Manager Executive Assistants
Driscoll's · Breda
About the Opportunity
We are looking for an experienced and people-focused leader to take on the role of Manager, Executive & Business Support – EMEA. In this position, you will lead the Executive Assistant community across the region, ensuring consistent, high-quality support to senior leaders while driving operational excellence.This is a unique opportunity to combine people leadership, operational ownership, travel governance, sustainability reporting, and digital innovation. You will play a key role in elevating how executive support is delivered by improving efficiency, embedding best practices, and enabling the smart use of digital and AI tools.
Responsibilities
People & Team Leadership (EMEA EA Community)
As a leader, you will build and strengthen a high-performing EA community across EMEA. You will coach and develop your team, create alignment, and foster collaboration and knowledge sharing across locations.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading, coaching, and performance managing Executive Assistants across the region
- Building a strong, connected EA community with shared standards and ways of working
- Setting clear expectations, role clarity, and performance frameworks
- Supporting talent development, capability building, and succession planning
- Acting as an escalation point for complex stakeholder or prioritisation challenges
Executive Support Standards, Ways of Working & Safety
You will define and embed best-in-class executive support standards while ensuring safety, wellbeing, and professionalism are at the core of all activities.
Key responsibilities include:
- Establishing regional standards for calendar management, meetings, travel, and confidentiality
- Embedding duty of care, safety, and wellbeing considerations in all executive support activities
- Ensuring travel and events align with health, safety, and security requirements
- Acting as back-up for the Senior VP Executive Assistant
- Providing direct support to two executive leaders
- Partnering with HR, Safety, Facilities, Finance, and IT to ensure aligned service delivery
Continuous Improvement, Digital Enablement & AI
You will drive simplification and efficiency by modernising how Executive Assistants and leaders work together, leveraging digital tools and AI.
Key responsibilities include:
- Identifying and implementing improvements that reduce administrative burden
- Enhancing ease of working for both executives and EAs
- Piloting and scaling AI and digital solutions for:
- Meeting preparation, note-taking, and follow-ups
- Agenda and action tracking
- Travel planning and decision support
- Information summarisation and prioritisation
- Ensuring responsible and secure use of AI in line with governance and data privacy standards
- Tracking adoption and measuring impact to continuously improve ways of working
Travel, Vendor Management & Sustainability
You will own and optimise travel processes and supplier relationships, ensuring cost, quality, safety, and sustainability are balanced effectively.
Key responsibilities include:
- Managing relationships with travel providers (e.g. TravelPerk), hotels, and transport vendors
- Ensuring compliance with Travel & Expense policies and safety standards
- Driving smarter, more sustainable travel choices (e.g. rail vs. short-haul flights)
- Monitoring travel performance on cost, compliance, service quality, and sustainability
- Leading supplier reviews, contract renewals, and improvement initiatives
- Acting as a subject matter expert for complex executive travel decisions
Sustainability & Travel Reporting
You will play a key role in delivering meaningful insights that support sustainability ambitions and executive decision-making.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading annual travel-related sustainability reporting
- Collaborating with Finance, Procurement, and ESG stakeholders
- Providing insights into trends, risks, and opportunities
- Ensuring accurate and timely travel data collection and reporting
Candidate Profile
You are a structured and forward-thinking leader with strong business acumen and a passion for improving ways of working.
- Proven experience in leading executive support teams, office management, or similar environments
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to operate confidently at senior levels
- Experience in driving operational improvements and implementing new tools or processes
- Affinity with digitalisation and interest in AI-enabled ways of working
- Knowledge of travel, vendor management, and budget oversight
- High level of professionalism, discretion, and integrity
- Strong organisational skills and ability to manage complexity across regions
What Success Looks Like (First 12–24 Months)
- A highly engaged and high-performing EA community across EMEA
- Consistent and professional executive support standards embedded region-wide
- Measurable efficiency gains through digital and AI-enabled improvements
- Well-governed travel processes with strong compliance, cost control, safety, and sustainability outcomes
- Clear, actionable sustainability reporting supporting leadership decisions