Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs

Bates College; Lewiston (ME); On-site; USD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Paid vacation

Personal days

13 paid holidays

Free parking

Job summary

Bates College in Lewiston, Maine is seeking an Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs to provide high-level executive administrative support and manage projects across the Student Affairs division. You will coordinate the VP’s calendar, travel, and briefing materials, while ensuring confidentiality and efficient operational oversight.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree and 3–5 years of relevant administrative experience, with strong organizational and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, or an equivalent combination of education and related administrative experience.
• 3–5 years of progressively responsible administrative support experience, including executive-level office support, meeting coordination, and project tracking (preferably in higher education or non-profit administration).
• Strong organizational, time-management, and task-prioritization skills, with a track record of handling multiple deadlines simultaneously.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to compose clear, professional correspondence and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Manages the Vice President’s complex calendar, prioritizes meeting requests, coordinates travel logistics and itineraries, and compiles briefing materials and reports.
• Manages and reconciles the Office of the Vice President’s operational budget, processing financial transactions, expense reports, purchase orders, and reimbursements in compliance within institutional policies.
• Serves as the primary liaison and welcoming point of contact for the Vice President's office, handling inquiries with discretion and connecting students, families, faculty, and staff to appropriate campus resources.
• Drafts, reviews, and edits routine correspondence, memos, agendas, and presentation materials for internal and external audiences on behalf of the Vice President.
• Provides administrative coordination for assigned divisional committees; prepares agendas, records concise meeting summaries, tracks follow-up action items, and archives official documentation.
• Exercises strict confidentiality and sound judgment when handling sensitive personnel, student, or institutional matters.

Skills

Organization

Communication

Discretion

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Google Workspace

Microsoft Office

Banner

Job description

Located in Lewiston, Maine, Bates is internationally recognized asa leading liberal arts college. We are proud to offer a highlypersonalized education that centers on deep and sustainedinteractions among students, faculty, and community. We areengaging the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, andtechnology — that are transforming higher education and the worldinto which our students graduate.

Title: Assistant to the Vice President for StudentAffairs

The Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs provideshigh-level executive administrative support to the Vice Presidentand delivers administrative management for special initiativesacross the Student Affairs division. Operating in a dynamic,fast-paced environment, this role serves as the centraladministrative hub of the office—handling executive calendarmanagement, documentation, correspondence, and operationaloversight tied to the VP’s priorities. Under general guidance fromthe Vice President, the Assistant also supports divisionalinitiatives, managing project plans, deliverables, and resources tosupport operational effectiveness and the mission of theCollege.

Job Duties:

Project Administration

• Leads, manages, or assists with planning, scheduling, andadministrative follow-through for special initiatives andoperational projects directed by the Vice President.


• Develops project management plans, including tracking sheets,milestones, and deliverable schedules to ensure timely executionacross participating team members.


• Collaborates with and coordinates between stakeholders toidentify needs, goals, success measures and the necessary resourcesfor special projects and initiatives.


• Creates and distributes project updates, summary notes, andaction items to keep divisional stakeholders informed and aligned,ensuring that all team members have information necessary tofulfill their roles.


• Applies critical thinking and organization to resolveadministrative bottlenecks and scheduling conflicts that ariseduring project rollouts.

Executive Administrative Support

• Manages the Vice President’s complex calendar, prioritizesmeeting requests, coordinates travel logistics and itineraries, andcompiles briefing materials and reports.


• Manages and reconciles the Office of the Vice President’soperational budget, processing financial transactions, expensereports, purchase orders, and reimbursements in compliance withinstitutional policies.


• Serves as the primary liaison and welcoming point of contactfor the Vice President's office, handling inquiries with discretionand connecting students, families, faculty, and staff toappropriate campus resources.


• Drafts, reviews, and edits routine correspondence, memos,agendas, and presentation materials for internal and externalaudiences on behalf of the Vice President.


• Provides administrative coordination for assigned divisionalcommittees; prepares agendas, records concise meeting summaries,tracks follow-up action items, and archives officialdocumentation.


• Exercises strict confidentiality and sound judgment whenhandling sensitive personnel, student, or institutionalmatters.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education

Bachelor’s degree required, or an equivalent combination ofeducation and related administrative experience.

Experience

3 to 5 years of progressively responsible administrative supportexperience, including executive-level office support, meetingcoordination, and project tracking (preferably in higher educationor non-profit administration).

Skills and Knowledge

• Broad understanding of higher education environments, studentaffairs functions, or institutional administrative operations.


• Strong organizational, time-management, and task-prioritizationskills, with a track record of handling multiple deadlinessimultaneously.


• High level of proficiency in Google Workspace, MicrosoftOffice, virtual conferencing platforms, and database/ERP systems(e.g., Banner).


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, includingthe ability to compose clear, professional correspondence anddocumentation.


• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential and sensitiveinformation with absolute discretion, professionalism, andintegrity.


• Strong interpersonal skills and a customer-service orientationto engage effectively with a wide range of campusconstituents.


• Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of aculturally and educationally diverse community.

Benefits:

Bates College offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits(health, dental, 9% retirement contribution with potential for anadditional 3% match, sick leave, 24 days of vacation, 2 personaldays, 13 paid holidays, dependent care subsidy, free parking,access to library and athletic facilities & more), and asupportive, collegial environment in a drug and smoke-freeworkplace.

Hiring Range:

The hiring range for this position is $59,795to $74,744. Placement within the range depends on experience andother factors.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Bates College is committed to the principle of equal opportunityand providing an educational and work environment free fromdiscrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basisof race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability,genetic information or veteran status and other legally protectedstatuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in theadministration of its education policies and programs, or in therecruitment of its faculty and staff. Bates College adheres to allapplicable state and federal equal opportunity laws andregulations. All college faculty, staff, students, contractors,visitors, and volunteers are responsible for understanding andcomplying with the Non-Discrimination Policy.

Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance withapplicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII,Title IX, and ADA/Section 504), and complaints may be directed toGwen Lexow, Title IX Officer, 207-786-6445 or via email at [e-mail] .

About Bates:

Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal artscollege, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and aroundthe world.

Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole personthrough creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborativeresidential community. Committed to opportunity and excellence,Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race,religion, or national origin.

Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Batesprepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal forresponsible stewardship of the wider world. Bates engages theforces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology —that are transforming higher education and the world into which ourstudents graduate.

Bates has highly competitive admissions, graduates over 90 percentof its entering students, and more than half of its alumni earngraduate degrees. Bates employs 200 faculty members and 550staff.

The college is proud of deep roots in the Lewiston/Auburncommunity, Maine’s second-largest urban area with a population ofapproximately 65,000. Bates is located on a beautiful, 133-acre,traditional New England campus in Lewiston, an emerging city withan entrepreneurial climate, a lively arts scene, and a dynamicbusiness community. Bates is 35 miles north of Portland, 140 milesnorth of Boston, and 350 miles north of New York City.