What Is An Executive Assistant?
An executive assistant provides high-level administrative support to executives, including scheduling, communication, and coordination. That means managing calendars and inboxes, arranging travel and meetings, preparing documents, and acting as a point of contact so leaders can spend their time on decisions instead of logistics.
- Also called
- EA, Executive Virtual Assistant
- Reports to
- The executive they support
- Works on
- Calendar, inbox, travel, coordination
- Measured on
- Executive time saved, responsiveness
What An Executive Assistant Actually Does
- 01 · Calendar ManagementManages the executive’s calendar, resolving conflicts and protecting time for focused work
- 02 · Inbox TriageScreens email and messages, drafts replies, and flags what needs the executive’s attention
- 03 · Travel & MeetingsBooks travel and arranges meetings, including agendas and logistics
- 04 · Stakeholder ContactActs as a first point of contact for clients, partners, and the leadership team
- 05 · Follow-UpPrepares documents and tracks action items so nothing falls through
Executive Assistant Vs. Similar Roles
| Role | Main focus | Primary metric |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Assistant | Supporting an executive’s calendar, inbox, and communication | Executive time saved, responsiveness |
| Virtual Assistant | Remote administrative, marketing, or customer support tasks | Task turnaround, accuracy |
| Operations Coordinator | Keeping day-to-day team processes running | Process completion, on-time handoffs |
| Chief of Staff | Driving priorities and cross-team projects for a leader | Initiatives delivered |
At smaller companies, one executive assistant often supports the whole leadership team. Add a chief of staff or operations coordinator as the executive’s workload shifts from logistics to projects.
Skills To Screen For
Interview Questions Worth Asking
Hiring An Executive Assistant In Latin America
How Much Of The Workday You’d Share
Bogota, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires don’t change their clocks, so the overlap shifts when yours does. Times shown are in your team’s time zone. National English-proficiency averages vary by market too: Argentina ranks in EF’s "High" band globally, while Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil sit in the "Low" band. Screen every candidate’s spoken English directly rather than assuming by country.
What It Costs
| Country | Entry level (1-3 yrs) | Senior (6+ yrs) |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | $14K/yr | $27K/yr |
| Mexico | $15K/yr | $34K/yr |
| Brazil | $12K/yr | $26K/yr |
| Argentina | $12K/yr | $29K/yr |
The US and LatAm averages above are LatamCent’s own hire-page figures for executive virtual assistants, so the LatAm average sits below the senior end of these market-wide per-country ranges. Mid-level executive assistants in these markets typically earn about $17K-$21K.
Typical time from kickoff to signed offer. LatamCent delivers 3 to 5 candidate profiles in the first 10 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
An executive assistant provides high-level administrative support to executives, and is measured on executive time saved and responsiveness. A virtual assistant provides remote administrative, marketing, or customer support tasks, and is measured on task turnaround and accuracy. At smaller companies, one hire often covers both.
A chief of staff drives priorities and cross-team projects for a leader, and is measured on initiatives delivered. An executive assistant handles the leader’s calendar, inbox, and communication day to day. The roles overlap, and a strong executive assistant often grows into more project work over time.
On LatamCent’s figures, US executive assistants average around $40,000 a year. Executive assistants in Latin America average around $24,600 a year, about 39% less, saving roughly $15,400 a year per hire.
Most searches run 21 days from kickoff to a signed offer, with 3 to 5 candidate profiles delivered in the first 10 days.
Latin American time zones line up closely with US business hours, so an executive and an assistant can work in real time. Costs are lower too, as the figures above show. Screen every candidate’s spoken English directly, since national proficiency averages vary by market.
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