, records, calendars, databases, our website, and office documents. CRM maintenance, fundraising assistance, and some bookkeeping are all tasks that will be partly your responsibility. You will represent the Ada Initiative to the outside world in some ways: drafting blog posts, social media updates, and reports, negotiating with vendors, and sometimes communicating with donors and sponsors. There is a potential for travel 3-4 times a year for staff events, which you will also help organize.
High familiarity with at least some of the following tools is an asset for this position, although we will train the right candidate in additional tools: WordPress and HTML, Google Docs, bookkeeping in Xero, Mailchimp marketing email lists, Salesforce, Zapier, Slack.
We are excited about candidates of a variety of backgrounds and experience levels, although we require at least one year of formal experience as an executive assistant, administrative assistant, or project manager. Candidates with an established career in executive support are also welcome to apply. In compliance with United States law, the person hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the U.S. and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.
About the Ada Initiative
The Ada Initiative is a feminist non-profit dedicated to increasing the participation and status of women in free and open technology and culture, including free and open source software, open data, open education, fan culture, geek spaces, and similar areas. We take an explicitly intersectional feminist approach and are a trans-inclusive organization. We were founded 4 years ago and have 3 staff members, as well as about a dozen contractors. Our major programs include fighting conference and online harassment with example policies and support for implementing them, the AdaCamp unconference for women in open tech/culture, and training programs such as the Ally Skills Workshop, which teaches men simple everyday ways to support women, and Impostor Syndrome Training, which teaches women how to overcome the feeling that they are a fraud.
In terms of funding, staff, and program work, we have been growing at a rate of about 150% a year since our founding. We are financially stable, and have a healthy and active board of directors and advisory board.
We are serious about changing the world, but take every opportunity we can to be funny and humorous while we do it.
We believe that paying people market rates for their work, regardless of their gender or race, is a feminist act.
How to apply
Please send your résumé and cover letter to jobs@adainitiative.org. We prefer PDF or text-only format (or a link to your online résumé).