Executive Assistant, GRAPS - Job ID: 2024

Ascendis Pharma is a dynamic, fast-growing global biopharmaceutical company with locations in Denmark, Europe, and the United States. Today, we're advancing programs in Endocrinology Rare Disease and Oncology.

Here at Ascendis, we pride ourselves on exceptional science, visionary leadership, and skilled and passionate colleagues.

Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we use our TransCon® drug development platform to fulfill our mission of developing new and potentially best-in-class therapies to address unmet medical needs.

Our culture fosters a place where skilled, adaptable, and highly resourceful professionals can truly make their mark. We offer a dynamic workplace for employees to grow and develop their skills.

The Executive Assistant, GRAPS provides high-level, proactive administrative and operational support to the Chief Regulatory & Safety Officer and serves as a trusted coordination partner to the GRAPS Leadership Team. The role protects executive time, anticipates needs, manages complex and confidential information, and enables effective leadership interactions across global time zones and functions.

The position requires exceptional judgment, discretion, organization, and follow-through. In addition to comprehensive calendar, meeting, travel, and expense support, the Executive Assistant coordinates leadership routines, prepares briefing materials, tracks decisions and actions, supports selected departmental processes, and works closely with executive assistants and partners across Ascendis to ensure seamless execution.

Key responsibilities

Executive calendar and time management

• Own and strategically manage a complex, dynamic calendar for the Chief Regulatory & Safety Officer, balancing enterprise priorities, GRAPS commitments, external engagements, preparation time, and global time-zone considerations.
• Assess meeting requests, resolve conflicts, recommend priorities, and ensure the executive has the context, materials, and logistical information needed for each engagement.
• Anticipate schedule risks and downstream impacts, proactively proposing solutions and communicating changes with appropriate sensitivity.
• Coordinate with other executive assistants to align leadership calendars, governance meetings, and high-priority company events.

Meetings, governance, and follow-through

• Coordinate recurring and ad hoc GRAPS Leadership Team, extended leadership, all-employee, and cross-functional meetings, including invitations, agendas, pre-reads, rooms or virtual logistics, catering, technology, and attendance tracking as appropriate.
• Compile and quality-check executive briefing packages, presentations, agendas, and supporting materials in collaboration with content owners.
• Capture or coordinate meeting notes, decisions, actions, owners, and due dates when requested; maintain decision and action logs and follow up on commitments.
• Support selected Executive Management Team, Board, health-authority, partner, and other high-profile interactions with rigorous attention to confidentiality, protocol, accuracy, and deadlines.

Travel, expenses, and event coordination

• Plan complex domestic and international travel, including itineraries, flights, ground transportation, lodging, visas, meeting logistics, and contingency plans.
• Prepare clear travel briefs and maintain current itineraries; respond effectively to last-minute changes across time zones.
• Prepare, reconcile, and submit expense reports and corporate-card documentation accurately and on time in accordance with company policy.
• Coordinate leadership off-sites, team meetings, and special events, including venue, vendor, materials, attendee, and budget logistics.

Communications and stakeholder coordination

• Serve as a professional first point of contact for internal and external stakeholders and represent the office of the Chief Regulatory & Safety Officer with discretion, responsiveness, and sound judgment.
• Draft, edit, proofread, and format correspondence, announcements, presentations, and other executive communications, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and an appropriate executive tone.
• Maintain effective working relationships across GRAPS, Executive Management, HR, Finance, Legal, Procurement, IT, Communications, and the global executive-assistant network.
• Handle sensitive organizational, personnel, business, regulatory, and safety-related information in accordance with confidentiality and records-management expectations.

GRAPS operational and administrative support

• Maintain organized records, distribution lists, leadership-team materials, shared workspaces, templates, and contact information; apply clear document naming and version control.
• Coordinate purchase requisitions, purchase orders, contracts, invoices, vendors, and consultant onboarding with Procurement, Finance, Legal, IT, and hiring managers.
• Support onboarding and offboarding logistics for GRAPS leaders and priority hires, including meetings, access, equipment, materials, and orientation schedules.
• Provide administrative coordination for selected GRAPS priorities, engagement activities, recognition efforts, and special projects without duplicating dedicated project-management accountability.
• Identify opportunities to simplify administrative processes, improve meeting effectiveness, and strengthen consistency across GRAPS.

