Executive Office Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 11 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Executive Assistant, Executive Office Manager and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-EM-081

Before you join: Participants should have at least two years of experience supporting senior managers, directors, executives, boards or major programmes.

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

Executive offices are judged by the quality of decisions, relationships and time they protect. Senior leaders need accurate information, well-run meetings, controlled access, reliable travel and event arrangements, and early warning of risks. Executive assistants and office managers must coordinate competing priorities while handling confidential material, demanding stakeholders, governance deadlines and frequent change without losing detail or professional judgement.

This course develops the operating discipline required to run an executive office at a senior level. Participants build an office service charter, apply RACI decision roles, manage executive time through the Eisenhower Matrix, prepare decision-ready briefing papers, and control meeting actions through clear agendas, minutes and decision logs. The course also covers travel and event management, stakeholder gatekeeping, board and committee support, risk controls, business continuity, office-team coordination and service measurement.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases involving board meetings, executive travel disruption, confidential correspondence, high-profile visits and competing executive requests. Group work and simulations allow participants to test prioritisation, escalation, communication and coordination methods under time pressure. Each participant leaves with a practical executive office operating pack containing reusable templates, checklists and a 90-day improvement plan for their own office.

The course is intended for experienced executive assistants, executive office managers, chiefs of staff, senior personal assistants and administrative managers who support executives, boards, country leadership teams or major programmes. It is also suitable for professionals preparing to assume wider responsibility for executive support services.

What you will be able to do

  • Design an executive office operating model using service charters, RACI and escalation routes
  • Prioritise executive time, requests and commitments using the Eisenhower Matrix and weekly rhythms
  • Produce decision-ready briefings, correspondence and meeting papers using BLUF and SCQA structures
  • Control executive meetings through agendas, pre-read protocols, action registers and decision logs
  • Plan complex travel, executive events and supplier arrangements using critical-path schedules
  • Manage senior stakeholders through gatekeeping protocols, influence plans and diplomatic communication
  • Apply governance, confidentiality and ISO 31000 risk controls to executive office activities
  • Create a 90-day executive office improvement plan with measures, milestones and ownership

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater authority in prioritising executive requests and controlling access
  • Stronger credibility when presenting briefings, recommendations and meeting records
  • Practical methods for reducing diary conflicts, missed actions and last-minute surprises
  • Clearer judgement when handling confidential information, sensitive stakeholders and escalation
  • A focused 90-day plan for improving executive office performance

For your organisation

  • More protected executive time for decisions, strategic relationships and critical work
  • Better quality board papers, meeting records and follow-through on commitments
  • Fewer travel, event and diary failures through disciplined planning controls
  • Reduced confidentiality, governance and continuity risks within executive support operations
  • Consistent service standards across executive assistants, administrators and office suppliers

Course modules

11 modules over 5 days

Participants can define an executive office mandate, service standards, decision roles and escalation routes.

  • Executive office mandate, authority boundaries and service-level expectations
  • Stakeholder maps identifying decision makers, gatekeepers, advisers and information owners
  • RACI matrices for recurring executive-office decisions and handoffs
  • Confidentiality classifications, need-to-know access and records retention responsibilities
  • Office operating principles translated into visible routines and escalation routes
  • Service charter measures for responsiveness, accuracy, discretion and follow-through

Participants can protect executive time and make defensible decisions about competing demands.

  • Time audit separating strategic support, coordination, administration and avoidable demand
  • Eisenhower Matrix decisions using urgency, importance, delegation and deferral criteria
  • Weekly executive rhythm integrating meetings, decisions, travel and stakeholder contact
  • Protected focus blocks, buffer time and realistic transition allowances
  • Interruptions triaged through agreed access rules and response-time commitments
  • Delegation briefs stating outcome, authority, deadline, constraints and check-in points

Participants can prepare concise, accurate and decision-ready executive communication.

  • SCQA structure for concise executive briefings and recommendation papers
  • BLUF opening sentences that state decision, rationale and required action
  • Decision logs recording owner, deadline, dependencies, rationale and status
  • Meeting papers sequenced from context through options to explicit decisions
  • Plain-English editing for diplomatic, precise and auditable correspondence
  • Version control conventions preventing conflicting drafts and unapproved distribution

Participants can plan, support and document executive meetings that produce clear decisions and actions.

  • Meeting purpose tests distinguishing decisions, information exchange, design and review
  • Agenda architecture linking each item to outcome, owner and timebox
  • Pre-read protocols specifying deadline, reading time, decisions and attachments
  • Facilitation prompts that surface dissent, commitments and unresolved issues
  • Action registers using verb, owner, due date, dependency and evidence
  • Minutes formats calibrated to governance, sensitivity and legal exposure

Participants can coordinate complex executive travel and diary arrangements with appropriate controls.

  • Travel critical-path plans covering visas, transfers, security and contingencies
  • Multi-stop itineraries checked against time zones, fatigue and meeting priorities
  • Traveller profiles containing preferences, approvals, accessibility needs and emergency contacts
  • Supplier comparison tables documenting price, cancellation terms and service constraints
  • Disruption response scripts for delayed flights, changed venues and absent speakers
  • Expense evidence packs aligned with policy, approvals and reimbursement deadlines

Participants can plan executive events and senior visits through structured schedules, supplier controls and risk planning.

