Executive Assistant

Office of the Chief Scientific Officer

Location: Hyderabad
Experience: 2-6 Years
Qualification: Bachelors / Masters degree from a premier institute/university in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Engineering, Management, or a related discipline.

Role Summary

We are looking for a highly accomplished, proactive, and well-organized Executive Assistant to the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) to provide high-level executive, operational, and coordination support.

This is a high-visibility role requiring the ability to work closely with the CSO, senior scientific leadership, R&D teams, business leaders, and external stakeholders. The ideal candidate should possess strong executive communication, exceptional organizational skills, discretion, and the ability to understand and effectively engage in a scientific and R&D-driven environment.

Candidates from premier institutes/universities with strong academic credentials and experience working with senior leadership will be preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and proactively optimize the CSO's complex calendar, including internal meetings, external engagements, leadership discussions, scientific reviews, and strategic priorities.
• Prioritize meetings and commitments based on business and scientific priorities.
• Anticipate scheduling conflicts and proactively identify solutions.
• Ensure the CSO is adequately briefed and prepared for upcoming meetings and engagements.
• Manage confidential correspondence, communication, and information with the highest level of discretion.
• Coordinate travel for conferences, scientific meetings, leadership engagements, and external collaborations.
• Manage changes, cancellations, and last-minute travel requirements efficiently.
• Coordinate high-level internal and external meetings involving the CSO and senior stakeholders.
• Prepare meeting agendas, background material, presentations, and briefing notes as required.
• Attend important meetings and prepare accurate and concise Minutes of Meeting (MoMs) capturing key discussions, decisions, action items, owners, and timelines.
• Circulate MoMs to relevant stakeholders and maintain an action tracker.
• Proactively follow up with stakeholders on pending action items and provide status updates to the CSO.
• Maintain a structured repository of meeting records, action trackers, presentations, and important documents.
• Act as a key point of contact between the CSO and senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate with R&D leaders, functional heads, senior scientists, business leadership, academic institutions, external collaborators, consultants, and strategic partners.
• Handle high-level and sensitive discussions with professionalism, maturity, and confidentiality.
• Draft and coordinate professional communication on behalf of the CSO.
• Develop a strong working understanding of the organization's R&D programs, scientific platforms, technologies, and strategic priorities.
• Participate in scientific and technical discussions and provide concise summaries and action trackers.
• Support coordination across R&D functions and ensure effective communication between scientific and business stakeholders.
• Coordinate leadership reviews, R&D meetings, scientific advisory discussions, and other strategic forums..
• Support special projects and strategic initiatives assigned by the CSO.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong executive presence and professional maturity.
• Exceptional calendar and time-management skills.
• Strong ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and interpersonal skills.
• Strong PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, and presentation skills.
• Ability to prepare high-quality executive presentations, reports, meeting agendas, and MoMs.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Ability to understand and summarize complex information.
• High level of discretion, confidentiality, integrity, and judgment.
• Proactive approach with the ability to anticipate requirements and act independently.
• Ability to interact confidently with senior leadership, scientists, academics, and external stakeholders.

Preferred Background

• Candidates from IITs, IISc, IIMs, NITs, AIIMS, central universities, premier life-science/pharmaceutical institutes, or other reputed institutions will be preferred.
• Experience in Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Scientific R&D, or a technology-driven organization is highly desirable.
• Prior experience supporting a CXO, CSO, R&D Head, Business Head, or other senior executive will be an advantage.
• Candidates with exposure to scientific or technical environments and familiarity with scientific terminology will be preferred.