Executive Assistant and Operations Manager, University Advancement

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF POSITION:

Pacific University’s Advancement Division is building a model fundraising, communications, and engagement infrastructure, one that will meet the growing needs of the University and support the University’s strategic plan. As a division, our purpose is to create an unrivaled engagement experience and to secure philanthropic and enrollment resources that advance the University for generations to come. As a member of the Advancement team, the Executive Assistant and Operations Manager helps to fulfill our purpose by fostering a highly efficient team environment.

The Executive Assistant and Operations Manager provides critical, project and operational support to the Vice President for University Advancement (UA). This role coordinates and manages executive scheduling, prepares and organizes meeting materials and presentations, and coordinates departmental budgets in addition to the daily management of the office. The position serves as a liaison for division staff, senior leadership, and faculty and staff on behalf of the VP. The position is responsible for supporting the day-to-day functions of the Advancement Division. The Executive Assistant and Operations Manager collaborates with division leadership to design and implement strategies for guiding operations and processes to maximize Advancement efficiency.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

VP-Specific

• Serves as the liaison and first point of contact for the Vice President for University Advancement
• Uses the highest discretion regarding sensitive matters when maintaining confidential files, electronic records, and the VP’s calendar and emails
• Provides high-level administrative support including drafting and managing correspondences, scheduling appointments, and managing the VP’s calendar, email, and credit card reconciliation
• Manages executive business schedules and calendars, including arranging meetings (internally and externally), conference calls, booking appointments, and organizing all details for travel, including flight and accommodations
• Anticipates issues and researches information needed as background for meetings and decisions
• Creates/prepares correspondence, presentations, reports, graphs, research, and spreadsheets for or on behalf of the VP
• Coordinates communications from the VP as necessary. Composes and edits correspondence, including but not limited to gift and other acknowledgments, letters, proposals, and follow-up correspondence for various constituents
• Works closely with other officers of the University, direct reports to the President of the University and their support staff to coordinate meetings, presentations, and campus committee work
• Supports University Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees and other trustee events with support tasks such as taking minutes, preparing meeting materials, and providing event support in collaboration with the President’s Chief of Staff and other VP executive assistants.
• Executes special projects and other duties assigned

Division Operations

• Oversees daily workflow and operations for the department
• Serves as a UA Leadership team member and participates in the development of strategic plans and implementation strategies
• Serves as first point of contact for internal and external needs of the department
• Monitors, tracks, and reconciles division's budget, including processing bills and invoices, updating budget, and providing regular reports to division leaders
• Participates in budget planning and management, prepares and coordinates analysis of budgets, and makes recommendations to UA leadership
• Tracks invoices and expenses for all UA areas and manages and monitors proper usage of operating funds for UA teams
• Creates and monitors work processes, establishes best practices and a learning agenda for continuous improvement, and helps develop RACIs, policies, and service agreements
• Responsible for analyzing and trending data and recommending improvements. Develops and maintains division SOPs
• Tracks, monitors, and follows the progress of projects, action items, and strategies as directed
• Manages the UA calendar including internal/external events, board of trustee meetings, vacation requests, etc.
• Plans, researches and coordinates strategies to enhance current processes within the division to include technology enhancements and capabilities
• Supports the planning and activation of large-scale or organizationally important events
• Implements and maintains official policies, procedures, databases, records, and correspondence; coordinates records archiving, disposal, and records retention process
• Handles division subscriptions and professional memberships

Human Resources

• Serves as a liaison and point of contact for Human Resources (HR) matters by maintaining records of new hires, transfers, terminations, changes in job classifications, and other duties as assigned by the VP
• Documents HR actions by completing forms, reports, logs, and records
• Assists with HR processes within the department, including performance reviews, recruitment, interviews, and any other HR administrative tasks as needed
• Supports all onboarding processes, including initial materials on required HR-related activities
• Originates and maintains confidential HR-related files; assures compliance with University HR guidelines
• Administers staff searches for the division as appropriate
• Supports staff searches for committees that the VP chairs