Executive and Corporate Assistant
Riverside Natural Foods Ltd. · Chicago, Illinois, United States
Join Riverside Natural Foods Ltd., a Canadian-based, family-owned, and globally operating business, committed to leaving the world better than we found it. As a B-Corp certified, Triple-Bottom Line company, we proudly manufacture nutritious, 'better-for-you' snacks such as MadeGood and GOOD TO GO. We value teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, grit, and fun.
We’re on an ambitious mission to double our business by 2030, and we need talented individuals like you to help us reach new heights. At Riverside, you’ll have the opportunity to chart your own path to success while contributing to ours. We believe anything worth doing is worth doing right, and our values will guide us through the rugged terrain – and yes, it will get rough. But that’s what makes the journey worthwhile.
So, lace up your boots and let’s tackle the climb together.
You can learn more about us at www.riversidenaturalfoods.com.
Position Summary
The Executive and Corporate Assistant is the operational backbone of Riverside's U.S. office and a key owner of recurring business processes. The role keeps the office running professionally, provides high-quality administrative support to the US Executive Team, and ensures critical commercial workflows move from request through completion with accuracy and urgency.
This position combines people-facing office leadership with detail-intensive process ownership. It manages selected calendars, meetings, events, vendors, supplies, and employee and visitor experiences while coordinating new item setup, maintaining product data in systems such as Salsify and Syndigo, and administering approved liquidation activity. The role owns workflow discipline, data accuracy, documentation, status visibility, and follow-through; functional partners retain approval authority for source data, product claims, pricing, commercial terms, and inventory-disposition decisions.
Responsibilities
- Role model and bring to life Riverside's Values
Executive and Leadership Support
- Manage selected executive calendars, protect time for priorities, resolve conflicts, and coordinate internal and external meetings
- Coordinate meeting logistics, agendas, pre-reads, catering, notes, decisions, and action-item follow-through for designated leadership forums
- Arrange approved travel and complete expense reporting accurately and on time
- Handle sensitive information and leadership requests with discretion, responsiveness, and sound judgment
First Point of Contact and Office Operations
- Create a warm, professional experience for employees, visitors, candidates, customers, and vendors as the U.S. Site Ambassador
- Maintain a safe, organized, and well-equipped office, including supplies, meeting rooms, shared spaces, amenities, access, and service coordination
- Partner with Facilities, Information Technology, People and Values, and external vendors to resolve office issues and maintain site readiness
- Create and receive purchase orders for office-related purchases; manage invoices, vendor records, and the office budget within approved limits
- Coordinate internal meetings, customer visits, office events, and team activities, including space, catering, materials, and day-of execution
- Drive practical process improvement and standardization across office and administrative work
New Item Setup and Product Data Systems
- Own the end-to-end administrative workflow for new item setup, from intake and requirements gathering through system entry, submission, validation, and confirmed completion
- Enter, maintain, and audit product information, attributes, images, documents, and customer-specific requirements in Salsify, Syndigo, and designated retailer or customer portals
- Maintain a single tracker for item setup requests, owners, dependencies, due dates, status, and exceptions; proactively escalate risks that could delay authorization, distribution, or launch
- Coordinate with Sales, Marketing, Regulatory and Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Customer Service to obtain approved source data and resolve discrepancies
- Serve as administrator or super-user for designated product-information systems, including user access, workflow configuration, templates, documentation, and basic training
- Maintain standard operating procedures and conduct recurring data-quality reviews to keep item records complete, current, and consistent across systems
Liquidation Coordination
- Coordinate the recurring review of excess, short-dated, obsolete, and discontinued inventory with Supply Chain, Sales, Finance, and Customer Service
- Prepare approved inventory lists and opportunity packages and maintain current contacts and requirements for authorized liquidation partners
- Administer approved liquidation activity, including bid collection, order documentation, customer setup, shipment coordination, invoicing follow-up, and issue resolution
- Confirm required approvals for pricing, terms, customer and channel conflicts, product claims, and inventory disposition before making external commitments
- Maintain clear reporting on inventory offered, units sold, recovery value, aging, remaining exposure, and transaction closure; escalate stalled or at-risk inventory promptly
Sales Marketing and Employee Coordination
- Coordinate product samples and materials for customer meetings, sales programs, employee needs, and approved marketing activities
- Maintain organized sample and branded-merchandise inventory, standard request processes, and appropriate reorder triggers
- Partner with People and Values and hiring managers to deliver a prepared Day One experience, including workspace, supplies, access coordination, and office orientation
- Provide coordination support for U.S. leadership meetings, customer visits, company events, and other priority business activities
- Coordinate and drive execution for trade shows (UNFI/KeHe, Expo West, Sweets & Snacks), demos, and other events
Reporting Relationships
- Reports to the US Sales Strategy Manager
- Direct reports: None; leads cross-functional workflows through influence, service, and disciplined follow-through
Education and Qualifications
- Minimum 2 years of experience in office management, executive or administrative support, sales operations, customer setup, master data, or a related business-operations role in a fast-paced environment
- Degree or diploma in business administration or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
- Experience in consumer packaged goods, food, retail, distribution, or another item-data-intensive environment is preferred
Skills and Abilities
- Strong organization, prioritization, project management, and follow-through across multiple recurring processes and time-sensitive requests
- High attention to detail and comfort working with product attributes, item forms, customer requirements, spreadsheets, and structured data
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and Teams; strong Excel skills; experience with Salsify, Syndigo, GDSN, retailer portals, ERP or CRM tools, or similar systems is strongly preferred
- Ability to learn new systems quickly, troubleshoot data and workflow issues, document processes, and train others on standard procedures
- Clear written and verbal communication and the confidence to follow up with leaders and cross-functional partners when inputs or decisions are late
- Sound business judgment, service orientation, and proven ability to handle confidential information with diplomacy and discretion
Key Competencies
- Plans and Aligns
- Ensures Accountability
- Manages Ambiguity and Demonstrates Agility
- Communicates Effectively
- Process Ownership
- Systems and Data Stewardship
- Attention to Detail and Accuracy
- Resourcefulness
- Instills Trust
Job Scorecard
Executive and Leadership Support
Responsibility
KPI / Metric
Success Indicator (Annual Target)
Calendar and Priority Management
Ca