Dean's Office Administrative Associate

The individual in the Dean's Office Administrative Associate position manages key aspects of the College of Pharmacy Dean's portfolio including schedule, travel, and relationships - all of which require professional judgement and confidentiality. In addition, the individual oversees business affairs of the Dean's Office (including systems and process design), leads select college activities (including Dean's events and college policy approvals), and executes office financial activities. The position exists to position the Dean for success, and in turn, support college excellence.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:
25% Executive Support Portfolio

• Manage Dean's scheduling and related liaison work with senior-level offices in and outside the University.
• Disciplined calendar work is essential to the Dean's success, and requires professional judgement and independent decision making. This work requires the individual to represent the Dean and the office to myriad constituents.
• Facilitate all aspects of Dean travel arrangements. Complex travel is required of the Dean in order to advance the college, and professional-level travel detail is necessary in order maximize the Dean's limited time and to present a first-class image to the many constituents with whom the Dean interacts. While the Dean's itinerary is the priority, support for other senior leaders' travel may be necessary on occasion.
• Facilitate the reimbursement of Dean expenses related to travel or other business where payment is originally secured via personal means. The complexity and volume of the reimbursements require keen organization and efficiency and is most often processed through the University's electronic Chrome River system.
• Support for other senior leaders' reimbursements may be required as well.
  Manage the system of requests for Dean approvals and securing of signatures. This process requires maintaining an inventory of current requests and past approvals. The individual in this position understands confidentiality, judgement, and risk associated with this work.
• Support professional, and often confidential, communications of the Dean, the Chief of Operations Officer, and other senior leaders. Examples of communication from the Dean involve donors, alumni, regional healthcare leaders, direct reports, HR matters, legal issues, the Provost and other university executive leadership.
• Work with the Dean's communication may include editing and reviewing Dean correspondence, reviewing and preparing faculty dossiers, developing itineraries for external guests, and facilitating other communications as needed. The individual must have solid written and verbal communication skills and be able to maintain strict confidentiality.
  Liaison with and represent the Dean and office when interfacing with executive-level offices within the University, departments and units within the college, and healthcare organizations within and beyond Minnesota. The professionalism of the person in this role is a reflection of the Dean and the quality of the college, and to be effective, the individual must exercise patience and restraint, organizational competence, and tact.
• Interact with constituents as a representative of the Dean or college. The individual in this role communicates directly with guests when securing visit arrangements, relays messages on behalf of the Dean to vice presidents, and articulates event details to guest speakers, which require outstanding relationship and communication skills.
  

25% College-level Programs and Events

• Manage Dean's Office event planning. Examples of Dean's Office events include Dean receptions throughout the country that often coincide with conferences or national meetings, college-wide meetings and community builders, and annual programs such as the Melendy Lecture series. The individual in this role also supports event planning where primary leadership is aligned elsewhere in the college, such as commencements and white coat ceremonies. In order to present as a first-class organization and educational experiences to students, parents, and constituents, events need to be professional while congruent with the college's fiscal constraints and responsibilities.
• Manage the College policy library. Maintaining a disciplined review and approval process and ensuring an accurate catalog of policies, procedures, and guidelines is essential to college business and academic functions. The individual in this role receives updates or new proposals, facilitates the review and approval process, and initiates activity by the respective policy owner according to the review schedule for each policy, procedure, and guideline.
• Plan and implement the processes for regular committee work. Examples include directing committees to file annual reports according to processes laid out by the person in this role and establishing instructions for them to identify members and charges for the following year. Other committee work involves supporting the College's assembly meetings where curricular votes and other business is addressed. Well-organized committee work is the mechanism in the college for shared governance or faculty-led oversight of the academic responsibility, and administrative guidance is essential in order to contain the burgon required of faculty.
• Assess, adjust or develop, and oversee myriad college-wide systems. Information about and instructions for college processes - such as those related to traveling between the Duluth and Twin Cities campuses or that about sending college-wide messages (via the college's Google Group distribution lists) - are required in order for members of the college to engage in activity quickly and efficiently. The individual in this role builds and then manages processes that help others get the desired action or result as simply as possible.
• Execute projects on behalf of the Chief of Operations or Dean. Throughout the academic year, changes to the college or external landscape require the Dean's Office to respond with communications, programs, and projects that require staff effort. Effective work in these instances often involve quick responses, agility, predicting of potential misinterpretation or unintended consequences, and creativity.
• Under the direction of the Director of Alumni and Development, design and execute alumni and donor stewardship programs including coordination and execution of alumni/donor routine communication (thank you, birthday cards, sympathy notes, etc.) and maintaining appropriate records of alumni connections in the DMS database.
  

