Executive Assistant Masterclass Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Senior Executive Assistant, Executive Personal Assistant and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-OA-029

Before you join: Participants should have at least three years of experience in executive support, senior administration, office management or a closely related role.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Senior executive assistants operate at the point where leadership priorities, confidential information, board activity, stakeholder demands and operational detail meet. At this level, the role is not limited to diary management or meeting support. It requires judgement about access, urgency, risk, delegation, communication and escalation. A poorly prepared briefing, weak action follow-up or unprotected executive calendar can delay decisions, damage relationships and expose the organisation to avoidable risk.

This advanced masterclass develops the executive office skills required to support senior leaders with authority and precision. Participants build methods for priority triage, gatekeeping, executive calendar architecture, briefing-note preparation, board and committee support, action governance, confidential records control, project coordination and senior stakeholder management. The course also addresses upward challenge, boundary-setting, professional presence and maintaining accuracy under pressure. Participants learn to create clear decision support rather than simply process requests.

The five-day programme is instructor-led and delivered in the classroom in 50+ cities or live online. Training combines focused briefings, realistic executive-office cases, group analysis, communication simulations and structured application planning. Participants leave with a practical executive office operating model, briefing and decision templates, meeting governance tools, confidentiality controls and a 90-day implementation plan. A certificate of completion is awarded to participants who complete the course.

The course is designed for experienced executive assistants, senior personal assistants, executive office managers and business support professionals who work directly with directors, C-suite leaders, boards, ministers or senior programme sponsors.

What you will be able to do

  • Design an executive calendar architecture using priority, preparation and contingency rules
  • Apply gatekeeping protocols that balance executive access, relationships and time protection
  • Produce concise executive briefings using BLUF, SCQA and decision-focused recommendations
  • Run meeting governance through agendas, minutes, action registers and decision logs
  • Coordinate executive initiatives using work breakdown structures, RAID logs and critical paths
  • Apply confidentiality, records and version-control procedures to sensitive executive information
  • Use stakeholder analysis and assertive communication to manage competing senior demands
  • Create an executive office operating model with service standards, measures and continuity controls

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence challenging priorities and escalating risks to senior leaders
  • A repeatable method for preparing concise, decision-ready executive briefings
  • Stronger credibility when managing demanding stakeholders and conflicting requests
  • Practical controls for confidential information, delegated correspondence and executive records
  • A 90-day plan for improving the executive office service after the course

For your organisation

  • Better protected executive time through clearer gatekeeping and calendar rules
  • Faster decisions through structured briefings, decision logs and action follow-up
  • Reduced confidentiality and version-control risk for sensitive executive information
  • More reliable board, committee and senior meeting preparation
  • Improved continuity when executive support staff are absent or responsibilities change

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define their executive support mandate, decision boundaries and service standards.

  • Executive mandate map linking priorities, decision rights, stakeholders and service standards
  • Stakeholder power-interest grid for board members, chiefs and external partners
  • RACI decision map separating preparation, approval, consultation and informed parties
  • Service-level agreements for response times, briefing quality and escalation routes
  • Confidentiality boundaries distinguishing delegation, discretion, authority and personal accountability
  • Weekly principal-assistant alignment meeting using agenda, decisions and forward commitments

Participants can protect executive time while maintaining responsive and credible access management.

  • Time audit categorising strategic, operational, administrative and protected thinking commitments
  • Priority triage using Eisenhower Matrix, urgency tests and executive-value criteria
  • Gatekeeping protocols that protect access while preserving relationships and responsiveness
  • Calendar architecture using buffers, travel logic, preparation blocks and recovery time
  • Meeting acceptance criteria based on purpose, authority, preparation and expected decisions
  • Contingency calendar rules for overruns, conflicts, cancellations and urgent requests

Participants can draft and control executive communications that are concise, appropriate and action-oriented.

  • Message triage rules distinguishing information, action, decision, risk and delegation
  • Executive email drafting with BLUF structure, recommendation and clear request
  • SCQA briefing structure for complex issues requiring concise executive attention
  • Tone calibration across board, ministerial, client and internal communications
  • Delegated correspondence controls covering authority, sign-off, records and follow-up
  • Sensitive-message handling using fact separation, neutral language and escalation thresholds

Participants can prepare decision-ready briefings and coordinate high-quality executive papers.

  • Briefing-note template stating purpose, context, options, recommendation and decision required
  • One-page executive summaries built with headline, evidence, implications and next steps
  • Decision logs recording owner, rationale, deadline, dependencies and communication actions
  • Pre-read quality checks for accuracy, source control, versioning and executive relevance
  • Board-paper coordination against submission deadlines, governance requirements and approval routes
  • Question anticipation through stakeholder analysis, evidence gaps and challenge scenarios

Participants can run executive meetings that produce clear decisions, ownership and follow-through.

  • Meeting design aligning purpose, attendee roles, agenda sequence and decision outputs
  • Agenda construction using consent items, discussion items and decision items
  • Minute writing that distinguishes decisions, actions, risks and recorded dissent
  • Action registers with accountable owner, due date, status and escalation trigger
  • Chair support through prompts, time signals, intervention notes and closure checks
  • Hybrid meeting protocols covering participation equity, document access and technical contingencies

Participants can coordinate executive initiatives and events using disciplined project controls.

