Executive Assistant, President of Operations - Atlanta, GA

At Cortland, we operate with a forward-thinking approach that challenges conventional norms and actively seeks insights beyond traditional industry boundaries. As a recognized leader in the multifamily sector, our focus on performance, innovation, and disciplined execution continues to drive strong growth and market leadership. We are committed to building a best-in-class organization by empowering top talent with the resources, autonomy, and support needed to deliver results and advance their careers in a high-performance environment.

Role Overview

As the Executive Assistant to the President of Operations, you’ll act as a trusted advisor and strategic partner—protecting executive focus, anticipating needs, and driving timely action across high-priority operational initiatives and stakeholders. You’ll serve as a central connector across teams, ensuring an efficient flow of information, follow-through on commitments, and seamless execution of the President’s day-to-day and long-range priorities.

This is an in-office position (Atlanta, GA), and expectation is that the individual will be in office full-time.

Executive Partnership & Representation

Serve as a trusted advisor and liaison for the President, maintaining strict confidentiality

Anticipate needs, identify risks, and proactively surface solutions before issues arise

Represent the President’s tone, leadership style, and company culture consistently

Hold leaders and stakeholders accountable for deadlines, deliverables, and follow-through

Calendar, Travel & Priority Management

Strategically manage the President’s calendar to balance priorities and protect focus time

Coordinate complex travel arrangements with proactive issue resolution

Triage incoming requests, make independent judgment calls, and protect executive bandwidth

Communication, Briefings & Follow-Through

Draft, edit, and manage correspondence and communications on behalf of the President

Prepare agendas and briefing materials by gathering relevant context and insights

Connect the right stakeholders at the right time to accelerate decisions and reduce friction

Track decisions and action items to ensure timely follow-through

Projects, Operating Rhythm & Operational Support

Partner with Operations leadership to organize, track, and deliver President-driven initiatives

Plan and execute executive meetings, offsites, and operational reviews, including logistics, materials, agendas, and action tracking

Compile and synthesize data into concise reports and executive-ready briefings to support decision-making

Use and optimize productivity and project management tools to improve clarity, workflow, and accountability

Administrative & Financial Management

Prepare and review expense reports and support budget and expense tracking as needed

Coordinate paperwork, approvals, and signatures quickly and accurately

Travel & Flexibility

Travel with the President and senior leaders to site visits, conferences, and key events as needed

Flexibility to work outside standard business hours when required by leadership priorities

Qualifications

Experience & Education

Prior experience as an Executive Assistant in a fast-paced corporate environment preferred.

Prior experience in Project Management, including planning, execution, and follow-through on deliverables, is preferred

Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required.

Skills & Competencies

Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships and work effectively with senior leadership and diverse stakeholders.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Demonstrated ability to anticipate challenges, propose solutions proactively, and prevent issues before they arise.

Exceptional prioritization and triaging skills; able to protect executive focus, make judgment calls independently, and manage rapid context-switching.

Strong organizational and time-management abilities; adept at multitasking with precision and attention to detail.

Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and comfortable learning new tools and systems.

Personal Attributes

Self-starter with a proactive approach and strong emotional and professional maturity.

Flexible, intellectually curious, and eager to learn.

Service-oriented mindset with a “no job is too small” attitude.

High level of integrity, confidentiality, and discretion.

Friendly, confident, and professional demeanor in all interactions.

Additional Requirements

Willingness to work evenings, weekends, and travel as needed.

About Cortland

Founded in 2005, Cortland is an international, vertically integrated multifamily real estate investment, development, and management firm with a resident-centric approach to living experiences. Recognized as one of the top 10 multifamily owners and operators in the US, Cortland combines in-house design, construction, and operations to deliver value and innovation across its portfolio.

Join us as we reimagine apartment living and drive outsized returns through purpose, performance, and people.

Cortland is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud to support and celebrate diversity in the workplace. We are committed to equal consideration for all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If you have a disability and need an accommodation or assistance with the application process and/or using our website, please email [email protected]

Cortland is a drug-free workplace.

Cortland participates in e-verify to verify the employment status of all persons hired to work in the United States.

• California Applicant Privacy Notice
• We collect personal information from all job applicants, including identifiers (e.g., name, contact details), professional or employment information (e.g., résumé, work history, qualifications), and education information. This information is used for recruiting, evaluating your candidacy, conducting interviews, and managing the application process.

California residents may request access to or deletion of their personal information by contacting us at [email protected]

GDPR Statement

When you apply to a job on this site, the personal data contained in your application will be collected by Cortland (“Controller”), which is located at 3424 Peachtree RD NE Suite 300 Atlanta, GA and can be contacted by emailing [email protected] because Controller wishes to evaluate your candidacy for employment at Controller. Your personal data was either obtained from publicly available sources (e.g. LinkedIn) or provided to Controller by someone who referred you for potential employment. Controller’s data protection officer is Greg Shultz, who can be contacted at [email protected]. Your personal data will be processed for the purposes of managing Controller’s recruitment related activities, which include setting up and conducting interviews and tests for applicants, evaluating and assessing the results thereto, and as is otherwise needed in the recruitment and hiring processes. Such processing is legally permissible under Art. 6(1)(f) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) as necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Controller, which are the solicitation, evaluation, and selection of applicants for employment.

Your personal data has been shared with Greenhouse Software, Inc., a cloud services provider located in the United States of America and engaged by Controller to help manage its recruitment and hiring process on Controller’s behalf. Accordingly, if you are located outside of the United States, your personal data has been transferred to the United States. Because the European Union Comm