Executive Administrative Specialist - Office of Communications

DPSCD Comp; Detroit (MI); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Telecommuting up to 20%

Job summary

Detroit Public Schools Community District seeks an Executive Administrative Specialist to support the Assistant Superintendent of Communications, delivering executive‑level administrative, clerical, and financial support.

The role drives workflow modernization, automates routine tasks, trains staff on tools, and manages budgets, trackers, and cross‑functional projects in alignment with the district's strategic plan.

Qualifications

• Associate degree required; bachelor's degree in business administration, information systems, communications, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of five years executive-level administrative experience supporting senior leadership, preferably in K-12 education, public sector, or a large organization.
• Experience implementing workflow automation and AI tools to improve team efficiency.
• Project coordination experience, including building work plans, tracking milestones, and reporting progress; CAPM, PMP, or equivalent certification preferred.
• Experience with departmental budgets, purchase requisitions, invoicing, and expense tracking.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel (formulas, pivot tables, dashboards), Outlook (mail merge), Teams, and SharePoint.
• Working knowledge of data privacy requirements, including FERPA, and responsible-use practices for electronic tools handling District information.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Key skills include: calendar and meeting management, process mapping, training, strong written and verbal communication, cross-functional collaboration, and vendor coordination.

Responsibilities

• Executive support: calendar management, meeting coordination, correspondence, travel, and briefing materials.
• Clerical and office operations: records, filing systems, shared drives, supply ordering, and front-line requests.
• Finance and budget management: track budget, purchase requisitions, invoices, and vendor payments; payroll coordination.
• Lead workflow modernization: design, implement, and maintain automated workflows with IT; train staff and ensure compliance.
• Automate intake and ticketing: build automated intake, routing, and status-tracking for requests and good news submissions.
• Project coordination: develop structures, timelines, and work plans; track milestones and deliverables; run status meetings.
• Trackers and reporting: maintain project trackers and dashboards including OKR tracking; prepare progress reports.
• Measure efficiency gains: track time saved, turnaround times, and suggest improvements.

Skills

Executive support

Budget tracking

Workflow automation

Project coordination

Cross-functional collab

Vendor coordination

FERPA data privacy

Education

Associate's degree

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Power Automate

SharePoint

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Copilot

Job description

Executive Administrative Specialist - Office of Communications

Position Title:Executive Administrative Specialist - Office of Communications

Location:Communications

Reports to:Assistant Superintendent of Communications

Bargaining Unit:N/A

Benefits Eligible:Yes

Telecommuting Eligibility:Eligible for up to 20% telecommuting (one day per week)

Position Summary:

As a key member of the DPSCD Communications team, the Executive Administrative Specialist provides executive-level administrative, clerical, and financial support to the Assistant Superintendent of Communications. This position modernizes how the Office of Communications operates by identifying opportunities to automate routine work, implementing and managing approved workflow tools, training staff on the use of those tools, and ensuring alignment with District policies and procedures. The Executive Administrative Assistant Specialist also manages department projects, budgets, and trackers, keeping initiatives on schedule and aligned with the District's strategic plan and its commitment to students, families, staff, and community partners.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Associate's degree required; bachelor's degree in business administration, information systems, communications, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of five (5) years of executive-level administrative experience supporting senior leadership, preferably in K-12 education, public sector, or a large organization.
• Demonstrated experience implementing workflow automation and AI tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, Power Automate, Microsoft Forms, SharePoint, Qualtrics, generative AI assistants) to improve team efficiency.
• Project coordination experience, including building work plans, tracking milestones, and reporting progress; CAPM, PMP, or equivalent certification preferred.
• Experience with departmental budgets, purchase requisitions, invoicing, and expense tracking.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel (formulas, pivot tables, dashboards), Outlook (mail merge), Teams, and SharePoint.
• Working knowledge of data privacy requirements, including FERPA, and responsible-use practices for electronic tools handling District information.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Ability to handle a wide variety of responsibilities at once in a very hands-on manner, with excellent attention to detail and consistent high quality of output.
• Key skills include: calendar and meeting management, process mapping, training, strong written and verbal communication, cross-functional collaboration, and vendor coordination.

Essential Functions:

• Executive support.Provide high-level administrative support to the Assistant Superintendent of Communications, including calendar management, meeting coordination, correspondence, travel, and preparation of briefing materials and presentations.
• Clerical and office operations.Manage department records, filing systems, shared drives, supply ordering, and office logistics; serve as the first point of contact for internal and external requests to the Office of Communications.
• Finance and budget management.Track the Communications budget, prepare purchase requisitions, process invoices and vendor payments, reconcile expenses, and report budget status; coordinate with the payroll/requisition approver and Finance.
• Serve as the department's workflow modernization lead.Identify repetitive department processes and coordinate with Information Technology to design, implement, and maintain automated workflows and solutions that save staff time and improve accuracy. Train staff on the workflow modernization tools and ensure they maintain compliance with District policies.
• Automate intake and ticketing.Use existing district tools and/or build and maintain automated intake, routing, and status-tracking for communications requests and good news submissions, supporting timely request closure.
• Project coordination.Develop project structures, timelines, and work plans for department initiatives; track milestones, dependencies, and deliverables; facilitate status meetings and elevate risks.
• Trackers and reporting.Build and maintain the department's project trackers and dashboards, including objectives and key results (OKR) tracking, and prepare progress reports for BOY, MOY, and EOY reviews.
• Measure efficiency gains.Track time saved, turnaround times, and other performance measures; recommend continuous improvements.
• Meeting and knowledge management.Prepare agendas, capture minutes and action items, contribute to District knowledge management efforts (e.g. The Hub), and maintain a searchable knowledge base of internal department processes, templates, and decisions.
• Vendor and contract coordination.Coordinate vendor onboarding, contracts, payment, and deliverable tracking for department contractors and service providers.
• Collaborate across the District.Work with departments and schools to streamline communications requests and shared processes.
• Other duties.Perform other duties as assigned by the Assistant Superintendent of Communications.

Security Clearance:

Internal Applicants

If you are a current Detroit Public Schools Community District employee, you do not have to submit to a new security clearance, unless your new role requires a different type of criminal background check.

External Applicants

In alignment with Michigan law, if you are hired to fill a position, you will be required to submit to a Detroit Public Schools Community District criminal background check. Information regarding required background checks will be shared at point of hire.

Method of Application:

Applicants must apply through the online application system. Only applications submitted through the online application system will be considered for any posted position and all applications require a resume to be considered.

Successful candidates are required to submit official transcript(s) at point of offer to hire. Teaching service outside of the Detroit Public Schools Community District must be verified by the applicant's prior employer(s) prior to hire. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all documentation (including copies) as requested.

Applicants requesting assistance during the application process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email at [email protected] or phone at [phone].

DPSCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability and/or religion. Contact the Civil Rights Coordinator for more information at [phone] or detroitk12.org/compliance.

DPSCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, transgender identity, disability, age, religion, height, weight, citizenship, marital or family status, military status, ancestry, genetic information, or any other legally protected category, in its educational programs and activities, including employment and admissions opportunities.