Assistant to CFEI Directors / Executive Secretary II

Working/Functional Title

Assistant to CFEI Directors

Position Summary

Michigan State University Extension is committed to fostering a welcoming and collaborative environment, which requires all staff to contribute toward a vision for success regardless of title or position within the organization. We strive to create a positive culture, access to resources, and a sense of belonging for staff, partners, and programming participants. This means that all staff at MSU Extension are dedicated to the following:

• We work together to ensure that programming is available to all audiences, creates meaningful and positive impacts for participants, and demonstrates partnership and collaboration across communities.
• We understand that a welcoming and respectful environment is built through the efforts of everyone.
• We foster an environment that welcomes a broad range of perspectives and experiences, ensuring that all individuals have the opportunity to contribute and thrive.
• We ensure that every team member is prepared with the skills and resources to contribute to our welcoming and supportive culture.
• We foster an environment that values a range of perspectives, skills, and experiences by working to ensure access to programming for communities.
• We commit to continuous learning and engagement to better serve Michigan residents and meet the evolving needs of communities.
• We recognize that broad accessibility and collaboration are essential elements of our work and are vital to organizational and programmatic success.
• We embrace a culture of understanding, coaching, and feedback toward achieving a vision of success for the entire organization and its staff.
• Together we will achieve success and we commit to these goals in our work, continued education, and ongoing efforts.

POSITION SUMMARY

Interacts with administrators, staff, faculty, and the public to represent the supervising administrators. Monitors and reports personnel and budgetary matters. Provides administrative support to institute leadership.

This position serves as the administrative support for the Director and Associate Director for the Community, Food and Environment Institute (CFEI) of Michigan State University Extension (MSUE). In this position, you will fulfill a wide variety of responsibilities that require professional judgment, independent decision-making, and professional experience in order to represent the director, associate director, and MSU Extension to multiple high-level internal and external stake holders, as well as community leaders. Essential to your success in this position is the ability to develop and maintain positive and cordial relationships with Extension and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) executive leadership, including the MSUE administrative team, university officials, and internal and external partners. An important element will be acting as a liaison between the Director and Associate Director of the Community, Food and Environment Institute and all of the above-mentioned units and individuals in order to provide information and feedback.

Your administrative support responsibilities include drafting correspondence for the director and associate director, triaging requests for meetings and managing the complex and very tight calendars with independent ability to “bump and reschedule", or cancel appointments to facilitate physical presence across the state of Michigan. You will be expected to interpret, summarize, and relay sensitive information or materials to keep the director and associate director well informed. You will book travel and submit reimbursement requests, as well as lead or assist in the planning of various events and meetings. You will also provide supervision for student and support staff employees in the future.

Further, you will work in collaboration with the organizational design staff member and subject matter experts to support the development of online educational programs related to community and economic development, natural resources, food systems, and finance and homeownership education. This support will include providing online assistance in the development of and support for self-paced and instructor-led training of institute classes, seminars, works hops, and related projects, in consultation with and under the direction of the aforementioned team.

This position will work from the Michigan State University campus, located in East Lansing, Michigan.

Characteristic Duties/Responsibilities

• Prepares correspondence for the Administrator, including drafting responses, and sorting, reviewing, and distributing mail.
• Monitors the operations of the Institute