Associate Director, Office of the President Emeritus

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $85,000-$100,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Office of the President Emeritus, the Associate Director will liaise with both the University community and outside constituents, interfacing with a wide array of senior administrators, faculty, alumni, students, and key stakeholders. The Associate Director will act as back-up to the Executive Director and must have the experience, judgement, foresight, flexibility, initiative, and energy required to ensure that the Office operates efficiently and with the highest level of professionalism.

The ideal candidate has a background in communications, event planning, or a related field, as well as experience in higher education or a large, complex organization. As a member of a small team supporting a variety of complex, high priority, and time-sensitive needs, the Associate Director must be flexible, collaborative, an excellent communicator, and willing to work across multiple levels of administrative need.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with Executive Director to manage substantial correspondence and outreach on behalf of the President Emeritus.
• Identify, develop, and implement systems, policies and procedures to facilitate the smooth functioning of the office, using sound judgement in determining priorities.
• Manage administrative aspects of the scholarship and ongoing publications of the President Emeritus, including managing assigned research assistants; liaising with publishers, production managers, and contributing authors; managing multiple manuscript iterations and ongoing edits; and tracking the status of all aspects of the project.
• Prepare detailed briefings for the President Emeritus in advance of meetings and events, which requires collaboration with internal and external partners, composition planning, drafting, and formal execution, research compilation, fact-checking, proofreading, resourcefulness, and high standards. Analyze large amounts of information and distill it to the most precise, condensed, pertinent copy, organizing the information appropriately so that documents are clear and flow effectively.
• Manage administrative aspects of the teaching of the President Emeritus, acting as faculty assistant in support of his classes, including management of materials, calendar, registration, seating charts, exams, current and prospective student correspondence, announcements, classroom needs, special guests, and Courseworks and LawNet requirements. Help to manage the teaching assistants and associated deliverables.
• Provide executive level support, including but not limited to, extensive calendar management, managing contacts, travel research and booking, and event planning and set up.
• Support the finance needs of the office, including processing invoices, researching and executing purchases, submitting receipts and monitoring reimbursements, and providing all associated deliverables.
• Manage special projects, providing research, coordination, and associated event support as needed to advance multiple strategic goals of the President Emeritus.
• Provide fundamental operational and administrative support to the Office, including ordering office supplies, ensuring technical and facilities-based needs are consistently and timely met, and maintaining a tidy, well-stocked, and welcoming environment for the President Emeritus and any visitors or guests.
• Complete other duties as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred. Minimum 5 years of related experience.
• The ideal candidate will demonstrate ownership over tasks, function with autonomy, and implement outstanding attention to detail.
• Must be customer-service oriented and proactive, with demonstrated ability to anticipate needs.
• Must be available to work early mornings, evenings, and weekends.
• Demonstrated success in establishing and managing office operations, managing multiple priorities.
• Must be able to exercise exceptional judgment along with strong organizational, interpersonal, and leadership skills with the ability to exercise a high degree of diplomacy, collaboration, and problem-solving ability.
• Must be comfortable in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Must have project management and/or event planning experience.
• Must have demonstrated success in executing on priorities in a large, complex organization.
• Confidentiality and discretion are required. Comfort working in a formal setting is also required.
• Strong writing skills are essential.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience supporting an executive level office or position, including scheduling, is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of Columbia University administrative systems or experience in a similarly large, complex organization is also preferred.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.