What Does an Executive Assistant Do? Role, Responsibilities and Career Path

An executive assistant (EA) provides high-level administrative and organisational support to a senior leader, such as a managing director, chief executive or board member. EAs manage diaries, correspondence, meetings, travel and documents, and act as the link between the executive and the rest of the business, so the leader can focus on decisions. The role is one of a group we call operational support roles: skilled, non-managerial positions that need experience, judgement and attention to detail. Allstaff recruits executive assistants on a temporary and permanent basis for employers across Glasgow, Paisley and the Central Belt.

What does an executive assistant do day to day?

No two days are quite the same for an EA, but most of the work falls into a handful of areas. In a typical week, an executive assistant will be:

• Managing the diary. Keeping the executive’s calendar organised, prioritising appointments, resolving clashes and protecting time for the work that matters most.
• Handling the inbox and correspondence. Monitoring and filtering email, flagging what is urgent, drafting replies and preparing letters for the executive to approve.
• Organising and supporting meetings. Scheduling internal, external and board meetings, preparing agendas and briefing papers, taking minutes, and following up on actions afterwards.
• Arranging travel. Booking travel and accommodation, building itineraries, and having a plan ready when trains are cancelled or flights are delayed.
• Preparing documents. Creating and formatting reports, presentations and spreadsheets, keeping files organised and making sure the latest version is the one that gets used.
• Managing expenses. Collecting receipts, preparing expense claims, tracking spend against budget and working with the finance team on approvals.

The balance between these tasks depends on the executive and the business. An EA supporting the managing director of a growing manufacturer in Lanarkshire will have a different week from one supporting the senior partner of a Glasgow professional services firm, but the core skills are the same.

How do executive assistants support a business beyond admin?

The administrative work is the foundation, but what separates an experienced EA is the judgement they bring to it. Good executive assistants act as an extension of the leader they support:

• Screening calls, visitors and requests, deciding what needs the executive’s attention now and what can wait or go elsewhere, while keeping relationships positive.
• Stakeholder communication. Acting as the first point of contact for clients, board members, partners and colleagues, and passing on messages and decisions accurately and diplomatically.
• Project coordination. Tracking deadlines and deliverables on projects that cross departments, gathering information, and reporting progress back to the executive.
• Organising board days, leadership off-sites, client events and dinners, from venues and suppliers to invitations and budgets.
• Delegated decisions. Making day-to-day calls on the executive’s behalf within agreed limits, so routine questions don’t wait for a gap in a busy diary.

In smaller businesses, an EA may also look after the running of the office itself, from suppliers and equipment to helping HR with onboarding. For a closer look at how the EA role compares with a personal assistant’s, see our guide to Executive Assistant vs Personal Assistant: What’s the Difference?

What skills does an executive assistant need?

Employers look for a combination of practical skills and personal qualities. The practical skills can be learned; the qualities are what make someone trusted with a senior leader’s time and information.

Practical skills

• Confident use of Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, especially Outlook or Gmail, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Advanced diary and inbox management
• Accurate document preparation, minute-taking and reporting
• Familiarity with expense, travel booking and project management tools
• Increasingly, confidence using AI tools for drafting, summarising and organising information

Personal qualities

• EAs regularly handle confidential information about strategy, finances and people.
• Knowing when to act independently and when to check with the executive.
• Attention to detail. A wrong date, figure or attachment reflects on the executive as well as the EA.
• Clear, professional writing and the confidence to deal with senior people inside and outside the business.
• Spotting what the executive will need before they ask, and adjusting quickly when priorities change.

In our experience, the two qualities EA clients ask for most are anticipation and judgement. The executive assistants we place again and again are the ones who can see what is needed, and when, often before they are asked. Just as important is the ability to make sound decisions when the executive isn’t there to check with.

How are AI tools changing the executive assistant role?

AI is changing how much of the EA role is done, but not who is responsible for it. Tools built into Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace can now draft emails, summarise long documents, take meeting notes and suggest diary slots. Used well, they free an EA’s time for the work that needs a person: managing relationships, exercising judgement and protecting the executive’s priorities.

More employers now list AI skills in executive assistant job descriptions. In practice, that usually means being able to use AI tools confidently, check their output carefully, and understand when company or personal information should not go into a tool the business hasn’t approved. We look for what we call human-in-the-loop professionals: people who use technology to improve their work but stay responsible for the final result.

If you want to build these skills, free courses are available through the likes of the Anthropic Academy’s self-paced AI Fluency courses.

What qualifications do you need to become an executive assistant?

