Executive Assistant-CMD
Centena Group
Total years of experience :18 years, 3 Months
• Based on CMD’s schedule, organize meetings and appointments with ISP/ESP.
• Attending Strategy & Review meetings of Five Group Companies and Eight support departments, keep minutes, distribute and follow-up until completion.
• Book and arrange travel, transport and accommodation of CMD & ISP in a most effective and cost efficient manner.
• Liase with travel agents and hotels to ensure that cost saving is done on year on year basis, compare and provide cost effective travel and hotel options in the carrier as well as the mode of bookings (online or through travel agent).
• Ensure CMD’s TripIt (Travel App) and BTA (Business Travel Approval) Forms of all travelers are completely updated & thereafter closed online for all official trips.
• Keep track of expiry dates of CMD’s overseas visas and ensure timely renewals.
• Receive and screen phone calls and redirect them when appropriate.
• Handle and prioritize all outgoing or incoming correspondence (e-mail, letters, packages etc.)
• Handle confidential documents ensuring they remain secure.
• Reconciliation of CMD’s personal Credit Card and Corporate Credit Card statement of account.
• Using Orion, generate PO’s & GRN for the travel, hotel bookings and admin related purchases and share the same with the related vendors and Finance team along with supporting documents.
• Coordinate with office stationary vendors and suppliers to negotiate terms, ensure timely and cost effective purchases as required.
• Conduct research and prepare presentations or reports as assigned.
• Assist with general correspondence and emails as instructed and manage their internal and external communications as needed.
• All other adhoc requests related to CMD’s work schedule.
• Manage active calendar of appointments for the Chairman & Group CEO(Management).
• Plan, coordinate and ensure that the Chairman & Group CEO’s schedule is followed and respected.
• Arrange complex and detailed global travel plans and itineraries including visas, hotel and flight arrangements.
• Organize on-site/off-site meetings.
• Liaise with key departments including HR, Finance, Marketing, IT, diamond Division and Operations on behalf of the Chairman & Group CEO, demonstrating leadership to maintain credibility, trust and support with senior management staff and thus providing a bridge for smooth communication between the Chairman’s office and internal departments.
• Compose general correspondence and emails for Chairman & Group CEO as directed.
• Arrange, coordinate and attend business review meetings of Chairman & Group CEO with Retail Managers and Department Heads, take minutes and distribute to appropriate parties.
• Arrange dinners, lunches, and retreats for the Chairman or Group CEO and his Guests.
• Serve as a liaison between the Chairman and the Government Offices including but not limited to DED, GDRFA, CDA, Indian Consulate, Indian Embassy, Dubai Police, Abu Dhabi Police etc.
• Organized the 1st BCE (Business Community Engagement) in collaboration with Dubai Economy in November 2017. Appointed by IBLC(International Business Leaders’ Community) for all official communications with DED-EXCOM(Executive Committee) and submit Case Analysis Report to Strategic Affairs Council proposing Right to 100% Ownership, PR or Long Term Residence Visa Status to Investors/Professionals, Rent Increase Cap on retail Rental Agreement etc. Witnessed landmark decision by UAE Cabinet in May 2018 on the proposal submitted.
• Facilitate PR activities of Chairman by coordinating with the PR Agency for Chairman’s PR draft approvals, Social Media Campaigns, Media Interviews, briefing on write-ups, monitor weekly and monthly PR Reports, Coverages, Award Nominations and Listings.
• Handle Chairman’s Philanthropic Initiative “Forgotten Society” and “Firoz Merchant Foundation”. Follow-up with GDRFA, Central Jails of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, UAQ, Fujairah, RAK and Ajman for Prisoner’s List to be released, Arrange and compare quotes for air tickets from Travel Agents to secure the best air fare for the exit of released prisoners, review other financial help requests for scholarship, medical treatment, debts etc and present to Chairman for his approval.
• Coordinate with Legal Advisors to seek updates on ongoing Rental Disputes, Labour Cases and proof-reading of POAs, MOAs, Partnership Agreements, Consignment Agreements, Settlement Agreements, Contractual Agreements, SPAs etc prior to presenting it to Group CEO for his review and approval.
• Establish relationship with Brokers and Real Estate Agents for leasing personal residential properties including apartments and villas of the Chairman & Group CEO.
• Follow-up and liase with Developers for Title Deeds, Affection Plans, Site Plans, Community Service Charges, CAM charges etc. One point of contact for Nakheel, Meydan, Dubai Properties, Meeras etc.
• Follow-up with the contractors for Site Progress Report, pending approvals and NOCs from all Government and Regulatory bodies.
• Facilitate maintenance related work in coordination with vendors, contractors, sub-contractors and in-house maintenance team for all works related to the Chairman & Group CEO’s residential villas.
• Schedule Doctor’s Appointments, Medical Check-ups and process Medical reimbursements on behalf of Chairman & Group CEO.
• Coordinate with the personal drivers for servicing of various luxurious cars owned by the Chairman & Group CEO as and when required. Liase with Service Centers like Gargash Enterprise, AGMC, Al Tayer Motors, Al Naboodah for negotiating the quote for spare-parts and timely delivery of the serviced vehicles.
• Maintain close liaison with different departments and take accountability to ensure that all matters are attended to promptly as required, giving attention to details to ensure completeness and accuracy of information.
