Executive Assistant/Office Manager

(Based in Chicago, IL)

Why You?

You thrive in a fast-paced environment where every day is different. Organized, proactive, and detail-oriented, you enjoy creating exceptional experiences for customers, visitors, and colleagues. From supporting executive leadership and coordinating customer visits to planning events and managing showroom operations, you keep everything running smoothly.

Why Us?

Your work will directly shape the experiences of our customers, employees, and leadership team. As the first point of contact for many visitors and a trusted partner to our executives, you will play a key role in bringing our mission to life every day.

At Forward Space, we help organizations move forward by creating inspiring workplaces tailored to their unique goals. As the leading authorized Steelcase dealer in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets and a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), we provide workspace consulting, planning, procurement, installation, and ongoing support to create environments that foster collaboration, innovation, productivity, and employee wellbeing.

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute. We believe diverse perspectives drive better ideas and stronger outcomes, and we strive to create a culture where every team member can do their best work and thrive.

What you will do:

The Executive Assistant / Office Manager serves as a key ambassador for the organization, delivering exceptional experiences for customers, clients, and business partners while providing high-level administrative support to executive leadership. This role is responsible for overseeing daily showroom operations, coordinating customer visits and events, supporting sales activities, and managing executive calendars and corporate meetings.

Executive Assistant (EA) Responsibilities:

• Calendar Management: Manage complex Outlook calendars for 7–10 leaders, coordinating schedules and prioritizing competing demands to maximize leadership team productivity and ensure efficient time management.
• Corporate Meeting Preparation: Books venues, Meals/Catering, Logistics, prepare presentation materials, and take notes for major sales meetings, events and company events like Townhall, Sales Meetings, Special Events.
• Business & Administrative Support: Provide ad hoc business support to the leadership team by preparing reports, performing light bookkeeping and recordkeeping, maintaining critical business records, and coordinating administrative responsibilities, including license and membership renewals and other operational follow-up tasks.

Office Manager Responsibilities:

• Facility Operations:
• Serve as the main point of contact for building management, cleaning crews, and maintenance requests.
• Ensured the kitchen remains clean, organized, and fully stocked by preparing coffee daily, restocking supplies, and performing routine maintenance tasks.
• Manage daily office operations, including inventory, supplies, product displays, marketing materials, and overall presentation.
• Inventory Control:
• Track office supplies, snacks, and kitchen inventory to ensure the space is well-stocked.
• Handles package delivery and mail.
• Showroom Visit Hospitality:
• Create exceptional showroom experiences by coordinating customer visits, meeting logistics, tours, catering, hospitality, and special events.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for visitors, ensuring a professional, welcoming, and customer-ready environment.
• Provide simple product overviews for walk in clients looking for home office furniture.

Core Qualifications:

• 3–5+ years of experience in executive administration, office management, or a similar role supporting meetings, events, and executive operations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and virtual meeting platforms.
• Strong organizational, project management, communication, and customer service skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while interacting professionally with executives, customers, partners, and visitors.

Success Factors:

• Detail oriented.
• Deliver exceptional customer, visitor, and employee experiences.
• Maintain a professional, organized, and customer-ready showroom.
• Anticipate needs, take initiative, and solve problems proactively.
• Build strong relationships and collaborate effectively across teams and with external partners.

Why You’ll Love Working for Forward Space :

• Competitive compensation
• Career pathing
• Collaborative and supportive culture
• Medical, dental and vision, 401K with company match
• Short- and Long-Term Disability
• PTO, 8  Paid Holidays and 2 Floating Holidays

Enjoy our Perks, Perks, Perks! 

• Summer hours
• Free healthy snacks and lunches
• Annual employee and family events and impromptu celebrations and team outings
• Quarterly company Town Halls with annual community service event
• Company-funded annual charitable giving

Diversity, Equity an Inclusion at Forward Space

Forward Space exists to help you propel your organization forward, bringing to life the spaces and environments that are designed precisely for your purpose. We strive to build a transparent environment where each employee feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. We believe that a diverse group of employees that feel respected and included will be more creative, innovative, and successful.
It is the policy of Forward Space to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

Accommodation

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodation will be made by Forward Space which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.