Executive Assistant

Role Overview

Executive Assistant at Abbott, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This is a fixed-term contract role of one year with office-based work.

Company Overview

Abbott is a global healthcare leader serving more than 160 countries with a portfolio spanning diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. The organization has 109,000 colleagues and is recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies by Fortune. Abbott Legal is a dynamic organization supporting a diverse portfolio of products from consumer products to innovative medical technologies.

Role Purpose

Provide strategic administrative, operational and project management support to the DVP & Associate General Counsel International Legal Operations and other senior Legal and Compliance team members. Ensure the efficient operation of a fast-paced regional legal and compliance organization spanning multiple countries, business units, and time zones by acting as a trusted partner to senior leadership, managing complex schedules, coordinating regional initiatives, and driving operational excellence through technology and AI-enabled tools.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Support

• Manage highly complex and frequently changing calendars for senior legal and compliance leadership.
• Coordinate meetings across multiple countries, time zones and stakeholders.
• Prioritize meeting requests and proactively resolve scheduling conflicts.
• Organize internal and external meetings, leadership offsites, workshops, and regional team events.
• Prepare agendas, meeting materials, pre-read packs, briefing documents, and follow-up action trackers.
• Attend meetings when required and prepare accurate meeting minutes and action summaries.
• Monitor and follow up on key deliverables and commitments arising from meetings.
• Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders on behalf of senior leaders.

Travel & Expense Management

• Coordinate all domestic and international travel arrangements, including flights, hotels, visas, ground transportation, meeting logistics, and itineraries.
• Prepare comprehensive travel packs and briefing materials.
• Process expense reports accurately and in accordance with company policies.
• Track approvals and ensure timely reimbursement and expense reconciliation.
• Support budget administration and monitoring for departmental activities.

Legal & Compliance Team Support

• Coordinate the preparation and distribution of legal and compliance reports, presentations, dashboards and periodic updates.
• Support the organization and management of legal department records, documentation and filing systems.
• Assist with document management, contract administration, signatures and approval workflows.
• Coordinate legal and compliance training sessions, workshops and regional meetings.
• Support compliance and governance processes, including tracking action items, certifications, training completion and periodic reporting.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding privileged, commercially sensitive and personal information.

Project Management & Operational Excellence

• Support the Legal and Compliance team to manage assigned cross-functional projects and departmental initiatives from planning through execution.
• Develop project timelines, trackers, reporting dashboards and status updates.
• Coordinate stakeholders and follow up on deliverables to ensure objectives are completed on time.
• Support annual planning activities, department objectives and operational reviews.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, increase efficiency and enhance collaboration across the team.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, templates and administrative best practices.

Presentation & Communications Support

• Prepare sophisticated executive-level PowerPoint presentations, reports, dashboards and visual communications.
• Transform complex legal, compliance, and business information into professional and engaging presentation materials.
• Draft, edit, proofread and format correspondence, reports, policies, presentations and other business documents.
• Ensure consistency, accuracy, and professionalism across all communications.

Digital Transformation & AI Enablement

• Maximize the use of Microsoft 365 tools including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneDrive, Planner and Copilot.
• Create and maintain automated workflows, document repositories, trackers and collaboration tools.
• Identify opportunities to leverage AI and digital solutions to improve productivity and efficiency.
• Develop, configure, and manage Copilot-based agents and automated solutions to support recurring administrative, reporting, and project management activities.
• Act as a technology champion for the Legal & Compliance team, promoting adoption of new digital tools and best practices.

Office & Team Support

• Coordinate onboarding activities for new team members.
• Facilitate office access, visitor management and administrative logistics as required.
• Maintain departmental records and organizational charts.
• Coordinate procurement of office supplies and other administrative requirements.
• Provide back-up support to other administrative professionals when needed.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional qualification.
• Minimum 5 years of experience supporting senior executives, preferably within a multinational corporation.
• Experience supporting Vice President, General Counsel, Regional Director or equivalent executive-level leaders.
• Experience working in legal, compliance, professional services, financial services, healthcare or other highly regulated environments is preferred.
• Proven experience managing multiple priorities across international and culturally diverse teams.
• Experience supporting senior legal and compliance leaders (preferred).
• Experience preparing board, leadership team or governance committee materials (preferred).
• Familiarity with legal operations, contract administration, compliance programs or corporate governance processes (preferred).
• Formal project management training or certification (preferred).
• Experience working across the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, US, Europe or global organizations (preferred).

Skills & Competencies

Communication

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to communicate confidently with senior executives and stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
• Strong drafting, proofreading and presentation preparation skills.
• Arabic language skills are highly desirable.

Technical Expertise

• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
• Advanced PowerPoint skills with demonstrated ability to create executive-quality presentations.
• Strong Excel capabilities, including data analysis, reporting, dashboards and tracking tools.
• Proficiency with SharePoint, OneDrive and other Microsoft 365 collaboration platforms.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Copilot and AI-powered productivity tools.
• Demonstrated ability to create, optimize, and manage AI agents, workflows and automation solutions.

Organizational Excellence

• Outstanding time management and prioritization skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong project management and coordination capabilities.
• Ability to work independently and proactively.
• Excellent follow-through and execution skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities under tight deadlines.

Professional Attributes

• High degree of discretion and integrity.
• Ability to handle confidential and privileged information appropriately.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Positive, collaborative, and service-oriented mindset.
• Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced international environment.
• Strong business judgment and professional maturity.

Additional Information

• Fixed-term contract: 1 year.
• Office-based role located at Dubai Airport Freezone, Building 5WA, Floor 8, United Arab Emirates.
• Working hours: 11:00 – 20:00 to accommodate the timezones supported.
• Job Family: Administrative Support.
• Division: GENC General Counsel.