  • Work breakdown structure for executive initiatives, events and cross-functional deliverables
  • Critical path analysis identifying dependencies, float, milestones and deadline exposure
  • RAID log management for risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies
  • Project status reporting using RAG criteria, exceptions and required decisions
  • Senior stakeholder updates calibrated to impact, ownership and decision urgency
  • Event run sheets covering arrivals, protocols, security, contingencies and communications

Participants can apply practical controls to sensitive information, records and executive documents.

  • Information classification rules for public, internal, confidential and restricted material
  • ISO 15489 records principles applied to filing, retention and disposal
  • Version-control conventions preventing duplicate drafts, conflicting edits and unauthorised release
  • Need-to-know access decisions for executive papers, personnel matters and investigations
  • Data breach response steps: contain, document, notify and preserve evidence
  • Secure travel arrangements covering itineraries, contact details, documents and alerts

Participants can manage senior relationships, challenge constructively and set professional boundaries.

  • Stakeholder maps identifying interests, influence, preferred channels and engagement cadence
  • Assertive boundary-setting using DESC: describe, express, specify and consequences
  • Upward challenge framed through evidence, options, risks and recommended action
  • Conflict de-escalation using interest-based questions, acknowledgment and agreed next steps
  • Negotiating deadlines by testing constraints, alternatives, trade-offs and commitments
  • Professional presence through concise speech, purposeful questions and confident follow-through

Participants can maintain judgement, quality and professional credibility during high-pressure periods.

  • Pressure triage separating genuine emergencies from urgent but delegable requests
  • Personal Kanban limits for controlling work in progress and handovers
  • Error-proofing routines using checklists, peer review and critical-item confirmation
  • Boundary plans protecting focus periods, availability windows and recovery practices
  • Emotional self-management using pause, label, reframe and response selection
  • Professional credibility repaired through ownership, corrective action and stakeholder updates

Participants can establish an executive office operating model and prioritised improvement plan.

  • Executive office operating model defining services, roles, workflows and standards
  • Service catalogue distinguishing routine support, priority requests and executive-critical work
  • Monthly dashboard tracking response times, action closure, calendar health and exceptions
  • RACI review resolving overlaps between executive assistants, chiefs of staff and offices
  • Succession-ready procedures documenting contacts, preferences, controls and contingency cover
  • 90-day application plan prioritising improvements, sponsors, measures and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Executive support mandate map
  2. Executive calendar architecture template
  3. Decision-ready briefing note template
  4. Meeting agenda, minutes and action register pack
  5. Executive office confidentiality checklist
  6. 90-day executive office improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Senior Executive Assistant — strengthens judgement, executive influence and operating discipline
  • Executive Personal Assistant — prepares for broader responsibility supporting senior leaders
  • Executive Office Manager — establishes consistent workflows, standards and continuity arrangements
  • Chief of Staff Support Officer — improves coordination of priorities, decisions and stakeholder actions
  • Board Secretary Assistant — sharpens briefing, meeting governance and confidential records practices
  • Senior Administrative Manager — develops advanced methods for high-stakes executive support

Skills and tools covered

Executive calendar managementBoard meeting governanceExecutive briefing writingStakeholder relationship managementConfidential information controlExecutive office operations

Tools and standards

Eisenhower Matrix, RACI matrix, RAID log, ISO 15489

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by executive-office cases drawn from board support, stakeholder pressure, confidential correspondence and urgent diary conflicts. Participants analyse briefing papers, prioritise competing requests, prepare decision support, improve meeting records and respond to simulated senior stakeholder situations. Group exercises test judgement and communication under realistic constraints. Each participant develops an application plan that translates the methods into improvements for their own executive support arrangements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of experience in executive support, senior administration, office management or a closely related role. They should already be comfortable managing calendars, drafting professional correspondence, coordinating meetings and handling confidential information. Familiarity with standard productivity tools such as email, calendars, documents and spreadsheets is assumed. This is not an entry-level administrative skills course. Formal project management, governance or legal qualifications are not required, and participants do not need prior experience supporting a board.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

The course is intended for experienced executive support and senior administration practitioners, normally with at least three years in role. Participants should already manage calendars, correspondence and meetings independently.

Bring examples of recurring challenges such as diary conflicts, briefing requests, action tracking or stakeholder demands, without sharing confidential documents. If attending online, you will need reliable internet access, audio and a camera.

It suits senior executive assistants, executive personal assistants, executive office managers and experienced business support professionals. It is particularly relevant for staff supporting C-suite leaders, directors, boards, ministers or senior programme sponsors.

General administration courses focus on core office systems, routine correspondence and standard workplace organisation. This masterclass focuses on executive judgement, senior stakeholder management, decision support, governance and confidential information control.

Participants leave with templates and controls that can be adapted to their executive's priorities and office procedures. The 90-day application plan identifies specific improvements, sponsors, measures and review dates.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides approximately 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group exercises, simulations and structured application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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