Executive Assistant (EA) in London

Engagement type: Fixed-term contractor agreement

Term: 12 months

Overview

Intersect MBO is the member-based organization that underpins Cardano's decentralized governance. Formed to ensure that the Cardano ecosystem remains community-led and self-sustaining, Intersect acts as both a convenor and enabler, connecting developers, Delegated Representatives (DReps), project teams, and members to collectively shape the blockchain's future. Through its committees, working groups, and open membership model, Intersect develops governance frameworks, coordinates ecosystem initiatives, and supports transparency across technical, strategic, and financial domains. Intersect operates independently of Cardano's founding entities; IOG, EMURGO, and the Cardano Foundation, while collaborating closely with them and our broader membership to deliver on Cardano's long-term vision. At its core, Intersect is about community governance in action, giving the people who build and use Cardano the power to guide its direction.

The role

We are looking for an exceptional Executive Assistant (EA) to support the Executive Director in enabling Intersect to operate as an effective, accountable, and member-serving organization. This is a true Executive Assistant role focused on administrative excellence, operational coordination, and execution reliability. The EA ensures the Executive Director is consistently prepared, well-informed, and able to focus on the highest-impact work that serves members, committees, and the wider Cardano ecosystem.

Because Intersect operates through multiple leadership, governance, and delivery forums, this role also includes occasional light-touch administrative support for members of the Sector Leadership Team (SLT), particularly where coordination, scheduling, and leadership cadence directly impact organizational effectiveness.

The Executive Director regularly represents Intersect at governance forums, ecosystem events, and stakeholder engagements that are directly related to Intersect's mandate. This role works closely with finance and events colleagues to coordinate travel, accommodation, and logistics in a cost-conscious and well-organized manner, ensuring engagements are prepared, efficient, and accountable. While some in-person presence may be required from time to time, the role is predominantly remote, with occasional travel where appropriate.

This is a highly trusted administrative, operational, and logistics-focused role embedded in the day-to-day rhythm of the Executive Director. The Executive Assistant is responsible for protecting time, reducing friction, and ensuring smooth, reliable execution across scheduling, travel, communications, and operational follow-through. By providing consistent executive support, this role reduces operational risk, prevents governance bottlenecks, and improves follow-through across leadership, committees, and external stakeholders.

This role is intentionally scoped as an Executive Assistant position. It does not carry independent ownership of strategy, delivery, or organizational decision-making. Impact is achieved through operational excellence, discretion, trust, and reliability rather than strategic authority.

Key responsibilities

• Executive Director support (core focus)

• Own and proactively manage the Executive Director's calendar, inbox, and meeting priorities
• Schedule and coordinate meetings across time zones, including leadership, board, governance, and external stakeholder engagements
• Prepare agendas, briefing notes, and background materials to support informed decision-making across leadership and governance forums
• Capture actions, decisions, and follow-ups, ensuring clear ownership and that nothing drops
• Act as a gatekeeper, prioritizing requests and protecting the Executive Director's focus
• Handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism
• Prepare agendas, briefing notes, and speaker notes for meetings, presentations, and events
• Organize travel, accommodation, itineraries, and expenses, including complex multi-leg travel
• Coordinate event logistics, including registrations, schedules, materials, and on-the-ground planning where required

• Support the cadence and reliability of leadership, governance, and recurring business meetings
• Track key priorities, actions, and deadlines emerging from leadership and governance forums
• Coordinate communication between the Executive Director, Directors, SLT members, and wider teams
• Prepare, format, and distribute documentation such as board presentations, reports, and internal updates
• Maintain clear records, action logs, and structured documentation to support transparency and accountability

• Assist with scheduling, meeting preparation, and coordination where it directly supports organizational effectiveness

Decision-making scope

The Executive Assistant is expected to exercise sound judgment, but does not hold independent strategic authority.

What will success look like in this role of Executive Assistant at Intersect?

• The Executive Director is consistently well-prepared for meetings, events, and travel
• Time and focus are protected, even during high-volume travel or governance periods
• Meetings, events, and engagements run smoothly and professionally
• Information flows clearly and reliably across leadership and governance bodies
• Documentation and logistics are accurate, timely, and dependable
• The organization experiences fewer bottlenecks, clearer ownership, and stronger follow-through on matters that affect members

Qualifications and attributes

• Proven experience as an Executive Assistant or Senior Executive Assistant supporting a senior leader
• Strong experience organizing travel, accommodation, and event logistics
• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and written and verbal communication
• Confidence managing complex calendars and competing priorities
• Ability to anticipate needs and prepare leaders proactively
• High levels of discretion, integrity, and professionalism
• Comfort working in a fast-moving startup or scale-up environment
• Willingness and ability to travel occasionally

Desirable (this will strengthen your candidacy)

• Experience supporting founders or externally facing executives
• Exposure to remote-first or globally distributed organizations
• Familiarity with Web3, blockchain, or decentralized governance environments
• Experience using tools such as Google Workspace, Slack, and ClickUp

Compensation and benefits

Compensation at Intersect is informed by role archetypes, scope, and accountability, and benchmarked against comparable global nonprofit and Web3 roles requiring similar skills, impact, and complexity. As part of our ongoing organisational development, we continue to evolve a role archetype and salary framework to bring greater clarity and consistency to compensation across Intersect. This is a remote-first position, with some expectations of travel when required. There is the option to collaborate in person in our London workspace (Tower Hill) if you are based in London. As a maturing start-up, we are in the process of evolving our benefits offering to ensure it reflects our community-first values and global workforce.

Hiring process

Candidates will be assessed through a structured, multi-stage recruitment process conducted remotely via Google Meets.

• Introductory call: An initial conversation with our Head of People to confirm alignment and suitability
• Formal interview: A detailed interview assessing experience, judgment, and fit, likely including a short take-home task presented during the interview
• Final stage: A competency-based assessment and an additional opportunity to ask questions

Intersect is an equal opportunity organization. We value diversity of thought, identity, and experience, and are committed to building a team that reflects the decentralized community we serve.

To learn more about Intersect MBO and our work, please visit our Knowledge Base: Knowledge Base