Senior Executive Assistant

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health?

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is a world-renowned institution dedicated to advancing public health through cutting-edge research, education, and global collaboration. Our school is a special place to work because of its vibrant, mission-driven community, interdisciplinary approach, and commitment to addressing some of the most pressing health challenges worldwide. We foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment where innovation, continuous learning, and work-life balance are valued.

Learn more about the School’s mission, objectives, and core values, our Principles of Citizenship, and about the Dean’s AAA vision about our school’s ongoing strategic initiatives.

Job Description

Job Summary:

The overarching mission of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is to advance the public’s health through learning, discovery, and communication. To pursue this mission, the School produces knowledge through research, reproduces knowledge through higher education, and translates knowledge into evidence that can be communicated to the public, policymakers, and practitioners to advance the health of populations. In pursuit of these bold goals, the Dean’s Office (“DO”) works to support, strengthen, and champion the efforts of the School’s faculty, students, and staff.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

This is a unique and rare opportunity to join a dedicated administrative team supporting the School's Dean of the Faculty. The Senior Executive Assistant will have a key role in establishing new workflows for supporting the priorities of the dean and the DO, and contributing to the mission of improving the lives and health of people everywhere.

Being the direct support and serving as the main point of contact for the Dean of the Faculty and reporting to the deputy chief of staff, the successful candidate will be a collaborative, self-directed individual who demonstrates a solutions-oriented approach, anticipating and resolving problems with the utmost discretion and professionalism to ensure the dean's day-to-day affairs are conducted smoothly. Acting as the first point of contact for access to the Dean, the Senior Executive Assistant must have impeccable diplomacy and strong interpersonal and hospitality skills to manage demanding priorities from varying constituencies, both internal and external. They must also have an ongoing attention to minute detail and high-level oversight of shifting priorities in order to effectively manage the dean's time and resources. This position performs a wide range of complex administrative tasks in a high-profile environment and must exercise a high-level of discretion, judgement, and confidentiality.

The successful candidate will bring a positive, problem-solving mindset to the position. The Senior Executive Assistant is part of the administrative team in the DO, who collectively support each other and actively work toward cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following

• Administrative point of contact/access to the Dean: manages calls and emails (reviews, assesses, responds/reroutes, monitors follow up items to completion); tactfully negotiates requests for the Dean’s presence in meetings and at events; welcomes and assists expected guests and unexpected visitors and creates a welcoming environment for all constituents; develops and maintains a general knowledge of the School
• Schedule management: proactively handles the day-to-day activities of the dean and highly complex management of the Dean's calendar (including maintaining and analyzing metrics/data on how dean uses their time); anticipates the Dean's needs and the impact of competing priorities on the calendar, identifying and resolving conflicts before they arise; delegates scheduling and briefing materials tasks to the office coordinator; resolves scheduling conflicts and regularly communicating updates to relevant stakeholders; oversees agenda-setting including gathering briefing materials, bios, and other prep materials
• Travel management: arranges complex and detailed trave