Our tagging methodology
Every role tagged to a level. By people who've done the job.
Job titles in the EA and administrative profession are almost meaningless on their own. The same words — Executive Assistant, Senior EA, Operations Manager — can describe wildly different levels of work depending on the organisation, the principal, and the scope of the role.
At EA HQ, every listing is reviewed and tagged to a level on the Global Skills Matrix — the internationally recognised capability framework for the administrative profession, developed by the World Administrators Alliance with Lucy Brazier OBE as Research and Framework Development Lead.
What the Global Skills Matrix is
The Global Skills Matrix defines five progressive levels of administrative contribution — from foundational through to executive operations leadership. Progression is based on the scope and complexity of the work being performed: the judgement exercised, the complexity of coordination, governance exposure, and organisational impact.
It is not based on job title. It is not based on tenure. It is not based on who you support.
It is the most rigorous framework the profession has ever had, and it is the lens through which we read every role on this site.
Download the Global Skills Matrix →How we apply it
Every role on EA HQ is reviewed by a member of our team — people with direct, hands-on experience working in and alongside EA and administrative roles at every level.
We read the job description. We look at the actual scope of work being asked for — the decisions being made, the stakeholders being managed, the complexity of the environment. We apply the GSM framework and assign a level based on what the role is genuinely asking someone to do.
This is a human judgement call, not an algorithm. No AI assigns these tags. No keyword matching decides the level. A person with real experience in this profession reads the role and makes a considered assessment.
We will occasionally get it wrong — and we will always be open to reviewing a tag if the scope of the role isn't clear from the listing alone.
Why it matters
When a role is tagged to a GSM level, you can immediately understand:
- —Whether the scope matches your current level of contribution
- —Whether it represents a step up, a lateral move, or a consolidation
- —Whether the salary (where listed) is appropriate for that level of work
That last point matters more than most job boards acknowledge. A role tagged at a higher GSM level but paying below the market median for that level is a signal worth knowing before you apply.
Want to know your own level?
The Global Skills Matrix is free to download. It takes about 20 minutes to read properly and most people find it clarifies not just where they are, but where they want to go.
Download the Global Skills Matrix at globalskillsmatrix.com →Weekly digest
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