Administrative Specialist - Pellman Lab

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston seeks an Administrative Specialist I to provide essential support to the Pellman Lab and related departments. Under supervision, you will handle scheduling, correspondence, data entry, and travel arrangements while maintaining confidentiality and professional communication with staff and external partners.

The role emphasizes organization, accuracy, and customer service across clinical, academic, and research contexts, with potential advancement to

Qualifications

• High school diploma required; bachelor's degree preferred.
• 1 year of relevant experience expected.
• Strong written and oral communication and customer service skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for department, clinicians, and faculty.
• Answer phones, manage mail, maintain office supplies, and schedule calendars.
• Coordinate travel arrangements and prepare correspondence and spreadsheets.
• Support data entry and draft communications for review.
• Interact professionally with internal and external teams and visitors.
• Maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with discretion.

Skills

Communication

Office software

Customer service

Attention to detail

Organization

Education

High school diploma

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Suite

Zoom

Adobe

Job description

Under close supervision, the Administrative Specialist I provides administrative support to staff, faculty member(s), or department(s) in their clinical, academic, research and leadership roles in support of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s mission. The Administrative Specialist I uses various office software to produce reports, spreadsheet, presentations, or other documents as needed. The Administrative Specialist I may be required to interface with senior management, cross-organizations, internal and external customers. For all of these, the work still required the application of well-established techniques, procedures, or standards.

We are seeking an Administrative Specialist to support the lab of Dr. David Pellman at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (with openness to hiring at the Administrative Specialist II level, depending on experience). The Pellman Lab studies normal cell division and how errors in cell division affect genome stability. The team investigates mutational processes that drive rapid genome evolution—such as chromothripsis, a chromosome “shredding” phenomenon involving extensive breakage and rearrangement of a small number of chromosomes. These processes play major roles in tumorigenesis and may also contribute to organismal evolution. The lab uses approaches from cell biology, genetics, and biochemistry, along with a newly developed method combining live-cell imaging and single-cell genome sequencing (Look-Seq) to directly link a cell’s phenotype to its genotype. Learn more at: https://pellmanlab.dana-farber.org/.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for the department, clinicians, and/or faculty.
• Perform administrative duties that may include, but not limited to, answering phones, maintaining office supplies, incoming and outgoing mail management, managing resource calendars, and submitting work orders for maintenance issues.
• Manage meeting planning and schedules for individuals and teams within assigned department group.
• May liaise between patient and clinical staff to provide scheduling support.
• Draft communications for members of the department or individuals that the position is supporting for review.
• May be responsible for data entry.
• Provide email and phone communication with internal and external teams or collaborators.
• May serve as onsite representative for external groups, visitors, or collaborators.
• Prepare general correspondence, letters of recommendation, Excel spreadsheets, presentation preparation and editing.
• Financial responsibilities including P-Card charge review and reconciliation, expense report processing, vendor payments, invoice creation or general office supply ordering.
• Coordinate travel arrangements as required/needed by department staff.
• Maintain high level of professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality regarding a variety of highly sensitive topics.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Basic knowledge of computer applications including Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, Zoom, and Adobe.
• Exceptional customer service skills and the ability to interact professionally with peers, leadership, and external contacts.
• Must possess the ability to identify and work to resolve problems, maintain confidentiality, and pay attention to detail.
• Ability to organize, multi-task, prioritize, and follow-through.

Minimum Job Qualifications

Minimum Education: High school diploma required. Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Minimum Experience: 1 year of relevant experience.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None

Patient Contact

Yes, may have patient contact

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusiveenvironment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are committed to having faculty and staff who offer multifaceted experiences. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and compassionateprofessionals, neither do we.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

EEO Poster

Pay Transparency Statement

The hiring range is based on market pay structures, with individual salaries determined by factors such as business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and based on the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications.

For union positions, the pay range is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

$50,070.00 - $60,730.00