• Manage and organize internal and external meetings and organize travel arrangements. Ensure preparation and follow up for regular Management meetings for the entire Group. Take minutes of the meetings where required and distribute to attendees in a timely fashion following meeting.
• Prepare agenda, correspondence, reports and presentations. Ensure accuracy of information, attention to detail, timely data collection, integration of information where applicable, appropriate use of business language, preparation and submission within required time lines.
• Maintain Chairman’s diary; maximizing effective utilization of time, manage changes in schedule, and ensure that all matters brought forward to the Chairman’s office are responded and attended to in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Efficiently process and manage all inbound and outbound data and information, both confidential and routine; review documents and if necessary ask for supporting data before forwarding to the Chairman’s office for approval and signature.
• Review all incoming mail and prioritize before forwarding to the Chairman.
• Act on routine standardized correspondence and inform the Chairman accordingly.
• Compose letters on behalf of the Chairman.
• Act as first point of contact for both internal and external parties who wish to contact or meet the Chairman and screen the requests to ensure those with genuine and important reasons are given priority.
• Take initiative on behalf of the Chairman to identify and deal with problems and issues that arise to ensure the smooth running of the Chairman’s office.
• Develop and establish workflow processes and systems to enable smooth running of the Chairman’s office.
• Prepare and compile papers/documentation, including project and Unit related reports and documents, for the Chairman, ensuring they are completed and prepared in time for meetings and discussions.
• Observe and apply strict levels of confidentiality and discretion to all matters related to the performance of role.
• Read and screen incoming reports and correspondence; make preliminary assessment and organize documents.
• Research, compile, assimilate and prepare sensitive and confidential documents. Brief the concerned Department Heads regarding the content.
• Review, proofread and edit documents developed for the signature of Chairman.
• Conduct different departmental meetings on behalf of the Chairman.
• Manage Client Relationship on behalf of Chairman -deliver positive customer service experience, to understand their individualized needs, to direct them to the appropriate service, resolve problems to win repeat business. Clientage base includes Landmark Group, Essa Saleh Al Gurg, Iffco, Nissan M.E, Rivoli Group, Danube, Lal’s Group, Swiss Arabian & many more.
• Prepare quotes, artwork co-ordination between Client and in-house, co-ordination for Municipal permissions for artworks, open work orders, production and installation follow-ups, generate invoice and Outstanding follow-ups for accounts handled by the Chairman.
• Handle Dubai Taxi Branding on behalf of Chairman
• Deal with all documents relating to customer correspondences independently. Keep record of all customer details in Systems, take care of the changes from time to time and coordinate with different departments of the organization for the necessary formalities.
• Liaise between the national retailers (clients) and the organization. Communicate with the entire retail family (281 Units) of City Centre & solve all the queries of the retailers.
• Measure the satisfaction level for both visitors & occupants of City Centre as well as analyze the trends over the quarters. The report thus generated helped in the management decisions & satisfied the requirements of ISO-Integrated Management System (IMS).
• Have a team to plan the course of action in any kind of crisis. To trouble shoot potential problems & find ways to resolve them. To look after the general administration of the project City Centre.
• Measure the feedback, grievances and demands of the visitors of City Centre through the Interactive Touch Screen Kiosks, to understand the demands and requirements of the buyers and help Management strategies and implement such requirements and demands for future projects.
• Supervise the maintenance of the Official website of City Centre. Manage the updation, content and other aspects of the website: www.citycentrekolkata.
• Supervise the follow-up of the outstanding payments of the Occupants of City Centre via mails and calls
• Give accurate guidance to students about U.K, Australia, Canada and New Zealand with facts and figures with regards to income, expenses, future prospects, immigration etc.
• Help the students select Universities.
• Assess student’s eligibility for application to different Universities.
• Counsel the Students on IELTS (International English Language Testing System), GRE (Graduate Records Examination), GMAT (General Management Aptitude Test), SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) etc.
• Counsel the Students & their Parents/Sponsor on financial aspects i.e. the total expenses incurred for the course, lodging, food etc.
• Give the Students & their Parents/Sponsor descriptive idea about Bank Loans i.e. rules for sanctioning loans, documents required, rules for payment of installments, interest rate etc.
• Assist the Students to fill the application form & help them with the Statement of Purpose.
• Arrange the documents and forward to the Universities for the Offer Letters.
• Arrange the files of the students for Pre-Visa/ Visa Assessment & Lodgment of files in respective Embassy.
• Regular follow-Ups with respective High Commission/Embassy.
• Submission of additional documents/ information on behalf of the Students.
• Submission of passports, visa fees etc as and when required.
• Letters and e-mails to different Universities, High Commission/Embassy etc as and when required.
• Conduct Mock interviews for Student Visa etc.
• Update Registered Clientele database.
• Progress Report of the Cases.
• Counseling Report.
• Arrangements for different Career Fairs (E.g. Times Fair, ISB Career Fair etc), University Exhibitions, Road shows & Seminars related to opportunities for Study Abroad.
• Formulate marketing strategies for promotion of specific foreign universities & courses with their USP as and when required.
• Work with the Designing Team on Overseas websites, brochures, banners, posters, danglers, pamphlets & newspaper ads.
Mass Communication ,Public Relations, Advertising, Journalism, Reporting, Editing, Printing, Radio, TV & Film
Anthropology, Zoology, Botany & English