Executive Assistant

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill (NC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Discounts on campus events

Child care savings

Job summary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health seeks an Executive Assistant to provide high-level support to the Vice Dean. The role manages complex calendars, schedules, meetings, and travel, and coordinates across departments to ensure timely, accurate information exchange.

Excellent written and verbal communication, discretion with confidential data, and the ability to anticipate needs are essential.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent with 3 years of admin/office management experience or an Associate's/Bachelor's with related experience
• Bachelor's degree preferred for advanced coordination responsibilities
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and discretion with confidential information

Responsibilities

• Provide executive support to the Vice Dean and senior leadership
• Manage complex calendars, appointments, meetings, and travel arrangements
• Coordinate information flow and correspondence across Dean’s Office and Gillings School teams
• Prepare and track deadlines, reminders, and follow-ups to ensure on-time deliverables
• Serve as a front-line contact for students, staff, and visitors

Skills

Executive support

Calendar management

Communication

Education

High school diploma

Associate degree

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

Calendar software

Job description

Full-time/Part-time Permanent/Time-Limited

Full-time/Part-time Permanent/Time-Limited Full-Time Permanent

If time-limited, estimated duration of appointment

This position is not eligible for H-1B sponsorship.

One of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, Chapel Hill has diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

University employees can choose from a wide range of professional training opportunities for career growth, skill development and lifelong learning and enjoy exclusive perks for numerous retail, restaurant and performing arts discounts, savings on local child care centers and special rates on select campus events. UNC -Chapel Hill offers full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package , paid leave, and a variety of health, life and retirement plans and additional programs that support a healthy work/life balance.

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit

The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, one of the top ranked public health schools in the nation, is comprised of eight academic units led and supported by the Dean’s Office and other large, centrally administrated school units. We have an enrolled student body of over 1600, taught by approximately 230 permanent faculty, and >100 adjunct and visiting faculty. The staff includes over 600 personnel of various types (including students, research staff and temporary workers) who help to achieve the teaching, research and service missions of the School and also to assist with compliance, finance, IT, fundraising and communication.

Position Summary

The Executive Assistant’s (EA) primary responsibility is to provide executive support to senior leadership at the Gillings School. In the case of this position, the position will support the Vice Dean. In this capacity, the EA will spend the bulk of their time providing calendar and operational support. In addition to overseeing the administrative functions related to ongoing projects, they ensure that assignments/requests/commitments of the executive they support are accurate, adequate, consistent, completed prior to deadlines and of high quality. This individual also works closely with, and will often receive guidance and assignments from, team members reporting up to their executive. Finally, this position reports directly to the Dean’s Office Manager. As such, this individual serves as a key liaison to the Dean’s Office team, communicating about, and helping to align work, and ensuring smooth exchange of information and coordination of schedules and priorities. The Gillings School administrative team has a matrix model, meaning that administrative staff are cross trained and support each other as needed. In this regard, the person in this position will occasionally rely on Dean’s Office staff to cover their duties or provide surge help and vice versa. The person in this position must analyze, prioritize and keep track of multiple pieces of complex and often confidential information in order to make accurate, efficient decisions regarding workflow, and provide deft facilitation and processing of information and correspondence. In close collaboration with their executive, the Executive Assistant manages complex schedules, including requests for appointments, meetings, events and travel. This individual must be skilled in anticipating when adjustments in schedules need to be made. Because there often are more requests than available time slots, this task requires sensitivity, judgment, and the ability to prioritize. In addition, while many meetings and events are scheduled far in advance, frequently, requests from high level individuals within the School and university require rescheduling other meetings. This individual must also have excellent judgement about when problems need troubleshooting in a timely way, and provide their executive with critical information on timely matters. The individual must provide reminders for key deadlines (and ideally manage tracking systems) and ensure that work is done with high quality. The individual must be a strong communicator, verbally and in writing. The EA is responsible for independent problem solving, answering questions, providing information and taking action on behalf of their executive as authorized. The Executive Assistant also is the entry point for students, staff, faculty, university administrators at UNC and elsewhere, and a variety of callers and visitors who seek guidance. The EA must also be able to work with a high-level team that work within the units they support, playing an important role in ensuring that each team member receives key information in a timely manner. This individual must be able to work closely with others on Dean’s Office administrative team, coordinating the flow of information across both teams and serving as back-up, if needed, within the Dean’s Office. Similarly, this individual needs to consult about planned absences with the Dean’s Office to ensure that the Dean’s Office team can provide seamless continuation of support for their executive. The EA must facilitate completion of work at a rapid pace on time-sensitive matters with routine interruptions. Gillings Leadership participate in many outside research activities that benefit the School. In this context, the EA must communicate with staff from these groups and understand the nature of the topics on which these projects are focused.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

High school diploma or equivalency and three years of progressively responsible administrative/office management experience; or Associate’s degree in secretarial science, business administration, or a related discipline and one year of progressively responsible administrative/office management experience ; or Bachelor’s degree, preferably in business administration or a related discipline; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Management Preferences

Bachelor’s degree and previous supervisory experience strongly preferred.

• This position must be politically astute and customer friendly.
• This position must be collaborative and enjoy the complexities of working in a matrix organization where it is persuasion rather than dictate that achieves cooperation.
• The position requires someone who understands and upholds the confidentiality of highly sensitive information.

Required Licenses/Certifications

Special Physical/Mental Requirements

Campus Security Authority Responsibilities

Office of Human Resources Contact Information

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the Office of Human Resources at [phone] or send an email to [e-mail]. Please note: The Office of Human Resources will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Required Documents

• Curriculum Vitae / Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of References

Optional Documents

Posting Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

• * Please describe any experience or knowledge you have in the role of an Executive Assistant.

  (Open Ended Question)

• * In your opinion, what are the most important skills that a good Executive Assistant should have?

  (Open Ended Question)

• * Please select the response below that best describes your experience/education for the Executive Assistant position.
  • Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate degree preferably in business administration or a related discipline.
  • Associate's degree in secretarial science, business administration, or a related discipline and 1 year of progressively responsible administrative/office management experience
  • Combination of post-high school education and/or progressively responsible administrative/office management experience area to equal at least 3 years. (eg. Associate degree and 1 year of experience)
  • High school diploma/GED and at least 3 years of progressively responsible administrative/office management experience
  • Did not complete high school but have a combination of high school education and administrative/office management experience to equal 7 years. (1 year of high school and 6 years of related experience)
  • None of the above