CENTER FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY Executive Assistant to Ady Barkan Salary in the United States

Position Location: Santa Barbara, California

My name is Ady Barkan. I’m a progressive activist and political organizer looking for an executive assistant to help me manage the ins and outs of my life as an activist and keep fighting for social justice in spite of my paralysis, which is caused by the deadly neurological disease ALS. 

If you’re outraged by America’s racial and economic inequities; if you’re eager to help our movement build the power we need to create a better world; if you want to live and work in gorgeous Santa Barbara, California; if you’re looking for a job that will always be meaningful and never boring,  then maybe this is a great job for you and you should keep reading. 

In this position, you will:

• Be intimately involved in the campaigns to defeat Donald Trump, win back the Senate, and pass Medicare For All.

• Experience poignant and deeply human moments of love and laughter and pain and loss, as part of a household with two young children and a father dying of a terrible illness.

• Face exciting and new challenges every day.

The right person for this job is:

• Described by others as: calm, flexible, grounded, self-aware, patient, persistent and positive. 

• Able to maintain confidentiality.  

• Insightful and generous: You love to help people. You’re empathic and tuned-in to the people around you. You notice group dynamics and find friendly ways to make them great. You spot the person on a team who could use a gentle pick-me-up.

• Decisive and communicative:  When something needs to get done, you’re politely assertive about pointing it out and making it happen. You’re vocal when you need support.

• Organized and a flexible executor. If you put something on a to-do list it doesn’t disappear. You’re outstanding at gauging priority, estimating how long things will take, keeping them on track, and re-shuffling plans when needed. Perhaps most importantly, you’re comfortable managing several different things at once.

• An experienced helper. You’ve been, officially or informally, an assistant, project manager, or similar support person for a person, team, or family member.

You job will be to:

• Work with me on a daily basis, helping me with writing projects, media appearances, interviews, and strategy calls. 

• Manage my calendar, balancing immediate priorities, blocking out work time, and communicating with others involved in my work and medical care about work timelines so I can appropriately prioritize work and activist commitments with family and caregiving time.

• Coordinate with my amazing team of six professional caregivers: to ensure that during my work hours and activist appearances I have appropriate caregiving coverage and that we have the medical supplies, food, and medicine that we need so I can put my full attention to the work.

• Own to-do lists, tracking open loops and deadlines related to my work

• Manage my email correspondence: reading incoming email, flagging what’s important, replying as needed.

• Because of my medical condition, I work from home most of the time.  Helping ensure that my home work spaces are kept tidy and well-stocked and when needed tidying to maintain an appropriate appearance for co-workers, invited guests and a film crew.

• Assistance with administrative tasks--submitting reimbursements, timesheets/time-tracking, note-taking, etc.

• Create and update reliable systems that provide greater ease and consistency.

Salary and Benefits

You will be an employee of the Center for Popular Democracy and CPD Action, which are my employers, and will work closely with the Be A Hero PAC team. The salary range for this position is $45k-60k, commensurate with experience. We have a generous benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 15 vacation days per year, 10 sick days per year, 12 paid holidays per year, and contributions to individuals’ 401K plans. 

CPD/A is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and actively recruits people of color, women, individuals with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community.