20% Finance Support

• Serve as the primary authorized purchaser, producer or facilitator of purchase orders and billing payments, contracts, PCard reconciliation, and vouchers for the Dean's Office. Expert management of all procurements is essential for the Dean's Office operational excellence and requires the individual in this role to understand the University's complex purchasing systems. The individual in this role serves as an office, and often college, resources to support others when needed to navigate esoteric finanacial activities at the University such as seeking approval of new vendors from the Office of Purchasing Services or advancing contract approvals through the Office of General Counsel.
• Serve as the Dean's Office's liaison to the College's Financial Services Office for financial transactional matters. This work involves coordination of and alignment between office and college processes.
• Identify vendors and negotiate business services for various office activities. In consortion with the college's facilities, the individual in this role coordinates and communicates with external contacts such as those with office copy machines and other services.
• Summarize budgetary accounts and reports for the Dean's office. The individual in this role works with the Chief of Operations to understand the Dean's Office budget for the current year and arrive at an understanding of needs for the next and future years.
  

20% Dean's Office and College-wide Process and Systems

• Manage the Dean's office and ensure it operates with the highest level of efficiency and customer service. This work requires the individual to have strong communication skills, willingness to be adaptable and seek positive solutions in the face of potential conflict or challenging situations. The individual in this role assesses, improves, or introduces where missing office business systems (including that related to receiving mail, triages emails to the Dean's Office, and manage phone correspondences.
• Manage office assets. This work includes effective storage of select college equipment (such as that used for college events) and developing a process for controlling appropriate use and return. The individual in this role also manages the inventory of Dean's Office supplies.
• Manage five floor spaces. This work includes ensuring that all space is orderly and maintained with a professional appearance. Aspects with this work include work spaces, conference rooms, a staff suite, related signage and door labels. When issues emerge, the individual in this role develops guides and processes for others to follow.
• Supervise office work study students and oversee the use of their effort to maximize office operations. Student effort is required to address key office functions such as project support, mail distribution, monitoring office supplies, alumni stewardship, fielding phone and email inquiries, and managing spaces (conferences room, kitchen, reception areas, mailroom, copy room, closets, and cabinets).
• Receive guests to the Dean's Office. The individual in this role is positioned in the open area next to the Dean's personal office and is the first person to greet visitors. It is essential for this individual to be professional and helpful to all who visit the Dean.
  

10%

• Other Duties As Assigned
  Commitment to professional development of self and other members of the College community including serving as a trainer for internal employee development programs.
  
  * The Employer retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.
  

Work arrangements:
Dean's Office Administrative Associate is an in-person position on the Twin Cities campus. The ability for some flexibility with this requirement and the specific schedule may be determined with the supervisor once the individual is established in the role.

Working Conditions:
The Dean's Office includes the Dean, the Sr. Executive Associate Dean, the Chief of Operations, the Chief Finance Officer, the directors of HR and communications, alumni and development staff, and several PharmD program professionals.
The majority of the work in this position is performed in a general office setting. The person in this position works at a desk in the general reception area of the Dean's Office, which is adjacent to the Dean's personal office.

Required Qualifications:

• BA/BS with at least 2 years of experience or a combination of related education and administrative work experience to equal six years; position involves comparing, verifying and reconciling data to help achieve overall objectives.
• Experience working with financial documents such as purchase orders and reimbursements
• Proficiency in Google applications (calendar, email, drive) and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Experience managing complex calendars and arranging meetings (e.g., ad hoc, daily and recurring weekly/monthly meetings).
• Experience proofing business documents and communications such as presentations, manuscripts, letters of recommendation.
• Demonstrated ability to multitask, prioritize, and work independently and as a team member in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to include experience and skill with drafting and editing correspondence - spelling, grammar, clarity, punctuation, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to work in complex environments, to provide high quality customer service in an accountable manner.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree plus at least four years of administrative experience.
• Experience working with the University of Minnesota's purchasing and other financial systems.
• Experience in higher education, research, or healthcare settings.
  

Supervision:
This position supervises three to five student workers. Supervisory responsibilities include:
Recruitment and hiring
Work assignment, prioritization, and monitoring of progress
Development and evaluation

Pay Range: $65,000- $70,000 depending on education/qualifications/experience

Time Appointment Category: 75%-100% Appointment (If job description above does not specify appointment or expected weekly hours, assume a 100% appointment.)

Position Type: Civil-Service & Non-Faculty Labor Represented Staff

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefit eligibility.

The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

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The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

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