A management assistant is a senior assistant who works alongside a director, management team, or board as a strategic business partner. The role goes well beyond administration: it involves managing top-level priorities, preparing briefings, managing stakeholders, and ensuring decisions are followed through.

The title is widely used across continental Europe. In the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada and Australia, the same job is called an Executive Assistant (EA) or an Executive PA. It is not the same as a PA, which is a more administrative role.

Where is the term Management Assistant used?

Management Assistant is a standard job title in several European countries, often as a direct translation of the local term:

  • Netherlands and Flanders: managementassistent is one of the most common titles for a senior assistant, alongside directiesecretaresse and directieassistent. It is also a recognised vocational training route.
  • Germany, Austria and Switzerland: job adverts use Management Assistant or Managementassistenz, along with Assistenz der Geschäftsführung and Direktionsassistent.
  • Scandinavia: international companies often advertise the role in English as Management Assistant.
  • France and French-speaking Belgium: the nearest equivalent is assistant de direction.

International companies with European headquarters often keep the title in English job adverts, which is why many candidates applying for UK or US roles have Management Assistant on their CV.

What is the UK equivalent?

In the UK and other English-speaking countries, the title Management Assistant is rarely used, and it can be mistaken for an assistant manager or a junior management trainee. The correct equivalents are:

Continental title UK and US equivalent
Management Assistant Executive Assistant or Executive PA
Senior Management Assistant Senior Executive Assistant, or Chief of Staff in some firms

Why a Management Assistant is not a PA

A PA spends most of the working day on administration: diaries, travel, correspondence and office tasks for a manager. A Management Assistant, like an Executive Assistant or Executive PA, works at a higher level. They are trusted with confidential business matters, act on behalf of senior leaders, prepare and shape board and management meetings, manage relationships with key stakeholders, and help run the business. They are a business partner to the executive rather than a provider of administrative support.

If you are moving from a European role to a UK employer, describe yourself as an Executive Assistant or Executive PA. Calling yourself a PA will undersell your experience.

What does a Management Assistant do?

Duties vary by organisation and by how much the executive is willing to delegate, but typically include:

  • Managing the priorities, diary and communications of one or more senior executives
  • Preparing board and management meetings, including agendas, papers and briefings
  • Tracking decisions and following up actions across the management team
  • Acting as the trusted point of contact for the executive, internally and externally
  • Managing relationships with clients, partners and senior stakeholders
  • Leading or coordinating business projects on behalf of the executive
  • Drafting reports, presentations and correspondence at senior level
  • Handling confidential and commercially sensitive information with discretion

Routine administration still forms part of the job, but a Management Assistant’s value lies in freeing senior leaders to focus on running the business and keeping things moving when they are away.

Skills a Management Assistant needs

  • Business understanding: knowing how the organisation works, what matters to the executive and where the pressures lie
  • Judgement and discretion: making decisions on behalf of the executive and working with confidential information
  • Stakeholder management: confident handling of directors, clients, partners and suppliers
  • Organisation and prioritisation: managing competing demands at the top of the organisation with very few errors
  • Communication: clear, professional writing and persuasive presentation of information
  • Technology: strong Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills, and increasingly AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot

Management Assistant training and qualifications

The IEAA offers qualifications that are recognised by employers in the UK and internationally and that map directly to the Management Assistant role:

All courses are available by live virtual classroom, so they can be taken from anywhere in Europe. See all Executive Assistant courses.

Summary

A Management Assistant and an Executive Assistant or Executive PA are the same job under different names. The first is common in the Netherlands, Germany and much of continental Europe; the second is the standard title in the UK and the English-speaking world. Both are strategic business partner roles and should not be confused with a PA. Find out more in What is an Executive Assistant Job? and see current Executive Assistant salaries in the UK and Europe.