Professional qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, communications, or a related field is preferred; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience is acceptable.
• Typically 8 or more years of progressively responsible administrative experience, including substantial experience supporting a senior executive or executive leadership team in a global organization.
• Experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or another highly regulated environment is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success managing complex calendars, global travel, confidential information, executive meetings, expenses, and competing priorities with limited supervision.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, and related collaboration tools; ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication, editing, proofreading, formatting, and executive-presentation skills.
• Experience coordinating vendors, purchase orders, contracts, invoices, onboarding, and large or high-profile meetings is preferred.

Leadership capabilities and personal attributes

• Exceptional discretion, integrity, and judgment, with a clear understanding of when to act independently and when to escalate.
• Highly proactive and anticipatory, with strong ownership, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through.
• Able to prioritize rapidly, remain composed under pressure, and adapt to shifting demands and last-minute changes.
• Service-oriented while appropriately assertive in protecting executive priorities and setting expectations.
• Collaborative, diplomatic, culturally aware, and effective with stakeholders at every organizational level.
• Able to simplify complexity, communicate clearly, and bring structure to ambiguous or fast-moving situations.
• Committed to patients, quality, compliance, inclusion, and respectful teamwork.

Key interfaces

Primary - Chief Regulatory & Safety Officer; GRAPS Leadership Team

Executive - Executive Management; Board and governance support contacts; executive assistants

Enterprise - HR; Finance; Legal; Procurement; IT; Communications; Facilities; Travel

External - Vendors, consultants, partners, event contacts, and other external stakeholders

Requirements

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, communications, or a related field is preferred; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience is acceptable.
• Typically 8 or more years of progressively responsible administrative experience, including substantial experience supporting a senior executive or executive leadership team in a global organization.
• Experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or another highly regulated environment is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success managing complex calendars, global travel, confidential information, executive meetings, expenses, and competing priorities with limited supervision.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, and related collaboration tools; ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication, editing, proofreading, formatting, and executive-presentation skills.
• Experience coordinating vendors, purchase orders, contracts, invoices, onboarding, and large or high-profile meetings is preferred.

Leadership capabilities and personal attributes

• Exceptional discretion, integrity, and judgment, with a clear understanding of when to act independently and when to escalate.
• Highly proactive and anticipatory, with strong ownership, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through.
• Able to prioritize rapidly, remain composed under pressure, and adapt to shifting demands and last-minute changes.
• Service-oriented while appropriately assertive in protecting executive priorities and setting expectations.
• Collaborative, diplomatic, culturally aware, and effective with stakeholders at every organizational level.
• Able to simplify complexity, communicate clearly, and bring structure to ambiguous or fast-moving situations.
• Committed to patients, quality, compliance, inclusion, and respectful teamwork.

Measures of success

• The executive’s time is aligned to the highest-priority business needs, with conflicts and logistical risks anticipated and resolved early.
• Meetings are well prepared, materials are accurate and timely, and decisions and actions are followed through appropriately.
• Travel, expenses, events, vendors, and administrative processes are completed accurately, efficiently, and in line with company requirements.
• Stakeholders experience responsive, professional, and well-coordinated interactions with the office of the Chief Regulatory & Safety Officer.
• Confidential information is handled with sound judgment, and GRAPS administrative practices become more consistent and scalable.

Additional information

• Travel: Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to approximately 15%, based on business needs.
• Location: Hybrid based in Palo Alto, CA or Princeton, NJ, with availability to support business-critical meetings and occasional schedule requirements across global time zones.
• This description summarizes the principal responsibilities of the role and may be adjusted as organizational priorities evolve.

The estimated pay for this position is $50-$55/hour. Actual salary determination is dependent on a variety of factors some of which include: experience, qualifications, and geographic location. This position may be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus or an incentive compensation plan (eligibility varies based on role and position level), discretionary stock-based long-term incentives, paid time off, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Benefits

• 401(k) plan with company match
• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Company-offered Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
• Company-provided short and long-term disability benefits
• Unique offerings of Pet Insurance and Legal Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Discounts
• Professional Development
• Health Saving Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Various incentive compensation plans
• Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity Insurance
• Mental Health resources
• Paid leave benefits for new parents

Ascendis Pharma is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

A note to recruiters:

We do not allow external search party solicitation. Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma Inc Human Resources team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed. If this occurs your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.