Onsite Special Assistant to the CEO

Job Title: Onsite Special Assistant to the CEO
Department: Operations
Employment Type: Full-Time; Exempt
Location: Dallas, Texas (onsite)
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer

Who we are:

At the Child Poverty Action Lab CPAL, we believe every child deserves a life filled with opportunity. CPAL operates as an unofficial Research and Development lab for Dallas, using data to rethink public systems and equipping community partners at the neighborhood level to be successful in collectively achieving our mission to reduce childhood poverty in Dallas by 50% within a single generation. CPAL works across five key areas to reduce child poverty - Benefits Delivery, Maternal Health, Housing, Criminal Justice and Public Safety. These five “big bets” are rooted in a growing body of evidence that connects experiences in childhood to economics in adulthood.

Five design principles guide our work:

• Start with children and families, and work backward to systems. Change begins with understanding on-the-ground experiences of children and families, then reverse-engineering systems, policies, and processes to improve those experiences. This ensures solutions are grounded in actual needs rather than institutional assumptions.

• A problem well stated is half a solution. Systemic problems often feel intractable and too big to solve until they’re sharply defined. Real change happens when problems are made concrete, actionable, and replicable.

• Systems are like a string of Christmas lights. When everything works, the whole string lights up. But one burnt-out bulb — missing data, a confusing process, a broken handoff — can take the rest with it. The burnt-out bulb can change, but finding and fixing it is a repeatable exercise.

• Have a bias for action. Perfect is the enemy of good. CPAL takes concrete steps forward with the best available information rather than waiting for certainty. We learn by doing and course-correct along the way.

• Test, learn, and iterate. CPAL experiments fast and iterates with intention. Feedback loops and rapid evaluation help us identify what’s working and amplify insights with the greatest potential.

Overview of Position:

The Special Assistant to the CEO is a hands-on, highly varied role for someone who gets real satisfaction from making things work smoothly, taking care of people, and solving whatever problem is in front of them.

At its core, this role is part executive assistant, part personal assistant, part office manager, and part jack-of-all-trades. A significant part of the job is managing the CEO’s calendar, scheduling, travel, meeting logistics, correspondence, and the countless details that allow a busy executive to operate effectively. The role also helps keep the office running smoothly, supports visitors and meetings, coordinates events and logistics, and jumps into the unexpected needs that arise in a fast-moving organization.

This is a role for someone who notices friction and wants to eliminate it. Sometimes that means preparing materials for an important meeting. Sometimes it means rearranging a complicated day of appointments, coordinating a lunch, solving an office issue, handling an errand, tracking down something the CEO needs, or simply noticing what needs to be done and doing it before anyone asks.

Because the role works closely with the CEO, it offers unusual exposure to nearly every part of CPAL and to many of the people with whom we work, including civic leaders, philanthropists, board members, public officials, and organizational partners. That exposure is one of the great opportunities of the job, but this is not a senior management or strategy position. It is an execution-oriented role for someone earlier in their career who wants a front-row seat to how a complex, ambitious organization works and is willing to work incredibly hard to help it run well.

The ideal candidate is exceptionally organized, resourceful, responsive, and low-ego. They have the professionalism to interact comfortably with senior leaders and the service mindset to care just as much about the small things. We are especially interested in people who have developed those instincts in hospitality, restaurants, hotels, events, retail, or other service-oriented environments: people who anticipate needs, stay gracious when things get hectic, and take pride in creating an excellent experience for others.

What success looks like:

1. Make the CEO’s Day Work

• Own the CEO’s calendar and scheduling, including frequent changes, competing demands, confirmations, and all of the details required to keep the day moving smoothly.

• Coordinate travel, transportation, meals, reservations, meeting logistics, and occasional personal logistics or errands that reduce friction in the CEO’s day.

• Prepare the CEO for meetings and stakeholder interactions by assembling agendas, background, briefing materials, presentations, and other needed information.

• Track commitments, reminders, and follow-up items so that important details do not fall through the cracks.

• Draft and coordinate correspondence and other materials, handling sensitive information with excellent judgment and discretion.

2. Keep the Office Running

• Serve as a hands-on point person for the day-to-day office environment, including supplies, vendors, meeting spaces, food and hospitality, deliveries, and other practical needs.

• Notice and resolve office issues quickly, coordinating with internal teammates or outside vendors when needed.

• Help create an office environment that feels organized, welcoming, and ready for staff, partners, and visitors.

• Support team gatherings, office events, and other logistics that help the organization run well.

3. Create an Exceptional Experience

• Ensure every interaction with the Office of the CEO, whether with a board member, funder, public official, partner, candidate, staff member, or visitor, reflects a consistently high standard of care.

• Coordinate office visits, stakeholder meetings, speaking engagements, dinners, and special events involving the CEO, making the experience seamless from beginning to end.

• Represent the CEO and CPAL with warmth, professionalism, responsiveness, and a strong customer-service mindset.

4. Jump In Wherever Needed

• Take on the miscellaneous tasks that inevitably emerge around a busy CEO and a fast-moving organization. No task is too big or too small when it helps the team move forward.

• Support special projects that may include research, preparing a presentation, coordinating an event, organizing information, troubleshooting logistics, or helping a teammate get something across the finish line.

• Learn quickly, use good judgment, and figure things out. The person in this role should be comfortable hearing, “Can you help me solve this?” even when the answer is not immediately obvious.

What we’re looking for:

• Approximately 2–4 years of professional experience in executive support, administrative or office operations, hospitality, events, customer service, or another fast-paced environment. We care more about the instincts and work ethic you bring than a perfectly linear resume.

• Experience in restaurants, hotels, hospitality, retail, events, or another service-oriented environment is strongly valued.

• Exceptional organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage many small details without losing sight of what matters most.

• A genuine service mindset: you enjoy being helpful, anticipate what others need, and take pride in making things easier for the people around you.

• Low ego and a willingness to do whatever needs to be done, from high-visibility executive support to routine office tasks and errands.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the polish to interact comfortably with senior leaders and external stakeholders.

• Resourceful and calm under pressure, with the judgment to solve problems independently and know when to ask for help.

• High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.

• Comfort with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office; ability to learn new tools quickly.

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, but equivalent experience and demonstrated capability will be considered.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Retirement savings plan with employer match.

• Generous paid time off and holidays.