S

Semafor

Digital news outlet with Semaform structure

Executive Business Partner & Office Manager

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$65k - $75k
Mid
Bachelor's, Associate's
New York, NY, USA
HybridBased in the New York office; remote work is available on Fridays.
Administrative & Executive AssistanceExecutive Support

About the job

Requirements
  • An associate’s or bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college is required.
  • Two to four or more years of administrative or office support experience are required.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Google Workspace, and Slack is required.
  • The ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks and deadlines is required.
  • The ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup environment is required.
  • A professional demeanor and the ability to maintain confidentiality are required.
Responsibilities
  • Manage and maintain executives’ schedules, appointments, travel arrangements, and expenses.
  • Arrange and coordinate meetings.
  • Prepare and distribute correspondence, memos, letters, and forms.
  • Assist in preparing research, reports, presentations, and data analysis.
  • Handle confidential information with discretion.
  • Monitor and respond to incoming communications, including emails and phone calls, as needed.
  • Coordinate and manage projects and follow-up actions on behalf of executives to ensure timelines are met.
  • Act as the point of contact between executives and internal and external clients.
  • Maintain electronic and hard-copy filing systems.
  • Prepare reports, presentations, and other documents as needed.
  • Serve as a liaison between the Chief Commercial Officer and other departments on the Chief Commercial Officer’s behalf.
  • Build and lead the Chief Commercial Officer’s daily operations, including meeting preparation, planning, and research.
  • Build and run the cadence for executive leadership meetings, revenue team meetings, and leadership offsites, including structuring and helping deliver company-wide communication at the Chief Commercial Officer’s direction.
  • Project-manage cross-functional strategic initiatives, facilitate special projects, and ensure action items are executed on behalf of the Chief Commercial Officer.
  • Oversee projects that do not fit neatly within the organizational chart or fall between departments or leadership areas of responsibility, operating at tactical, strategic, and operational levels.
  • Act as an extension of the Chief Commercial Officer and as an information funnel, filter, and facilitator with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Assess inquiries directed to the Chief Commercial Officer, determine their priority, and decide the proper course of action.
  • Act as the point of contact for the Chief Commercial Officer’s direct reports, triage requests for the executive’s time, and collaborate to align calendars with organizational priorities.
  • Follow up with the Chief Commercial Officer’s team when goals are not being achieved, determine why objectives are not met, and provide actionable recommendations for improvement.
  • Promote team integration and cross-functional communication and collaboration.
  • Manage key relationships and build a process to track and nurture key stakeholders, partners, and clients, including entering and maintaining data in the company customer relationship management system.
  • Track high-priority initiatives for the Chief Commercial Officer as needed to identify potential obstacles.
  • Provide analysis, recommendations, and options regarding high-impact decisions.
  • Assist with the Chief Commercial Officer’s brand and reputation efforts, including social presence, industry-facing events, and thought leadership.
  • Assist with general office management for a fast-paced open office serving newsroom, sales and marketing, and finance teams.
  • Perform general administrative duties, including scheduling meetings and reserving spaces, overseeing office deliveries, and handling mail and packages.
  • Coordinate with the office building facilities team on repairs and problems.
  • Order, maintain, and restock office supplies and kitchen items, including snacks, beverages, cups, and utensils.
  • Coordinate maintenance of office equipment, including printers, copiers, security cameras, and alarms.
  • Greet visitors and manage front desk operations as needed.
  • Assist with setup, check-in, and breakdown for live events, company-sponsored internal events, and employee recognition programs.
  • Support in-office human resources processes, including employee onboarding and offboarding.
  • Coordinate with the company’s information technology vendor to ensure office computers function properly and serve as the primary contact for necessary troubleshooting.
  • Assist with special projects as needed.

