Administrative Assistant, Office of the Dean

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Administrative Assistant, Office of the Dean

Competition Number: J0325-0823

Position Title: Administrative Assistant, Office of the Dean

Position Number (Final) : 00506330

Employee Group: Support Staff

Job Category: Administrative

Department or Area: Faculty of Education

Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada (On-site)

About Queen's University

Queen’s University is the Canadian research intensive university with a transformative student learning experience. Here the employment experience is as diverse as it is interesting. We have opportunities in multiple areas of globally recognized research, faculty administration, engineering & construction, athletics & recreation, power generation, corporate shared services, and many more.

We are committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcome applications from individuals from equity seeking groups such as women, racialized/visible minorities, Indigenous/Aboriginal peoples, persons with a disability, persons who identify in the LGBTQ+ community and others who reflect the diversity of Canadian society.

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Job Summary

Reporting to the Manager, Staffing and Academic Operations the incumbent is responsible for providing sensitive and confidential administrative support to the Dean and Associate Deans by preparing correspondence, coordinating calendars, and responding to inquiries on behalf of the Office of the Dean. Additionally, the role acts as secretary for the Faculty Board and its sub-committees and supports events hosted by the Office of the Dean. This position requires the incumbent to maintain a high degree of confidentiality, tact and discretion and must function with an exceptional level of accuracy, responsiveness, excellent judgment and demonstrate commitment to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion.

Job Description

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Provides administrative support and acts as key contact for the Office of the Dean, frequently involving confidential and sensitive subjects/issues, including those related to labour relations. Administrative duties include preparing and distributing confidential correspondence, scheduling conferences, meeting coordination, processing, screening and directing incoming and outgoing mail, and document preparation.
• Plans, maintains, and coordinates the schedules for the Dean and the Office of the Dean (e.g., Associate Deans of Teacher Education, Graduate Studies, and Research), which includes prioritising, re-arranging, or deferring appointments and meetings to accommodate conflicting commitments.
• Evaluates and responds to inquiries on behalf of the Dean externally and internally with limited direction, referring complex issues to the Dean. Composes original correspondence for the Dean’s signature on a wide spectrum of matters. Ensures issues referred to the senior team are prioritized by level of importance and urgency and that these issues are followed up on appropriately.
• Arranges and coordinates all travel and accommodation in connection with administrative, teaching, and research activities for the Office of the Dean.
• Coordinates and acts as secretary for the Faculty Board and its sub-committees. This includes organizing meetings, circulating agendas, minutes, reports and motions, record keeping, and maintains a list of all sub-committee members.
• Assists with academic hiring which may include advertising academic positions, assessing application packages, setting agendas, compiling minutes, maintaining applicant database, arranging interviews and schedules and completing equity requirements.
• Supports the administration of academic appointments, including reappointment/renewal, tenure, promotion and academic/sabbatical leave applications.
• Organizes and maintains personnel files including the official file for all full-time and adjunct faculty members, including the archiving/disposing of files.
• Organizes and maintains accessible electronic and hard copy filing systems in a timely manner. Utilizes and refines computer databases and/or filing systems to maintain accurate and organized data.
• Coordinates events hosted by the Office of the Dean including booking space and refreshments, creating and distributing invitation and agendas, and tracking attendance.
• Researches information and collection of material to respond to general inquiries.
• Provide back-up support for other staff in the Office of the Dean, including supporting scheduling for the Deans, as required.
• Undertakes other duties in support of the Faculty.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• University degree in business administration or a related field of study is an asset.
• Minimum of three years of program/office administrative experience.
• Related experience in an academic setting is an asset.
• Knowledge of University policies and procedures is an asset.
• Working knowledge of computers and IT functions, and PeopleSoft systems is an asset.
• Consideration may be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.

SPECIAL SKILLS:
• Ability to take initiative and responsibility for tasks from beginning to completion.
• Ability to work in a confidential, high-pressure environment, and to independently set priorities and juggle many conflicting tasks.
• Ability to respond diplomatically and sensitively using good judgment in difficult situations, and to interact professionally with all levels, internal and external to the University.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written to deal with a wide variety of individuals in a professional manner and to provide clear and accurate information.
• Superior organization skills with the ability to cope with multiple demands and prioritize competing requests.
• Effective practical problem-solving skills to help troubleshoot and resolve administrative and service issues.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) to interact with a wide variety of people in many contexts, including an ability to deal diplomatically with faculty, staff and students.
• Communicate with tact, diplomacy, and adherence to strict confidentiality.
• Service-oriented perspective.
• Computer skills including use of a variety of software packages (particularly word processing and spreadsheet applications, web-based technology).
• Ability to learn new software as necessary and thrive in a dynamic work environment.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to contribute to a team-based, positive work environment.
• Ability to quickly and accurately communicate information within the team and to all relevant individuals especially under time pressure.

DECISION MAKING:
• Prioritize work to meet deadlines and determine relative importance among various tasks.
• Resolve scheduling conflicts by determining priorities to juggle conflicting appointments.
• Handle and/or refer incoming correspondence and phone calls to the appropriate individual for follow-up, particularly those, which are, time or content sensitive.
• Judge which inquiries to refer to senior administrators, and which to handle to completion.
• Determine the nature, content and method of presenting data gathered during information searches.
• Determine when to involve management and/or team members, and when to act on one’s own initiative.
• Determine how, when and to whom information should be distributed.
• Determine the best approach to manage deadlines.
• Make suggestions regarding office administration procedures; suggest and help implement changes.
• Make daily operations decisions and resolve administrative problems within guidelines as they arise, referring only highly unusual problems to more senior staff.
• Make recommendations regarding office administration procedures; suggest and help implement changes.
• Decide how to distribute information, including method of distribution and audience.
• Determine formatting for simple to complex documents.

Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen’s is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The University provides support in its recruitment processes to all applicants who require accommodation due to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, including those with disabilities. Candidates requiring accommodation during the recruitment process are asked to contact Human Resources at hradmin@queensu.ca .