Executive Assistant to the President

Catholic Theological Union; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

MS Office proficiency

Job summary

Catholic Theological Union seeks an Executive Assistant to the President to serve as the President’s chief administrative and operational partner. You will ensure alignment with the Strategic Plan and Institutional Evaluation Plan, coordinate across departments, and support senior leadership in implementing priorities.

Responsibilities include managing complex scheduling, preparing briefing materials, maintaining confidentiality, and supporting governance and accreditation processes.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressively responsible executive support or administrative leadership experience.
• Experience in higher education, nonprofit communications, or Catholic spaces preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects in higher education or nonprofit environments.
• Experience with institutional planning, assessment, or accreditation processes preferred.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and lead through influence.
• High level of discretion and professionalism.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to interact with all levels within the school, including staff, faculty, students, Trustees and major superiors.
• Proficiency with MS Office, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive-level support to the President, ensuring seamless daily operations and effective workflow.
• Facilitate and move forward presidential priorities, initiatives, and institutional objectives.
• Manage complex scheduling across trustees, senior leadership, donors, faculty and external stakeholders.
• Prepare high-level briefing materials, strategic memos, and executive correspondence.
• Maintain strict confidentiality in governance, personnel, donor relations and institutional strategy.

Skills

Executive support

Discretion

Strategic thinking

Communication

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

MS Office

Job description

The Executive Assistant to the President serves as the President’s chief administrative and operational partner, providing high-level executive assistance while ensuring institutional alignment with the Strategic Plan and Institutional Evaluation Plan.

This role includes cross-departmental coordination and will work closely with senior leadership to ensure that institutional priorities are implemented effectively, timelines are met, and departments operate in alignment with mission, accreditation standards, and strategic objectives.

This position requires exceptional judgment, discretion, strategic thinking, and the ability to operate at an executive level within a Catholic theological higher education environment.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Operations & Presidential Support

• Provide comprehensive executive-level support to the President, ensuring seamless daily operations and effective executive workflow.
• Facilitate and help to move forward presidential priorities, initiatives, and institutional objectives.
• Manage complex scheduling and competing demands across trustees, senior leadership, donors, faculty, and external stakeholders.
• Prepare high-level briefing materials, strategic memos, and executive correspondence.
• Maintain strict confidentiality in all matters related to governance, personnel, donor relations, and institutional strategy.

Institutional Planning & Evaluation Oversight

• Assist senior leadership in monitoring and tracking institutional goals in alignment with the Strategic Plan and Institutional Evaluation Plan in compliance with accreditation standards
• Coordinate annual assessment cycles and institutional reporting processes.
• Ensure departments meet planning deadlines and submit required evaluation materials.
• Maintain institutional dashboards and tracking systems to measure progress.
• Support accreditation preparation and documentation as needed.

Cross-Departmental Coordination

• Facilitate communication and coordination among Academic Affairs, Administration & Finance, Development, Enrollment Management, Marketing & Communications, and related centers.
• Coordinate senior leadership meetings and follow up on decisions and action items in collaboration with direction from the President.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and elevate issues appropriately to support institutional effectiveness.

Strategic Initiatives

• Oversee key institutional initiatives as assigned by the President.
• Coordinate with other staff as appropriate to advance and monitor presidential and institutional priorities.
• Track deliverables, timelines, progress and institutional benchmarks to ensure timely follow-through.
• Anticipate risks and propose mitigation strategies.

Governance Support

• Support preparation of materials for the Board of Trustees and the Corporation.
• Track institutional commitments made to the Board and ensure follow-through.
• Coordinate governance documentation, meeting preparation and strategic follow-up.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 7+ years of progressively responsible executive support or administrative leadership experience.
• Experience in higher education or nonprofit communications or Catholic spaces preferred
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects in higher education or nonprofit environments.
• Experience with institutional planning, assessment, or accreditation processes preferred.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with an attention to detail
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and lead through influence.
• High level of discretion and professionalism.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to interact with all levels within the school, including other staff, faculty, students, Trustees, and major superiors, etc.in a cordial and welcoming manner.
• Proficiency with MS Office, specifically Word, Excel and Power Point.

Catholic Theological Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all candidates.