Senior Executive Assistant - Jimmy John's

Inspire Brands is seeking a highly skilled, strategic, and proactive Senior Executive Assistant to support the President of Jimmy John’s and serve as a trusted partner to the Jimmy John’s Leadership Team, Kate Carpenter CMO, Ian Dalzell – VP Ops and Tom Lake VP Ops. This role includes but is not limited to traditional administrative support. It requires exceptional judgment, executive presence, and the ability to operate proactively and independently in a fast-paced and highly visible environment.

The Senior Executive Assistant will play a critical role in maximizing executive effectiveness by managing priorities, anticipating business needs, driving follow-through on key initiatives, and ensuring seamless coordination across senior leaders and stakeholders. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, exercises strong discretion, and serves as an extension of the President to help drive organizational effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Partnership & Strategic Support (Primary: President, Jimmy John’s)

• Serve as a trusted partner to the President, helping manage priorities, optimize time, and ensure focus on high-impact business initiatives

• Manage a complex and dynamic calendar, balancing competing priorities and exercising sound judgment in scheduling decisions.

• Coordinate domestic travel arrangements, including detailed itineraries, logistics, accommodations, and expense management.

• Anticipate executive needs, proactively identifying and resolving issues before they arise.

• Prepare the President for meetings, presentations, and business engagements by coordinating materials, briefing documents, agendas, and key follow-up items.

• Serve as a liaison between the President and internal/external stakeholders to ensure alignment and seamless communication. 

• Monitor key business priorities and initiatives, providing reminders, updates, and follow-through to drive execution.

Jimmy John’s Leadership Team Support

• Partner closely with Jimmy John’s Leadership Team members to coordinate meetings, leadership activities, strategic planning sessions, and business reviews.

• Manage logistics, agendas, materials, and action-item tracking for leadership meetings and operating reviews.

• Drive accountability by tracking deliverables, commitments, and business objectives across the leadership team.

• Support cross-functional collaboration by facilitating communication and coordination among senior leaders and key stakeholders.

Organizational Effectiveness & Executive Operations

• Establish and maintain effective leadership operating rhythms, including recurring meetings, planning cycles, offsites, and business reviews

• Coordinate logistics and execution of leadership meetings, town halls, team events, franchisee engagements, and strategic offsite sessions.

• Manage special projects and strategic initiatives on behalf of the President and leadership team.

• Create and maintain systems, processes, and tools that improve executive productivity and organizational efficiency.

• Identify opportunities to streamline administrative and operational processes while continuously improving ways of working.

Stakeholder Management & Executive Presence

• Build strong relationships with senior executives, franchisees, board-level stakeholders, business partners, and external contacts.

• Serve as a primary point of contact on behalf of the President, ensuring timely communication and effective follow-up.

• Navigate sensitive situations with professionalism, diplomacy, and sound judgment.

• Represent the President and the Jimmy John’s Leadership Team with a high degree of professionalism and executive presence.

Confidentiality & Professional Judgment

• Handle confidential, sensitive, and business-critical information with discretion and integrity.

• Exercise independent judgment in managing priorities, resolving issues, and responding to requests.

• Maintain composure and professionalism while managing competing demands and shifting business priorities.

Required Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience supporting senior executives, including C-suite leaders, presidents, or equivalent executive-level roles.

• Demonstrated success operating as a strategic partner to executive leadership within a fast-paced and complex organization.

• Exceptional organizational, project management, and prioritization skills.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.

• Strong business acumen and ability to understand organizational priorities and executive decision-making.

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

• Proven ability to build relationships, influence across all levels of the organization, and work effectively with senior leaders.

• Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality in highly sensitive situations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting a President, CEO, or other senior executive within a large, matrixed corporate environment.

• Experience coordinating executive-level meetings, strategic planning sessions, and leadership operating rhythms.

• Experience managing special projects and driving follow-through across senior stakeholders.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of professional experience and education.

• Prior experience within a consumer, retail, restaurant, hospitality, or franchise organization preferred.

 

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.