Rotterdam

Executive Assistant to CEO – Boyan Slat

Back to Careers
POSTED: 16/4/2025
STARTING DATE: As soon as possible
FULL TIME, ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

MISSION TO METRICS

The mission of The Ocean Cleanup is to develop and scale technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.
This is an exciting role that will enable you to be part of this mission. Your challenge will be to provide pro-active business support to Boyan Slat Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. Managing his busy and ever changing schedule, allowing him to be more effective in achieving the mission. Therefore we’re looking for someone who is highly capable, dynamic, energetic, and can manage proactively in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment with multiple priorities. 

THE ASSIGNMENT

As the Executive Assistant to Boyan you’ll be a driving force behind our mission to rid the oceans of plastic. You’ll streamline his many priorities, enable seamless cross-team collaboration, and significantly amplify his impact. This is your chance to work alongside a leader with a vision and play a key role in one of the most ambitious environmental initiatives on the planet. Join our Crew!

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
  • Manage calendars, planning, mailbox and scheduling of meetings and teleconferences across different time zones, ensuring alignment with the agendas of the broader Management Team to maximize efficiency. This includes coordinating complex travel arrangements.
  • This role demands a high level of flexibility and commitment to supporting Boyan’s dynamic schedule. You must be available outside traditional working hours and willing to adapt to Boyan’s time zones.
  • Prepare and edit correspondence, reports, presentations, and other documents as needed, including creating baseline presentations for key meetings.
  • Facilitate team and stakeholder management and communication, ensuring effective and efficient time management by setting team priorities and managing agendas for personal, internal, and external engagements.
  • Organize and manage key events and offsites for Boyan, including coordinating with internal (and/or external) staff, other executive assistants, and office managers to accomplish complex activities such as scheduling, identifying and organizing office events, and developing agendas for group meetings or events.
  • Manage confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
  • Provide backup support, when necessary, for the Executive Assistant to the CFO, Chief of Staff, and the Office Manager.


PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS

This role is for someone who is not just an assistant but a business partner, someone who can truly step into Boyan’s shoes, think ahead, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. If you’re ready to take on this challenge and make a meaningful impact, we want to hear from you.

  • You are emotionally intelligent, sharp, and grounded, with a genuine desire to support and enable others.
  • Ability to push back….managing CEOs is an artform which requires determination and skill!
  • You thrive in fast-paced, high-pressure environments, handling uncertainty and complexity with ease. You never drop the ball and always think several steps ahead.
  • You can interact professionally with all levels of the organization, from team members to external stakeholders.
  • You handle sensitive information—both professional and personal—with the utmost discretion and care.
  • You are highly organized, resourceful, and deliver accurate, structured work. You anticipate challenges and find solutions before they arise.
  • You are the true boss of the CEO’s calendar, able to prioritize strategically and ensure time is allocated to what matters most.
  • You are flexible, embrace change, and are eager to constantly improve—whether by automating repetitive tasks (especially in the age of AI) or refining processes to make life simpler.
  • You are intrinsically motivated by The Ocean Cleanup’s ambitious goal and have a natural curiosity for how things work, technology, and the start-up/scale-up mentality.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

  • At minimum a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. While a degree is nice, we are more interested in people who can learn quickly, solve problems and think strategically.
  • 5+ years of experience supporting at an executive level in a highly professional international environment.
  • Proven background in business administration or communications is preferred.
  • Knowledge in project management and managing cross functional deliverables is a plus.
  • Strong knowledge of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
  • Experience successfully creating and/or modifying processes.
  • Native or near-native English. Dutch is a plus, not a must.
  • Valid Dutch driving license.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
 
  • Starting date  As soon as possible.
  • Location : The role is based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.  We have a flexible/hybrid work style but this role requires you to be at the heart of the organization  you will need to be in the office most of the time
  • Please note: because we are a non-profit, our salaries reflect that of an organization fully reliant on donations rather than that of a commercial entity. Conducting a pre-employment check may be part of this recruitment process.
  • At The Ocean Cleanup, we believe we are stronger together by harnessing the uniqueness each individual brings. We take a fair, transparent, and equal-opportunity approach to hiring. We welcome special needs requests and strongly encourage applicants of all genders, ethnicities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. We particularly value multilingual candidates and those with experience in diverse cultural contexts.


Curious to hear how it is to work at The Ocean Cleanup? Listen to our team members explain their work in our podcast.