About the company

Semafor runs a digital news outlet with a website and newsletters covering global affairs, U.S. politics, business, technology, Africa, and the Middle East. It uses Semaform, an article structure that separates The News, The Reporter’s View, Room for Disagreement, The View From, and Notable to show facts and analysis clearly. Revenue comes from direct-sold advertising and a strong events business with partners like Mastercard, Pfizer, and Verizon, with events delivering high margins. Its goal is to reimagine global journalism for college-educated professionals, pursuing a sustainable mix of advertising, events, and future subscriptions to support independent reporting and restore reader trust.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$74M

Headquarters

Washington DC, District of Columbia

Founded

2018

Get referred to Semafor

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Semafor raised $30 million in January 2026 at a $330 million valuation.
  • Reuters reported $2 million EBITDA in 2025, Semafor’s first profitable year.
  • September 2026 launches added a tech video show and a China-focused CEO briefing.

What critics are saying

  • Semafor depends on events and sponsorships for roughly half of 2025 revenue.
  • If corporate sponsorship budgets tighten in 2026, Semafor’s profit disappears fast.
  • Reuters and WSJ show $40 million revenue; losing ad growth threatens expansion.

What makes Semafor unique

  • Ben Smith and Justin B. Smith still own Semafor’s editorial-business integration tightly.
  • Semafor’s Semaform separates news, analysis, and disagreement, clarifying reporting architecture.
  • Semafor Intelligence turns conference transcripts into evidence-backed intelligence, not simple event recaps.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

  • Unlimited Paid Time Off
  • Remote Work Options
  • Paid Vacation

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

6%

1 year growth

6%

2 year growth

13%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 19th, 2026
Semafor at four: 1.2M briefing subscriptions, profitability and an Asia launch next year

Semafor, the news startup launched in 2022, says it has grown into a respected brand with a strong, profitable business four years on. Chief executive Justin Smith and his co-founder say the results match their expectations. The company now has 1.2 million subscriptions to its briefings, and more than 16,000 people have attended its events around the world. It has journalists in 11 countries, with deep audiences in Africa and the Gulf, and plans to launch in Asia next year. Events have grown faster than expected, the founders say, into signature gatherings that set the global agenda. Semafor expects to close this year substantially bigger in revenue, profitability and reach. Its next major event takes place in Silicon Valley this November.

Mediagazer
Oct 19th, 2026
Semafor marks four years, reporting 1.2M briefing subscriptions, 16K+ global event attendees, journalists in 11 countries, and plans to launch in Asia in 2027.

Semafor marks four years, reporting 1.2M briefing subscriptions, 16K+ global event attendees, journalists in 11 countries, and plans to launch in Asia in 2027. 1:45 AM ET, October 19, 2026 | / | / | / | White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was forced out of her role on Friday, after five days on the job and hosting only one press briefing - Her abrupt departure came after she was shadowed by questions about how she had presented her legal career and handled her first press briefing. Archived Page Info: This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 1:45 AM ET, October 19, 2026. View the current page or another snapshot: Page version: Who's Hiring in Media?

Talking Biz News
Sep 22nd, 2026
Semafor hires Bloomberg's DiMauro.

Semafor hires Bloomberg's DiMauro. September 22, 2026. Posted by chris roush. DiMauro covers private credit and has been with Bloomberg for more than three years. She previously worked at Reorg and at the Jacksonville Business Journal in Florida. DiMauro is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.

Semafor
Sep 22nd, 2026
WTO warns rival trade blocs could shave 7% off global GDP.

