Chair’s Assistant & Communications, MCDB

Yale University; New Haven (CT); Hybrid; USD 101,942,000 - 123,984,000; Full time

Job summary

Yale University in New Haven is seeking a Senior Administrative Assistant II, Chair’s Assistant & Communications, to provide high-level administrative and communications support to the Chair of the Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology Department.

This role oversees the department's communications, manages the website, weekly newsletter, digital signage, and internal announcements, while coordinating events and leading a small team in a hybrid work setting.

Qualifications

• Eight years of related work experience acceptable with appropriate education.
• Experience managing department communications and events preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Leads a unit or function and supervises at least two full-time employees.
• Directs daily office operations and manages calendars and communications.
• Participates in special projects and tracks progress with reports and presentations.
• Implements processes to streamline operations and improve efficiency.
• Prioritizes communications and prepares time-sensitive materials for action.
• Composes and coordinates substantive communications and materials.
• Manages staff workload, coverage, and cross-team collaboration.
• Attends meetings, drafts minutes, and supports office mission.
• Greets visitors, screens calls, and handles information requests.
• May perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Initiative & problem-solving

Organizational skills

Written & verbal communication

Multitasking under pressure

Team leadership & supervision

Reliability & attendance

Education

High school level education

Associate's Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Drupal

Panopto

RISE Vision

Beatrix

Yale Message

Google Slides

Job description

Working at Yale means contributing to a better tomorrow. Whether you are a current resident of our New Haven-based community, eligible for opportunities through the New Haven Hiring Initiative, or a newcomer, interested in exploring all that Yale has to offer, your talents and contributions are welcome. Discover your opportunities at Yale!

Overview

Reporting to the Administrative Services Supervisor, the Senior Administrative Assistant II, Chair’s Asst. & Communications, provides high level administrative and customer service support to the Chair of the Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology Department, as well as oversees and maintains all aspects of departmental communications, activities and events.

• Responsible for the department’s communication strategy, by managing and overseeing the website, weekly newsletter, digital signage, and internal announcements.
• Acts as a subject matter expert in web development and social media management to ensure content clarity, organization, adherence to the website’s style and tone guidelines, and visual appeal.
• Utilizes various software programs including Drupal, Panopto, RISE Vision, Beatrix, Yale Message, and Google slides, to facilitate effective communication of departmental news, events, and faculty and student updates.
• As a department spokesperson, proofreads to address spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, maintains consistency in language usage and style, formatting issues, and ensures clarity and coherence in representing the department. Creates high-quality, compelling content for the website, and social media platforms.
• Maintains strict confidentiality serving as the principal source of information for the Chair’s Office, serving faculty and academic administration.
• Proactively identifies and reports potential issues or challenges that may affect the department to the Chair and suggests viable solutions.
• Determines office priorities and ensures the Chair meets deadlines effectively.
• Ensures timely reviews for ladder faculty reappointments and promotions by establishing reasonable schedules, organizing the selection, outreach, and letter submission processes for external referees, reviewing materials to ensure compliance, and coordinates the secure distribution of electronic appointment and promotion documents to appropriate committee members.
• Lead coordinator for the Department's annual senior and junior faculty search and recruiting efforts by screening, triaging and/or resolving requests and questions, handling applicant files using Interfolio and Box, and managing on-site visits for 4-5 senior and up to 4 junior faculty.
• Coordinates and submits the annual department instructional teaching request to the Dean’s Office.
• The Sr. Administrative Assistant II will also act as Team Lead for the departmental and community events team and will direct the day-to-day activities of two (grade D) FTEs. Responsibilities include but are not limited to managing faculty and committee meetings, ensuring that all materials and presentations are prepared in advance and that preparations for all future calendar events are on schedule; assess, coordinate, and troubleshoot technology requirements for meetings and events; oversee the coordination and execution of events and special projects and research information and contribute to the preparation of reports, briefings, and presentations, as appropriate.
• Additional duties may be assigned as needed.
• Based on operational needs, there might be changes to our current hybrid work schedule. It is possible that we may need to transition being on campus five days a week, either temporarily or permanently.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Ability to take initiative, problem-solve, and exercise independent judgment. Ability to manage time to be efficient and productive. Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to interact well with a varied population including students, visitors (domestic and international), faculty, and staff.

2. Excellent organizational skills, as well as written and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to detail, thoroughness, and follow-through. Adaptable, resourceful, and well-spoken, with a strong work ethic and professional demeanor.

3. Ability to multi-task effectively with demanding time constraints. Ability to work well under pressure addressing multiple projects. Excellent follow-up skills. Demonstrated ability to be flexible and manage change effectively, often with short notice. Demonstrated ability to learn new systems, processes, and software.

4. Proven ability to function independently and as part of an integrated team in a fast-paced environment. Demonstrated proficiency providing support in a professional organization. Ability to lead a team and maintain discretion and professionalism.

5. Demonstrated history of excellent attendance, reliability, and punctuality. Demonstrated strong administrative support skills. Proven record of resourcefulness, problem-solving, and ability to work independently, without continuous direction.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Leads a unit or function, including overseeing and coordinating projects or work processes, and distributes the work of a minimum of two full time employees.

2. Directs the daily operations of the office. Manages calendars and calls, assesses nature of issues and escalates as appropriate. Serves as principal source of information on policies, procedures, programs, and office activities. Oversees, monitors and controls office budget and spending.

3. Participates in special projects on a variety of topics. Identifies project needs. Researches, gathers and analyzes data and materials. Collects project updates in a timely manner; prepares and maintains documentation, tracking, reports and presentations; follows up as appropriate.

4. Performs on-going review of department processes and systems. Develops, implements, and oversees office procedures designed to streamline operations, eliminates duplication and improves efficiency throughout the department.

5. Monitors and prioritizes communications for action and review; provides background necessary for action/decision-making; flags time sensitive material; initiates follow up.

6. Composes and/or coordinates substantive communications, reviews outgoing material for accuracy and completeness. Develops and/or produces materials for presentations.

7. Prioritizes, assigns and monitors work, sets standards and expectations among the department administrative support staff. Ensures appropriate levels of coverage so department priorities can be met. Evaluates and clarifies roles and responsibilities. Establishes and cultivates productive relationships between teams.

8. Attends meetings and drafts minutes. Performs other duties and responsibilities as necessary to support the mission of the office.

9. Greets visitors, answers and screens telephone calls and assesses nature of business. Responds to requests for information and provides assistance. Screens and responds to mail.

10. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Eight years of related work experience, six of them in the same job family at the next lower level and a high school level education; or six years of related work experience and an Associate's Degree; or two years of related work experience and a Bachelor's Degree; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Job Posting Date

10/11/2026

Job Category

Administrative Support

Bargaining Unit

L34

Compensation Grade

Labor Grade E

Compensation Grade Profile

Hourly Range

$35.64

Benefits

A general description of the benefits to be offered with this Clerical and Technical position is available at:

Yale Benefits

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

Hybrid

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks basedon the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.