Executive Assistant to the President & CEO

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Executive Assistant to the President & CEO

Location: Edwardsville, Nova Scotia (Sydney area) · In person, with flexibility
Reports to: Shannon Lynch Colbourne, President, CEO & Owner
Employment type: Full time, permanent
Compensation: Depends on experience, also includes benefits and pension

About us

We are a group of four Nova Scotia companies with a shared ambition: from Nova Scotia to the world. Cape Breton Beverages has been bottling Pepsi products in Cape Breton for 77 years, across four generations of the same family. Trans-Atlantic Preforms has manufactured PET preforms for customers across Canada and internationally for more than 35 years. Nova Scotia Spirit Co. produces Blue Lobster spirits and ready-to-drink beverages, now expanding distribution nationally. Annapolis Cider Company is an award-winning craft cidery in the Annapolis Valley, recognized internationally for its cider. Together we employ more than 170 people across the province. We are growing, we are ambitious, and we are building the systems and leadership infrastructure to support our next stage of growth.

About the role

This role exists to protect and multiply the time of the President and CEO. You will be the person who makes sure the right things get scheduled, the right people get answers, the right preparation happens before every meeting, and nothing falls through. You will work across all four companies, alongside the executive team, and with external partners including our national distributor, industry associations, legal and financial advisors, and government.

This is a role of significant trust. You will have access to confidential information about our businesses, our people and the CEO's personal and family matters every day. The role also includes a personal support component, described plainly below. It is roughly one fifth of the work, and it is written into the role deliberately so there are no surprises.

What you will do

• Calendar and time management
  • Own the CEO's calendar across four businesses and set the weekly and monthly rhythm
  • Protect blocks for focused work, plant visits and thinking time, and defend them
  • Triage incoming meeting requests, declining or redirecting what does not need the CEO
  • Anticipate conflicts weeks ahead rather than resolving them the same morning
  • Prepare the CEO for each day: what is coming, who is attending and what is needed
• Communication and correspondence
  • Manage and triage the CEO's inbox, surfacing what matters and handling what does not need her
  • Draft correspondence, letters and communications on her behalf
  • Act as a professional first point of contact for external partners and internal staff
  • Track commitments made in meetings and follow through until they are closed
• Travel and logistics
  • Plan and book all business travel: flights, accommodation, ground transport and itineraries
  • Build detailed itineraries with contingencies, not just confirmations
  • Manage expense reporting and reconciliation
  • Coordinate travel for industry commitments across Canada and internationally
• Meeting and board support
  • Prepare agendas, briefing notes and materials in advance
  • Coordinate executive and leadership meetings across four entities
  • Take minutes, capture decisions and action items, and track them to completion
  • Support board, shareholder and advisory meeting preparation
• External and industry commitments
  • Support the CEO's international industry association responsibilities, including meeting coordination, communications and event logistics
  • Coordinate with external counsel, accountants and advisors on scheduling and document flow
  • Manage speaking requests, community requests and invitations
• Administration and follow-through
  • Maintain organized digital filing so documents can be found in seconds, not hours
  • Coordinate with the finance and administration team on contracts, records and approvals
  • Run small projects end to end when asked
  • Notice what is not working and propose a better way to do it
  • Look for opportunities to simplify, automate or eliminate repetitive administrative work
• Personal and household support (approximately 20% of the role)
  • Coordinate personal and family appointments alongside the business calendar
  • Arrange personal travel and family logistics
  • Manage errands and household coordination, including groceries, dry cleaning, deliveries and service providers
  • Arrange meals and catering for long working days and working sessions
  • Coordinate care appointments for the family dog
  • Support personal events, gifts and celebrations

We are direct about this because we would rather you know exactly what the job is. This part of the role is about removing friction from a demanding schedule. It is valued work, it is compensated accordingly, and it sits alongside genuinely senior business responsibility.

What success looks like

• By 30 days you know the calendar, the four businesses, the key people internally and externally, and you are booking travel independently.
• By 90 days the CEO no longer thinks about scheduling. Meetings arrive prepared. Nothing is missed. You are catching conflicts before they happen.
• By six months you know the calendar and the priorities well enough that most requests are handled without a conversation, and the ones you bring forward are the ones that genuinely need a decision. You are trusted with confidential matters without hesitation.

Who we are looking for

Required

• Significant experience supporting a senior executive, business owner or professional practice; typically five or more years in executive support or similarly demanding coordination roles
• Exceptional organizational skills and genuine attention to detail
• Strong written communication, with correct grammar and a professional tone
• Sound judgment about what is urgent, what is important and what is neither
• Complete discretion and a demonstrated track record of handling confidential information
• Comfort with Microsoft 365, calendar management and digital filing systems
• Valid driver's licence and reliable vehicle

Strong assets

• Experience in manufacturing, food and beverage, or a family-owned business
• Exposure to board or governance administration
• Project coordination experience
• Familiarity with the Cape Breton and Nova Scotia business community
• Comfort using AI, automation and modern productivity tools to improve workflows and reduce administrative work

How you work

• You are meticulous, and details genuinely matter to you
• You act independently on routine matters and you check before acting on anything consequential, and you know which those things are
• You follow through completely, every time, without being reminded
• You are steady under pressure and comfortable with a schedule that shifts
• You are discreet by nature, not just by policy
• You treat everyone from the plant floor to the boardroom with the same respect

What this role does not cover

You may be exposed to sensitive personnel matters through scheduling and executive support, but you will not be responsible for employee relations, performance management or maintaining confidential personnel files. These responsibilities sit with our HR advisor and the finance and administration team. Payroll, benefits administration and accounting are also outside the scope of this role. You will help schedule and coordinate these conversations. You will not be responsible for their content.

Work arrangement

This is an in-person role based at our Edwardsville office, with flexibility built in. The CEO travels frequently and works remotely often. Because this role serves as an important on-the-ground presence when the CEO is travelling, it remains primarily office-based even when the CEO is working remotely. You will help manage documents requiring signature, act as a point of contact across four businesses, coordinate with the finance and administration team, and keep things moving in person. Expect occasional flexibility on hours and location once the role is established. This position is based in Edwardsville, works Atlantic time year-round, and does not require travel.

Confidentiality

This position requires signing a confidentiality agreement. You will have access to financial information, legal files, sensitive business matters and personal family information. You may also be exposed to sensitive personnel matters through your support of the CEO. In a community where many of our employees are neighbours, discretion is not a formality. It is the foundation of the role.

What we offer

• Competitive salary reflecting the seniority and trust of the position
• Health and dental benefits, and pension
• Direct exposure to executive decision-making across four growing companies
• A role with genuine scope to grow as the business grows
• The chance to be part of building something ambitious from Cape Breton

How to apply

Please send a resume and a brief cover letter telling us about a time you protected an executive's time or prevented a problem before it happened. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. Accommodations are available on request throughout the recruitment process.