Your step-by-step operating playbook.
Proposed client-review template, not approved internal policy. Keep the executive organized through inbox triage, calendar protection, meetings, travel coordination and confidential records; follow through on agreed administrative priorities without assuming decision authority.
The complete SOP is visible below—no download or extra click required. Tailor the selected duties, training, tools and approval limits with your team before work starts.
Complete task & responsibility scope.
Keep the executive organized, protect focus time and follow through on agreed administrative priorities.
Provide high-level administrative support for complex schedules, communications and leadership priorities while protecting confidentiality and approval boundaries.
Select the duties relevant to your business at kickoff. Extended duties require suitable training, supervisor approval and scoped access; this list does not automatically authorize clinical, legal, licensed or financial decisions.
- Triage email and flag priority messages
- Manage calendars, meetings and travel
- Prepare agendas and follow-up notes
- Organize documents and confidential records
- Manage complex calendars and scheduling.
- Screen and prioritize emails and communications.
- Coordinate executive meetings and board activities.
- Prepare briefing documents and presentation materials.
- Research travel arrangements and prepare detailed itineraries; book only with approval.
- Liaise with internal teams and external stakeholders.
- Manage administrative projects and track deliverables.
- Conduct research and prepare reports.
- Handle sensitive information and confidential matters using approved procedures.
- Represent the executive in communications only when authorized.
01 / Deliverables, ownership & kickoff
What you receive
- Prioritized inbox queue with owners and next actions
- Checked calendar with protected focus blocks and meeting details
- Travel option brief and itinerary reflecting client-confirmed bookings
- Reviewed agendas, meeting notes and follow-up tracker
- Organized confidential records with controlled sharing and version references
Who owns what
Assistant
- Triage messages and prepare decisions without committing the executive.
- Coordinate approved schedules, travel preparation and meeting follow-through.
- Maintain accurate records and flag permissions or priority conflicts.
Client owner
- Define priorities, focus-time rules, communication permissions and approval limits.
- Authorize commitments and retain budgets, purchases, payments and travel bookings.
- Resolve competing priorities and approve sensitive correspondence or record sharing.
VSI coordinator or agreed Team Lead
- Confirm scope, handoffs and client escalation contacts.
- Review sampled administrative work against agreed quality checks.
- Coordinate access blockers and workload conflicts without overriding client decisions.
Confirm before work starts
- Identify executive, approving delegate and backup escalation contact.
- Agree priority definitions and messages that must remain untouched.
- Confirm time zones, working calendar, focus blocks and scheduling permissions.
- Document authorized recipients, reply templates and sensitive-message review rules.
- Set travel preferences, option details and client booking responsibility.
- Agree meeting-note format, action ownership and document naming conventions.
- Approve role-based access, confidential folders and reporting cadence.
Role-specific readiness checklist
- Confirm executive priorities, calendar rules and communication permissions.
- Review upcoming meetings, conflicts, deadlines and travel requirements.
- Prepare agendas, briefings and approved supporting documents.
- Record meeting actions with an owner and due date.
- Send a concise priority, blocker and follow-up summary.
02 / Skills, systems & approved access
Skills and qualifications
- Professional written communication
- Calendar coordination and prioritization
- Discretion with confidential information
- Experience supporting executive leadership
- Business acumen and professional demeanor
- Exceptional written and verbal communication
- Advanced Microsoft Office and presentation proficiency
- Ability to anticipate needs and act proactively
- Sound judgment within delegated authority
- Strong prioritization and time management
Verify the capability—not just the résumé
- Professional written communication
- Draft a sample executive reply; check tone, facts and approval needs.
- Inbox prioritization
- Sort sample messages using client rules and explain ambiguous escalations.
- Calendar coordination
- Resolve a mock time-zone clash while preserving focus and travel buffers.
- Meeting follow-through
- Convert sample notes into decisions, named owners and confirmed dates.
- Confidential information discretion
- Choose storage and recipients for sample sensitive documents; identify sharing restrictions.
Tools and systems
Use client-approved tools and individual role-based accounts. Examples are options, not claims that an integration or subscription is included. Never share credentials in chat.
- Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
- Slack or Microsoft Teams
- Asana, Trello or your project platform
- Advanced calendar management systems
- Executive communication platforms
- Project management software
- CRM systems
- Document management and collaboration tools
- Video conferencing platforms
- Business intelligence and reporting tools
How access supports the procedure
Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
Use: Client-approved email, calendar and document preparation.
Access: Individual delegated permissions; client-restricted sensitive folders and external sharing.
Slack or Microsoft Teams
Use: Approved priority questions and administrative handoffs.
Access: Named account in approved channels; link restricted records rather than copying contents.
Asana, Trello or your project platform
Use: Track approved actions, owners, dates and blockers.
Access: Client-selected boards and permissions; no integration enabled without separate approval.
03 / Executive inbox triage and response preparation
Start when: Agreed inbox review window or executive-assigned message.
What you need
- Authorized inbox view
- Priority and reply rules
- Current executive commitments
How to complete the work
- Check access, sender, thread context, attachments and stated deadline before classifying the message.
- Separate decision requests, scheduling items and routine information; flag urgency using client criteria, not assumed importance.
