Assistant to the President & Coordinator of Partnership Development
Assistant to the President & Coordinator of Partnership Development
Position Description
Reporting to the President of Averett University, the Assistant to the President & Coordinator of Partnership Development serves a vital role with both the day to day coordination of support functions for the President's Office and carries out responsibilities for partnership development.
Qualifications
Any combination of acceptable education and experience, which has provided the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfill the requirements of this position, may be considered. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.
• High energy multi-tasker able to work in a fast paced, high-profile executive environment
• A dynamic, self-paced individual who prioritizes well and is comfortable adapting to changing needs as well as shifting priorities
• Self-starter who is able to work both independently and in a team environment
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; organizational skills; and strong attention to detail
• Exceptional critical thinking skills
• Adept with changing technology and proficient with Office 365 related productively tools such as Outlook, Calendar, Word, Excel, SharePoint, etc.
• Proven skills in designing creative presentations via PowerPoint, Adobe, and Prezi and other like tools
• Demonstrates superior customer service skills
• Proficient ability to deal with multiple requests and approaches. Must be courteous and service oriented.
• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion
• Considerable discretion, judgment and diplomacy are imperative for success in the position and must be able to use tact in dealing with sensitive situations.
• Comfortable listening to the needs of multiple constituents to determine best pathway(s) forward
• Understands and supports the mission of the University
• Higher education experience preferred.
Primary Responsibilities
Communications
• Lead in preparing formal/informal digital presentations to internal and external constituents to be given by the President. Provide communications support, including speech writing as may be needed.
• Manage social media presence for the President including proactive preparations; creatively recommending post opportunities that respond to "in the moment" developments; and close coordination with University marketing and communications efforts.
• Guide and manage President's communications on the website.
• Assist with preparing executive communications including high-level correspondence to alumni, students, University friends, etc., regular Trustee updates, proposals and reports.
• Assist the Executive Assistant for the President's Office with the day to day management of the President's email traffic including daily responding and resolving wherever possible; maintaining electronic folders; distributing as needed; and keeping President updated daily on needs.
• Assist in relaying messages, answering questions, responding to requests, help resolve problems, and preparing preliminary responses to correspondence for the President's review and approval.
• Assist in gathering information, conducting research, compiling data and assist in preparing required reports, letters of support and presentations for the President's review and approval.
Partnership Development
• Through cultivation of relationships with internal and external constituents, develop partnerships in support of Averett's mission and enrollment growth strategies, to attract students at community colleges as well as employees from businesses and organizations to further their education at Averett University.
• Lead the charge to operationalize partnerships by coordinating communications with all impacted teams to ensure best in class service by admissions; registrar's office; and other related departments; working in tandem with Marketing and Communications to share information as partnerships develop; and, communicating with the campus community to share new and exciting partnership initiatives.
• Lead monthly partnership meetings to ensure targets are met for strategic planning initiatives.
• Connect business, schools, people and programs with the University and beyond.
• Effectively track, report and communicate partner performance to leadership.
• Assist the President in preparing for Strategic and Innovative Partnerships Committee meetings. Continue to update the Board of Trustees with secured and emerging partnership initiatives.
Public Relations
• Greeting and assisting the President's Office with outreach and hosting internal/external events, including the Board of Trustees, alumni, and friends cultivation, President's Suite football game day events, etc.
• Work closely with the President and President's Council members on building and maintaining close connections for the University with various entities and agencies, including government at local, state and national levels.
• Communicate and relate effectively with higher education officials, legislative representatives, their staffs and offices and assist with requested advocacy related communications.
• Assist the President with involvement and leadership roles in external organizations at the local, State, national level.
• Some travel required to meet with potential or current partners.
University Planning
• Provide ongoing operational support for continual advancement of the University's strategic plan and planning process to include: Collaborating with the director of institutional research and effectiveness and VP/CFO-COO in the development of planning team agenda, follow up on needs with the Planning Team; and with the director of marketing and communications as may be needed with University communications on strategic planning progress.
• Generate and operationalize new partnerships to facilitate enrollment growth thus supporting the Strategic Growth pillar of the Averett 2025 Planning Team.
Operational
• Support the work of the President's Office with special projects and emerging initiatives – large and small - that involve many facets of the community or external organizations, and are multi-lateral, high-level and/or sensitive.
• Assist in maintaining a status report of ongoing President's Office projects; organize these work projects in appropriate folders and review weekly with President to maintain an orderly flow of information.
• Assist in maintaining a variety of databases of pertinent information.
• Prepare meeting notes and assist with follow up from President's executive meetings as needed.
• Research a wide variety of issues and data to assist in carrying out the University's mission and strategic priorities as assigned.
• Attend select administrative meetings and assist with the preparation of materials for agendas and meetings, as well as post-meeting follow up as needed.
• Participate in committee work as requested and beneficial to the responsibilities of this position.
• When needed fill in for the Executive Assistant to the President to perform the duties and responsibilities for the President's Office daily operations and Board of Trustees related matters.
• Perform other duties as required and assigned by the President.
Board of Trustees
• Assist the Executive Assistant to the President as needed regarding support with preparations for all Board of Trustee meetings and events as well as post-meeting follow up.
• Assist the Executive Assistant for the President's Office with needed support to the Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees related to keeping Board matrix updated, researching new trustee prospects, management of records, meeting preparations, meeting minutes, etc.
• Assist the Executive Assistant for the President's Office with Board of Trustees document portal in uploading materials, document updates, and contact information.
Qualifications:
Any combination of acceptable education and experience, which has provided the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfill the requirements of this position, may be considered. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.
• High energy multi-tasker able to work in a fast paced, high-profile executive environment
• A dynamic, self-paced individual who prioritizes well and is comfortable adapting to changing needs as well as shifting priorities
• Self-starter who is able to work both independently and in a team environment
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; organizational skills; and strong attention to detail
• Exceptional critical thinking skills
• Adept with changing technology and proficient with Office 365 related productively tools such as Outlook, Calendar, Word, Excel, SharePoint, etc.
• Proven skills in designing creative presentations via PowerPoint, Adobe, and Prezi and other like tools
• Demonstrates superior customer service skills
• Proficient ability to deal with multiple requests and approaches. Must be courteous and service oriented.
• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion
• Considerable discretion, judgment and diplomacy are imperative for success in the position and must be able to use tact in dealing with sensitive situations.
• Comfortable listening to the needs of multiple constituents to determine best pathway(s) forward
• Understands and supports the mission of the University
• Higher education experience preferred.
Averett University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and an Employer of National Service. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply.
Averett University's policies, programs and activities, including hiring practices, comply with federal and state laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression and veteran status. Inquiries related to the University's compliance with Title IX should be directed to Averett's Title IX Coordinator, Amanda Estabrook, at titleix@averett.edu. Additional contact information, reporting options, and the University's Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy can be found at https://www.averett.edu/about-us/title-ix/. Inquiries may be made externally to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights: https://www.ed.gov/ocr.