There is no single required qualification for an EA role. Employers usually place more weight on experience and judgement than on certificates, but recognised qualifications can help, particularly earlier in your career. In Scotland, the most common routes are:

• A Modern Apprenticeship in Business and Administration. Available at SCQF Levels 5, 6 and 8, it combines paid work with a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) assessed in the workplace. Funding from Skills Development Scotland is available for apprentices aged 16 to 19.
• An HNC in Administration or Business. A college qualification that covers the business knowledge many senior support roles draw on.
• Short courses in areas such as minute-taking, advanced Excel, project coordination or AI tools, which show employers you are keeping your skills current.

Most executive assistants build up to the role rather than starting in it. Common routes include reception and front-of-house work, administration, team or office support, and personal assistant roles. We regularly see candidates move from reception into EA roles, because the skills those positions build, such as coordinating diaries, dealing with senior visitors and managing several tasks at once, transfer directly.

What matters most at an interview is evidence that you can be trusted: examples of handling confidential information, managing a complicated diary, or making a sensible decision without being asked.

How much does an executive assistant earn in Scotland?

Executive assistant pay in Scotland depends mainly on three things: the seniority of the person you support, the sector, and how much responsibility the role carries. An EA supporting a chief executive with delegated authority will usually earn more than one supporting a department head with a more administrative remit.

Based on the roles we recruit for, executive assistant salaries in Scotland typically range from around £30,000 at entry level to £50,000 for more senior positions. The highest salaries are usually offered by large PLCs in Scotland’s major cities. As an example from our own recent work, an Executive Assistant role we advertised in Glasgow in February 2026 offered up to £35,000 a year, depending on experience.

If you are comparing roles, ask about scope and reporting lines rather than relying on the job title. For more on why pay varies between EA and PA roles, see Executive Assistant vs Personal Assistant: What’s the Difference?

What career progression is there for executive assistants?

The EA role builds a broad understanding of how a business runs, which opens up several routes:

• Into more senior EA roles, such as supporting a chief executive, a chair or a whole leadership team.
• Into management of support teams, such as leading a team of assistants or becoming an office manager.
• Into operations and business management, where experience of projects, budgets and stakeholders is valuable.
• Into chief of staff roles, which are increasingly common in larger organisations and involve working alongside a leader on strategy and priorities.

Many EAs also move sideways into areas they have supported closely, such as HR, events, project coordination or governance. The skills that make a strong EA, including judgement, discretion and organisation, are valued across all of them.

What should employers and candidates know about executive assistant recruitment in Scotland?

We recruit executive assistants for employers across Glasgow, Paisley and the wider Central Belt, and a few points come up again and again:

• EA roles are both temporary and permanent. Temporary EAs are often needed to cover leave, support a new leader in their first months, or help through a busy period such as a restructure or year end. Experienced temporary EAs can contribute quickly, because the core of the role is the same from one business to the next. Our February 2026 Glasgow EA role, for example, was a temporary, hybrid position.
• Hybrid working is common but not universal. Many EA roles in Glasgow now combine office and remote days, but roles supporting site-based or client-facing leaders often need more time in the office.
• Employers are asking for more than admin. The briefs we receive increasingly ask for project coordination, stakeholder management and confidence with AI tools.
• Notice periods affect start dates. Experienced EAs moving between permanent roles often need to give one months’ notice, so permanent hires need planning.

Executive assistant is one of the operational support roles we recruit for across all our divisions. These are skilled, non-managerial positions where experience and accuracy matter from the start.

Hiring an executive assistant? We take a full brief on the role, the person the EA will support and the way your business works, then search our network for candidates with the right experience.

Looking for an executive assistant role, or hiring for one?

Whether you are an experienced EA looking for your next temporary or permanent role, or an employer who needs the right person to support your leadership team, our Office Support team can help. We work with candidates and employers across Glasgow, Paisley and the Central Belt, and every conversation starts with understanding what the role really involves.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an executive assistant and a personal assistant?

An executive assistant mainly supports a senior leader’s business role, while a personal assistant’s work often extends into the person’s private life, such as household and family arrangements. In smaller businesses the two roles often overlap. Our full comparison explains the differences in detail.

Do you need a degree to become an executive assistant?

No. Most employers value relevant experience, discretion and judgement more than a degree. A Modern Apprenticeship or HNC in Business and Administration can help, especially earlier in your career.

Is an executive assistant an operational support role?

Yes. Allstaff describes executive assistant as an operational support role: a skilled, non-managerial position that needs experience, judgement and attention to detail.

Can executive assistants work on a temporary basis?

Yes. Temporary EA roles are common for covering leave, supporting new leaders and helping through busy periods. Many experienced EAs work on temporary assignments between permanent roles or by choice.

Do executive assistants need AI skills?

More employers now ask for them. That usually means using AI tools confidently for drafting and summarising, checking the results carefully, and knowing what information should not go into an unapproved tool.