- Prepare a decision brief identifying the request, context, missing facts and proposed next action.
- Draft replies where assigned; obtain required approval and send only within documented communication authority.
- Record status, approval reference, owner and follow-up date; file correspondence using approved labels without deleting restricted records.
- Confirm routing, response or pending decision ownership; escalate unclear authority or conflicting instructions before proceeding.
Each reviewed message has a disposition, accountable owner and traceable next action.
If something is missing or outside scope: Keep sensitive, suspicious or ambiguous messages unchanged; route privately to the client owner.
04 / Calendar protection, meeting scheduling and travel coordination
Start when: Meeting request, calendar change or executive travel assignment.
What you need
- Attendees and purpose
- Availability and time zones
- Focus rules and travel preferences
How to complete the work
- Validate dates, locations, attendee identities and request authority; identify missing timing or travel constraints.
- Check conflicts, focus blocks and travel buffers; prepare alternatives rather than silently displacing commitments.
- Present meeting choices or travel options with known conditions and unresolved details; request client decisions before commitments.
- After authorization, update permitted calendar entries and issue approved invitations; the client handles purchases, payments and bookings.
- Prepare the itinerary from client-confirmed reservations; reconcile locations, time zones and meeting details, recording approval and source references.
- Verify calendar acceptance or record pending responses; escalate clashes, unconfirmed bookings and itinerary changes to the client.
Authorized calendar entries and itinerary match confirmed information; pending confirmations have owners.
If something is missing or outside scope: Do not purchase, cancel paid reservations or accept new commitments without client handling and authorization.
05 / Meeting preparation, follow-up and confidential record organization
Start when: Upcoming executive meeting or completed meeting requiring follow-through.
What you need
- Meeting objective and participants
- Approved source documents
- Notes and confirmed decisions
How to complete the work
- Check objective, attendee permissions and document versions; request missing materials without expanding access.
- Draft an agenda with decision points and open actions; assemble relevant documents in an approved restricted folder.
- Obtain executive review of sensitive materials and distribute only the approved agenda or permitted document links.
- Prepare follow-up notes separating confirmed decisions from unresolved questions; assign owners and dates only when confirmed.
- Route notes for required review, then update approved action records and file documents using naming and version conventions.
- Check outstanding actions against agreed dates; record acknowledgments and escalate disputed notes, overdue decisions or unintended access.
Reviewed notes, traceable actions and correctly organized records support the next executive decision.
If something is missing or outside scope: Pause disputed decisions or sharing; request client correction before distributing or changing restricted records.
06 / Daily rhythm, quality & reporting
Daily routine for this role
- Review executive priorities and decision blockers.
- Triage authorized inbox items and queue replies.
- Check calendar changes, focus blocks and travel details.
- Update meeting actions and document references.
- Report approvals needed and unresolved exceptions.
Weekly review
- Review upcoming meetings and travel dependencies.
- Reconcile open actions with executive priorities.
- Sample record organization and discuss recurring scheduling conflicts.
Quality checks and measures
Agree review standards with the client. Example measures are not guaranteed service levels.
Inbox disposition coverage
Review standard: Agree the percentage of reviewed messages requiring recorded next actions.
Evidence: Sampled triage queue and thread references.
Calendar accuracy
Review standard: Agree accuracy targets for time zones, attendees and conflict checks.
Evidence: Calendar sample and approval trail.
Follow-up completeness
Review standard: Agree percentage targets for confirmed owners, dates and decisions.
Evidence: Reviewed notes matched to action records.
Controlled record handling
Review standard: Agree accuracy targets for sampled versions and authorized recipients; targets are not guarantees.
Evidence: Folder and sharing review log.
Reporting and handoff
Cadence: Proposed daily summary and weekly review; client confirms cadence and recipients.
- Priority inbox items
- Approvals awaiting decisions
- Calendar changes
- Travel confirmation gaps
- Meeting actions and owners
- Confidential record exceptions
- Next review dates
07 / Approval limits & escalation
Decisions that need approval
- Client approves commitments; assistant preparation never substitutes for executive authorization.
- Budgets, purchases, payments, filings and licensed, legal or clinical decisions remain with client or authorized professionals.
- Use only client-approved systems and permissions; examples are choices, not promised integrations.
- Do not share credentials or expand confidential-record access.
- Do not delete, externally share or materially alter restricted records without explicit permission.
Role-specific control requirements
- Obtain approval before commitments, purchases, bookings or external statements outside delegated limits.
- Escalate calendar conflicts, confidential requests and decisions reserved for leadership.
- Review meeting readiness, action completion and document accuracy weekly.
What to do when work cannot proceed
Competing executive commitments
Action: Present conflicts and alternatives; hold the disputed change.
Owner: Client owner
Travel uncertainty or purchase required
Action: Flag missing confirmation and request client booking or decision.
Owner: Client owner
Sensitive message or unintended record access
Action: Stop distribution, preserve references and notify the approved contact privately.
Owner: Client owner
Access blocker or workload conflict
Action: Record affected tasks; coordinate resolution and client reprioritization.
Owner: VSI coordinator or agreed Team Lead
Name the owner and backup, agree response windows and permissions, and record client sign-off at kickoff. Revisit the SOP whenever scope or access changes.