WTO warns rival trade blocs could shave 7% off global GDP. Updated Sep 23, 2026, 1:08pm PDT The news. The Trump administration's tit-for-tat tariff war threatens to split the global economy into hostile trading blocs, the head of the World Trade Organization warned on Tuesday. The effect could be a 7% hit to global GDP, she said. Speaking at Semafor's The Next 3 Billion summit, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala cited WTO modeling showing that allowing the multilateral rules-based system to erode further under retaliatory tariffs could trigger a 20% collapse in global trade. But a systemic overhaul of the WTO could unlock $3 trillion in new economic output by 2050, according to the group's own estimates. Her warnings reflect a chaotic global trade environment unleashed by US tariffs just over a year ago, which has forced middle-power economies into a scramble for economic cover. Just last week, the EU invited Canada - battered by a 50% US tariff on $20 billion worth of goods - to become the EU's first-ever "associate member" in a historic bid to shield middle powers from American economic coercion. Know more. Even so, Okonjo-Iweala noted that global commerce has shown underlying resilience, buffered in part by the AI investment boom. Tech infrastructure trade drove over 40% of trade growth last year, while nearly three-quarters of world trade continues to operate under standard WTO terms. "Just because the system is resilient doesn't mean it's robust," she said, adding that "if we don't do necessary reforms to the system, I think the rules could be further eroded." The reforms center on breaking veto-heavy decision deadlocks, bringing poorer economies into global supply chains, cracking down on unfair state subsidies and rewriting outdated 20th-century trade rules. "The work has started. It's going to be tough," she told attendees. "But I'm hopeful members now agree that status quo is not an option." Okonjo-Iweala also urged companies scrambling to bypass US duties to look beyond standard Asian alternatives and embrace a "China plus Africa" strategy to secure critical mineral supply chains.

Digiday
Sep 22nd, 2026
How Semafor is redefining the head of video role.

How Semafor is redefining the head of video role. Semafor technically had a head of video before Adam Banicki stepped into the role this summer. But the role has changed with Banicki's appointment. Instead of being strictly a newsroom role, Banicki's position spans the editorial and business sides of Semafor. "I feel like I have like a really fun job where I get to talk to Ben [Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor] every day about all the things that are going on in the newsroom, but then taking back a lot of that almost like programming to the commercial side and saying like, 'What can we do with this? How do we build out a revenue model?'" Banicki said during a live recording of the Digiday Podcast on Sept. 16 at the Digiday Publishing Summit in Key Biscayne, Florida. As Semafor's head of video, Banicki reports directly to Smith but "with a dotted line to Rachel Oppenheim, our chief commercial officer," he said. In addition to developing video programming ideas with Semafor's newsroom, he collaborates with its commercial staff. "My first three months, I think, was really getting involved in the commercial side, helping shaping go-to-market decks, thinking about pricing strategy, joining kickoff calls to help close deals that were tied to video," said Banicki. Soon his day-to-day duties will likely skew more toward video production. In October, Semafor will launch a new show focused on technology and hosted by its tech editor Reed Albergotti. That will bring Semafor's portfolio to four shows, with plans to develop a daily news show "very soon," said Banicki. Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been edited for length and clarity. On working across editorial and commercial "With Ben, you catch him where he is. I sit right next to him. I will just swing by his desk, or he'll swing by mine pretty routinely, and then he has a more formal meeting with all of his leadership team. And then with Rachel, I have a standing, and I'm in all of her leadership meetings." On building the bridge between editorial and commercial "Everything has buy-in from both sides. The sales team isn't going to dictate what the newsroom should do. It should always be like, 'Oh, the newsroom wants to do this. How do we package it up commercially?' At Fortune, where I was previously, that was where I kind of started to move into this type of role informally. And by the time I left, I was the [general manager] of video, and so the editorial production was under me, but really starting to build that bridge to the commercial side." On the daily news show format "I think it will largely be reporter-to-reporter conversations. But we want to have opportunities to bring on, you know, a CEO that maybe news broke that week, and that adds that extra layer of analysis. But going back to getting all of our reporters on camera, I think that's the best way to get those repetitions. You have that daily product where if there's an idea and you're not really sure how to put it into a larger format, you can put it on that show, test and learn, and see if there's a bigger opportunity there." On the social video pitch process "We have our newsroom standup meeting every morning, where if there's something that's big and scoopy that we feel would work on social, we'll just tap them and say, 'Hey, can you step into the studio?' It largely takes like 15, 20 minutes max."