Job Description

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Location:

On-site, Champaign, Illinois
$60,000 - $70,000

Bruegge and Co is hiring an Executive Assistant to support our CEO - a high-output, fast-moving leader - in a role that blends logistics, communication and decision support across five locations in Central Illinois.

About Bruegge and Co

Bruegge and Co is a fifth-generation family business that owns Bruegge Living and the Ashley HomeStores license for Central Illinois. With six retail locations and a distribution center, we've thrived for 154 years by combining operational excellence with strong values and long-term relationships.

Role and Responsibilities

This role directly supports our CEO--a fast-moving, decisive, results-focused leader. You'll be trusted with high-level administrative support that enhances focus, shields time, and ensures consistent progress toward company goals. Expect to manage information, coordinate meetings and travel, prepare reports and presentations, and step in where needed to keep priorities on track. You'll manage overlapping calendars, and anticipate needs. You won't just react; you'll anticipate, organize, and keep momentum flowing.
This full-time, on-site role based in Central Illinois requires full commitment, high availability, and regular travel (up to 4 hours of driving and 1-2 overnight stays per week). Create and edit Excel-based reports, presentations, and documents. Proficient in Excel, Microsoft Office-suite and learning new software. Draft professional emails and communications. Manage complex calendars, coordinate travel, and support cross-functional scheduling across leaders and locations. Organize project deliverables and maintain visibility on follow-through. Handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism. Edit and finalize executive communications, ensuring clarity and alignment with goals. Act as liaison between departments, keeping teams aligned and informed. Manages access to systems and security functions on behalf of the CEO. Support an executive who values speed, clarity, and results over process-heavy routines.

Who You Are

You're built for action - jumping in, stepping up, and getting it done before anyone asks. You know how to clear the path for a leader to lead. You support strong personalities not by mirroring them, but by balancing them. You communicate with purpose, value brevity, and make life easier for high-output leaders who think and move fast.
5+ years of executive support experience Extremely organized, proactive, detail-oriented-you catch what others miss Superior written and verbal communication; skilled in drafting professional emails and documents Confident supporting strong, fast-moving, direct leaders - without taking things personally Understands how to prioritize, filter noise, and present clear, actionable information Adept at managing shifting priorities with minimal supervision Highly proficient in Excel, Microsoft Office-suite, document formatting Comfortable using or learning Artificial Intelligence tools to increase efficiency Unshakable discretion with confidential and sensitive information Flexible for extensive travel, non-standard hours, and rapid response needs

We Offer

Salary range of $60,000-$70,000 annually Direct business impact and close partnership with senior leadership Opportunities to build systems and leave your mark Full benefits including health, PTO, retirement options Onsite role with supportive, high-integrity team culture. When employees were asked why they stay, every single one said: "the people I work with."

Apply

We move fast. If you thrive in decisive, high-velocity environments and want to join a trusted local company that values both speed and substance, we want to meet you. We welcome candidates of all backgrounds - your perspective makes us stronger.

What This Job Feels Like

Want a real picture of how this role plays out? Here's a look inside a typical day:

A Day in the Life

It's 8:15 a.m. and you're already on your second coffee, confirming that today's meeting deck is ready. You sync quickly with Jane, the CEO, before her 9:00 strategy session- having distilled two hours' of data into a clean one-page dashboard. At 10:30, a vendor reaches out with a time-sensitive issue - you triage it, pull in the right person, and solve it before it hits Jane's radar.
By noon, you've finalized logistics for Friday's East Peoria visit, tightened bullet points on a leadership email, and polished a PowerPoint for next week's meeting. At 1:00 p.m., Operations calls about scheduling--your calendar insight helps shape the next two weeks' of strategy meetings. At 1:15, you're behind the wheel, driving Jane to the Bloomington store so she can stay focused on reviewing contracts and sending updates from the passenger seat. At Bloomington, while Jane is on a Bruegge Living call, you knock out travel receipts and draft two polished communications from raw notes. At 2:00 a manager calls wanting help with something, you redirect them to the process owner and follow up discretely with Jane - protecting her time and keeping politics out of the workflow. At 3:00 you see her son's ballgame is at 5:30 - just enough time to remind her, rearrange a call, and get her out the door without friction.
Back in Champaign at 5:00, you've prepared for tomorrow's briefing and left nothing hanging. This is a role where you make things happen, in the background - so the business and its leaders can keep moving forward.
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