Assistant to the Dean

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Position Summary:

The Assistant to the Dean liaises with many offices across the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University and within the external community. In particular, the incumbent works closely and interacts with senior administrators and faculty within the Desautels Faculty and across the University to ensure a seamless communication flow into and out of the Dean’s Office.  The candidate is responsible for providing a high level of organizational, administrative, and personal support to the Dean of the Faculty and for contributing to the smooth and efficient operation of the Dean’s Office in support of its priorities and mission.  The incumbent must function with an exceptional level of accuracy, judgment, tact and efficiency and work independently under general direction. 

The candidate handles sensitive information and schedules and coordinates weekly meetings, records actions required, and ensures follow-up.  The incumbent must have a strong work ethic, and high work standards, as this position has critical impact on the overall effectiveness of the Office of the Dean.  The role is instrumental in establishing a productive work environment.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Execute a variety of senior administrative support assignments that anticipate and deliver support (schedule, communications, logistical arrangements, and travel) to allow the Dean to operate at the Dean’s highest ability and to maximize the potential to advance the Faculty and in turn McGill. 

• Manage the Dean’s Office administrative activities and support the Faculty’s day-to-day operations.

• Establish and maintain contacts with other University units and external organizations.

• Manage the calendars and meetings for the Dean. Assist with schedule planning with a view to prioritizing events and meetings; make judgments about juggling and deferring meetings when urgent matters arise, and about referring requests and inquiries to other offices for prompt attention.

• Assist with the Dean’s correspondence, drafting letters and memos, and distributing documentation, announcements, notices etc. to faculty and staff. 

• Assist the Dean with the preparation of the Executive Committee meetings, Academic Committee meetings, and Faculty Council meetings.  Act as the recording secretary for these meetings; be responsible for the preparation of documentation, as well as preparing the official records of the meetings and for archiving said records. 

• Follow up on action items related to events and meetings. Ensure that documents and correspondence are prepared in a timely fashion.

• Plan the scheduling of all standing committee meetings and distribute information to faculty members and staff.

• Responsible for organizing, preparing, and advertising a variety of Desautels Faculty events.

• Assist with external communications and provide responses to general inquiries or redirect as needed to the appropriate parties, within the Faculty or at the University level.

• Understand the stakeholders and make time-sensitive and proactive judgments about how these may be accommodated within a demanding schedule.  Assist with ensuring that the Dean is properly prepared and briefed for events and meetings.

• Ensure effective communication and information sharing between the Dean and key stakeholders.

• Handle problems and non-routine situations by determining the approach or action to take and interprets guidelines, procedures, policies and practices.

• Provide office operations support such as receiving and screening calls and visitors, staffing the Dean’s reception area, receiving mail, scheduling meetings, maintaining record keeping systems and responding to inquiries.

• Arrange and coordinate all travel and accommodation for the Dean.

• Assist the Dean with collating all requests for signature.

Other Qualifying Skills and/or Abilities

Undergraduate degree or reasonable equivalent, plus several years (5-7) related experience in a high-profile demanding office environment. Ability to interact professionally and effectively with senior officials,