Are you looking to support a mission-driven organization? Do you thrive working amongst passionate, dedicated coworkers? Synapse is the place for you! Synapse is a consulting company that has been providing rigorous analysis on behalf of public interest clients in the energy and electricity sector for more than 25 years. Our work includes expert analysis, reports, and high-impact expert testimony in hundreds of docketed proceedings across the United States and Canada. Our clients include environmental non-profits, state agencies, federal agencies, and consumer and environmental advocacy groups.

Synapse is seeking an experienced Executive Assistant to support our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Scientist (CS). The CEO and CS are the dedicated founders Synapse and are looking for executive support to amplify the day-to-day capacities of our CEO and CS.

The ideal candidate has some of the qualities below:

• Flexibility to collaborate with different working styles and personalities
• Technologically savvy; quick to learn new systems and technologies
• Strong interpersonal skills and sense of humor
• Interest in supporting highly mission-driven individuals
• Experience assisting executive leaders to integrate their individual process and styles with company processes and technologies
• Capability to quickly develop the ability to anticipate the needs of CEO and CS

Job Responsibilities

• Managing complex calendars, scheduling meetings, and proactively anticipating conflicts or bottlenecks
• Coordinate internal and external meetings, including logistics, preparation of materials, and follow-up
• Ensuring the executive’s day flows smoothly, including managing last-minute changes with a sense of calm and control
• Support executives with use of company technology and processes
• Book travel and prepare expense reports
• Preparing briefing materials, agendas, talking points, and presentations for internal and external meetings
• Handling confidential information with the utmost integrity
• Support client and collaborator outreach and communication tracking
• Keep CEO and CS well informed of upcoming commitments and responsibilities, following up appropriately
• Taking detailed notes during meetings
• Leverage resources within the organization for special initiatives of CEO and CS
• Support strategic initiatives by tracking deadlines, preparing background materials, and ensuring timely completion of tasks
• Pitch in with the Operations team or Office Administrator as needed to support smooth office functioning, including logistics or coordination tasks
• Take on occasional special projects or emerging priorities that help the executive team and organization operate effectively
• Embrace new challenges and responsibilities as the role evolves

Required Qualifications:

• 3+ years’ experience functioning as Executive Assistant, or similar role
• Comfort working with executive management
• Impeccable attention to detail and organization
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work in Synapse office in Cambridge, MA five days/week
• Comfort with occasionally working from various local locations when required by CEO and CS schedules
• Strong personal accountability and commitment to meeting deadlines
• Flexibility in tackling a variety of tasks
• Experience with Slack, Outlook, or Salesforce is a plus

Ideal Candidate Profile

This is not a stepping-stone role. We are seeking someone who sees Executive Assistant work as a career—who is passionate about helping others succeed and finds deep satisfaction in enabling organizational leadership to function at its best. Our executives:

• Highly value deep, trusting, and long-term working relationships
• Will invest in your growth, stability, and success—and are looking for someone who is in it for the long haul
• If you’re someone who takes pride in anticipating needs before they are spoken, loves smoothing out the friction in a busy day, and wants to be indispensable in the best sense of the word, we’d love to hear from you.

Working at Synapse:

Synapse prides itself on its flexible and collaborative working environment. Many staff work in-person in our Cambridge, Massachusetts office, while others are hybrid or fully virtual across the country. Synapse currently supports a hybrid work environment so our staff can find the right mix of support, collaboration, and flexibility. While we prefer employees located locally so we can nurture this environment, we will consider remote candidates where such an arrangement is compatible with our clients’ work.

Synapse offers numerous benefits to its employees:

• Generous and flexible PTO
• Flexible work hours and holidays, and the ability to choose a schedule that works for you
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Work-life balance benefit: at the end of the year, salaried employees are compensated
  for every hour worked over their standard full-time work schedule
• 401K plan; Synapse makes a safe harbor contribution of 3% salary 
• Life Insurance
• Short- and long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Profit-sharing bonuses
• Extensive professional development opportunities
• Collaboration: everybody contributes, asks questions, proposes solutions, and works on interesting research and analysis
• Cambridge, MA office space with sit-stand desks, lots of meeting space, indoor bike parking, and plenty of nitro cold-brew and kombucha on tap

The salary for this position will range from $30 to $46 per hour, depending on experience and qualifications.

This is a full-time, non-exempt (hourly) position, required to be primarily performed on-site during normal business hours, with flexibility based on CEO and CS location needs. There will be occasional times when working outside of the normal schedule is required. The candidates should be able to move items weighing up to 30 pounds for events and general business needs on an occasional basis.

To Apply 

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis, and will keep the application open until we find the right candidate. 

We are unable to sponsor work visas for this position. Authorization to work in the United States is required to be considered.  

Synapse is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a culturally diverse company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We strongly encourage applications from all qualified candidates including women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and individuals from the LGBTIQ community.

This position is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.