Job Details

Executive Assistant, Office of Advancement

Main Campus - Boston, MA
R08211

Located in Boston's historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women's undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all.

You're joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You'll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual's community experience.

Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices-at all levels, for all positions-ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

Job Summary

The Executive Assistant ("EA") will provide organizational and administrative support of a confidential nature to the Vice President of Advancement/Chief Development Officer. The EA will anticipate needs and proactively solve problems and/or independently handle issues. The EA will act as liaison with internal colleagues and external partners while promoting a culture of inclusion and responsiveness through customer-centric support. This position requires keen interpersonal skills, exceptional judgment to facilitate collaboration and communication among diverse groups, and the ability to proactively solve problems and/or independently handle issues. The EA is an integral part of a fast-paced and collaborative team within the Advancement office.

The EA will serve as the first point of contact for all inquiries and will support calendar coordination, event and meeting preparation, data maintenance, and routine day-to-day operations.

The ideal candidate will: maintain a strong customer focus, foster mutual respect, support Simmons University's commitment to diversity, practice and promote teamwork, perform independently, maintain confidentiality, adhere to high standards of personal conduct and maintain and enhance professional/job competency.

Essential Functions

Calendar & Meeting Coordination

• Coordinate calendar(s), using sound judgment to prioritize and commit leadership time for meetings, appointments, and travel based on an in-depth understanding of the office's priorities and needs;
• Proactively identify and resolve scheduling conflicts;
• Schedule meetings and arrange conference calls;
• Coordinate meeting logistics including location reservations, catering, and equipment;
• Anticipate and prepare meeting materials including agendas, bis, meeting notes, action items, briefings and follow up correspondence. Provide technical support for on campus and online meetings.

Administrative Operations & Projects

• Support the office's finance-related needs, including but not limited to purchasing supplies and travel expenses; processing of expense reports and credit card statements; verifying receipts; record and database maintenance requests; and complying with University budget policies;
• Prepare information and materials as needed for orders, programs, projects, and other commitments, including faculty, visitor, and speaker, reimbursements, honorarium payments, and trainings;
• Coordinate events and related programs in collaboration with other Executive Assistants and Operations team;
• Provide administrative support for projects and initiatives within the office;
• Support other operational activities, including data collection and analysis;
• Assist the Operations team with operational support including maintenance of digital and hard-copy personnel files;
• Work on discrete projects, providing project coordination, documentation, and support.

Communications

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the office for internal and external constituencies;
• Maintain accurate contact lists and listservs in collaboration with Operations staff;
• Coordinate communications to internal and external constituents;
• Respond to phone, email, and in-person inquiries in a timely, professional and respectful manner, while making autonomous, accurate, and swift judgments to triage all types of inquiries;
• Responsible for sorting and distributing incoming correspondence, including mail, faxes, and email in collaboration with other Executive Assistants;
• May assist with drafting and/or proofreading emails, letters, reports, or other documents and correspondence as needed.

Additional Responsibilities

• Assist with training of other Administrative Assistants and Operations staff, as needed;
• Additional duties as assigned.

Education

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience required.

Required Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) Google for Business, Slack and Zoom.
• Intermediate proficiency with Adobe Suites;
• Advanced proficiency with Google suite, including Google Calendar and Drive

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 2-5 years of professional experience; prior experience in higher education or nonprofit institution preferred;
• Prior experience in Advancement/Development preferred;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including editing and proofreading;
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills;
• Ability to take initiative and ownership of projects;
• Ability to work well with culturally diverse populations within an organization;
• Proven ability to perform duties with a high level of professionalism, flexibility; discretion, judgment, diplomacy, and tact; Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive issues and maintain confidentiality;
• Meticulous attention to detail; ability to react and prioritize information in a respectful and customer-centered manner.
• Ability to multitask, adapt to changing priorities, and meet deadlines;
• Experience with purchasing and booking travel is a plus;
• Prior experience in higher education administration is a plus, but not required.

Desired Competencies

• Communication
• Time Management
• Collaboration
• Personal Effectiveness/Credibility
• Flexibility/Adaptability

This is a 40-hour work week position and may be eligible for a partial remote work schedule, subject to business needs. May require occasional night or evening support to support certain business unit annual events or special initiatives.

Required Application Materials:

• Resume
  
• Cover Letter
  

Salary Grade
H06

Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the Application Materials box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).

Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual's community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices-at all levels, for all positions-ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.


To apply, visit https://simmons.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Simmons-Careers/job/Main-Campus---Boston-MA/Executive-Assistant--Office-of-Advancement_R08211

Located in Bostons historic Fenway area, Simmons College is a small, private, non-sectarian College which has educated students for enriching careers and purposeful lives since 1899. Working at Simmons means joining a collaborative, diverse and mission-driven community of educators and professionals.

We prepare students to be leaders for themselves, their communities and the world. Our faculty and staff members lead by example - sharing a commitment to excellence and putting the students first.