  • Event objectives converted into audience, format, budget and success criteria
  • Run-of-show documents sequencing arrivals, speakers, transitions, catering and technical cues
  • Critical-path schedules identifying dependencies, decision dates and contingency triggers
  • Supplier briefs defining deliverables, acceptance criteria, contacts and escalation arrangements
  • Risk registers scored through ISO 31000 likelihood, impact, controls and owners
  • Post-event reviews capturing outcomes, costs, issues and reusable improvements

Participants can manage executive access, senior relationships and protocol requirements with sound judgement.

  • Stakeholder salience mapping using power, legitimacy and urgency criteria
  • Gatekeeping protocols balancing executive access, fairness and relationship maintenance
  • Influence plans matching message, channel, timing and sponsor to stakeholders
  • Protocol requirements for senior visitors, official delegations and board guests
  • Cross-cultural briefing notes addressing titles, greetings, gifts and dietary requirements
  • Conflict de-escalation language separating positions, interests, facts and next steps

Participants can support governance processes while maintaining accurate records and controlled information access.

  • Board calendar mapped to committee cycles, papers, approvals and statutory deadlines
  • Governance paper checklists covering purpose, recommendation, risk and financial implications
  • Conflicts-of-interest declarations tracked before meetings and recorded in minutes
  • Decision authorities verified against delegations, charters and approval thresholds
  • Information barriers maintained for sensitive transactions, personnel and legal matters
  • Audit-ready filing systems linking final papers, approvals and decision evidence

Participants can identify executive office risks and coordinate proportionate continuity and incident responses.

  • Executive-office risk register covering people, information, travel, events and suppliers
  • ISO 31000 treatment choices: avoid, reduce, share, accept and monitor
  • Business continuity contacts, alternates, access credentials and communication trees
  • Incident logs separating known facts, decisions, actions and pending confirmation
  • Cybersecurity habits for calendar access, shared drives and mobile devices
  • Escalation thresholds distinguishing routine exceptions from executive-level incidents

Participants can manage executive office workload, service quality, performance and cross-training.

  • Office workload boards showing requests, priorities, owners, deadlines and bottlenecks
  • Daily stand-ups coordinating changes, absences, risks and handoffs
  • Service standards defining acknowledgement times, completion criteria and communication channels
  • Coaching conversations using SBI: situation, behaviour, impact and agreed action
  • Performance measures balancing volume, quality, timeliness, stakeholder feedback and errors
  • Cross-training matrices reducing single points of failure and leave disruption

Participants can create a measurable improvement plan for their executive office and support service.

  • Personal operating system combining priorities, calendar rules, task lists and review
  • 90-day office improvement plan with outcomes, milestones, owners and measures
  • MoSCoW prioritisation applied to competing service improvements and resource requests
  • Executive support dashboard reporting demand, delivery, risks, decisions and trends
  • Feedback loops with executives, peers and suppliers scheduled at useful intervals
  • Professional boundaries protecting discretion, wellbeing, authority and sustainable performance

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

What you take back to work

  1. Executive office service charter template
  2. Executive time and priority management model
  3. Decision-ready briefing paper template
  4. Executive meeting agenda and action register pack
  5. Travel, event and incident control checklists
  6. 90-day executive office improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Executive Assistant — manages senior leaders’ time, information flow and priorities
  • Executive Office Manager — leads office services, standards and administrative coordination
  • Senior Personal Assistant — requires stronger governance, stakeholder and planning methods
  • Chief of Staff — coordinates executive decisions, follow-up and cross-functional commitments
  • Board Secretary — supports board papers, calendars, minutes and decision records
  • Administrative Manager — oversees executive support teams and service performance

Skills and tools covered

Executive time managementBoard meeting supportStakeholder gatekeepingExecutive briefing writingOffice risk controlSenior travel planning

Tools and standards

RACI matrix, Eisenhower Matrix, MoSCoW prioritisation, ISO 31000

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by cases, group work, simulations and structured peer review. Participants work with realistic executive office scenarios: overloaded diaries, urgent board papers, confidential correspondence, disrupted travel, high-profile events and difficult stakeholder requests. Trainers use templates and guided analysis to connect each method to participants’ own responsibilities. Individual application planning converts course material into specific office improvements, ownership decisions and implementation milestones.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least two years of experience supporting senior managers, directors, executives, boards or major programmes. They should already be comfortable with professional email, calendar management, meeting coordination and standard office software. Experience handling confidential information and working with multiple stakeholders is helpful. The course assumes participants can describe their current office processes and service pressures. No formal management qualification, legal training, project management certification or prior knowledge of RACI, ISO 31000, SCQA or MoSCoW is required.

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

Participants should have practical experience supporting senior managers, executives, boards or major programmes. They do not need a formal management qualification or prior training in the named frameworks.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus examples of non-confidential diary, meeting, travel or office coordination challenges. Do not bring confidential papers, personal data, board materials or commercially sensitive documents.

It is designed for experienced executive assistants, senior personal assistants, executive office managers, chiefs of staff and board support professionals. It also suits administrative managers responsible for executive support teams.

This course focuses on senior-level office operations, executive judgement, governance, stakeholder access, board support and risk control. General administrative courses usually place more attention on basic office systems, correspondence and routine coordination.

Participants leave with templates and a 90-day improvement plan linked to their own office priorities. They can use the methods immediately for diary control, briefing papers, meetings, travel planning, escalation and service standards.

The programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, group analysis, simulations, peer review and individual application planning.

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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