Executive Assistant I

Posting Title

Overview

The Executive Assistant (EA) serves in numerous capacities, importantly but not exclusively as the scheduler for the President. The incumbent must engage in a high level of critical thinking and discretion in a fast-paced environment. The assistant must exhibit sound judgment and provide the President with the necessary information for each meeting scheduled. In addition, the EA must communicate effectively with internal and external constituencies, as he/she is often the primary contact for calls or emails to the President’s office. The EA must draft routine correspondence, coordinate travel, and assist with events as needed. The EA shares oversight of the President’s Society students.

Responsibilities

• Maintain primary control over the President's calendar.
• Prepare background information for all appointments on the President’s calendar. That includes names and photos of participants, format, length of meeting, location, purpose/strategic priorities, protocol, and miscellaneous logistics.
• Act as the President’s point of contact with internal and external constituencies. Triage all phone calls and office visits for the President.
• Triage all external complaints, via phone or mail, and refer to the Chief of Staff for an initial effort to resolve.
• Meet regularly with the President to discuss mail, emails, invitations and that arrive for the President’s attendance, and upcoming travel. Must synthesize information and offer sound logistical or administrative advice.
• Prepare correspondence for the President's signature. If needed, conduct research or work with appropriate stakeholders to coordinate a response. Maintain an electronic version of Chron file.
• Coordinate the President’s travel arrangements.
• Act as a secondary person for all incoming office phone calls and visitors.
• Coordinate with the Chief of Staff on upcoming meetings and events that involve the President, at Nugent Hall and elsewhere.
• Assist at University events run by the Office of the President, as needed.
• Report office maintenance and technical issues if needed.
• Perform other duties as temporarily or permanently assigned.
• Assist in supervising the President’s Society, assigning or supervising the completion of research and other tasks that support the President’s Office.
• Liaise with the President’s spouse to manage scheduling, event participation, some personal logistics, Christmas cards, etc.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree with a minimum of five (5) years of experience in executive-level administrative support. Experience must be within a professional, service-oriented environment in a mid-level organization. Higher education and/or university affairs work experience preferred.

The President of the University needs to be up-to-date with correspondence, calendar, meeting information, and travel. He needs to be confident that those who call the office to deal with him or to report problems or raise issues are handled professionally. The Chief of Staff (COS) counts on this individual to help to resolve problems at the start. In addition, the EA supports and assists the COS on all aspects of office management and support to the President. Inaccurate or incomplete work on the part of this person would reflect poorly on the President, the office, and the University.