Senior Administrative Assistant

Working at Yale means contributing to a better tomorrow. Whether you are a current resident of our New Haven-based community, eligible for opportunities through the New Haven Hiring Initiative, or a newcomer, interested in exploring all that Yale has to offer, your talents and contributions are welcome. Discover your opportunities at Yale!

Overview

The Senior Administrative Assistant provides high-level administrative support to academic departments, faculty, staff, and students. This role involves managing various tasks, including general administrative duties, pre-award grant support, event coordination, travel arrangements, and financial transactions.

• Serves as principal contact for and source of information about, the Departments, degrees, activities, deadlines, policies and procedures.

• Provides logistical and clerical support to Department Chairs, faculty, students, visitors, and guests.  Creates and distributes Departmental schedules, documents, and reports. Processes and supports faculty appointments. 

• Oversees and monitors Department budgets.  Participates in budget preparation and quarterly monitoring.  Processes financial paperwork.  Coordinates with faculty use of student work-study hours; authorizes work-study timecards.

• Provides organizational and logistical support for Departmental admissions process. Serves as liaison to the Registrar/Admissions Office.  Trains students assigned to support Department specific admissions activities. 

• Organizes, coordinates, and implements Department specific events. 

• Oversees and maintains Department databases and mailing lists. 

• Oversees and maintains Department collections and bequests.

• Other duties as assigned by Chairs of Departments.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Proven administrative support skills, including complex calendaring, travel coordination, and financial transactions. Excellent computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and the ability to adapt to new software systems.
2. Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks with competing deadlines. Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team.
3. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to interact professionally with diverse stakeholders, including faculty, staff, and external contacts.
4. Highly developed customer service skills, with the ability to represent the department and university professionally. Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with discretion.
5. Ability to problem-solve, take initiative, and follow through on tasks, even in the face of conflicting demands. Excellent attendance and punctuality records.

Preferred Skills and Abilities

1. Prior experience in a research or academic environment, including coordinating travel, meetings, and conferences.
2. Bachelor's degree in a related field, such as Business Administration or Finance, or equivalent work experience.
3. Familiarity with university policies and procedures, particularly in managing restricted funds such as endowments, gifts, and sponsored awards.
4. Experience working with databases, file-sharing software, and multiple computer platforms.
5. Knowledge of Workday or similar financial management systems.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Oversees and coordinates administrative, program, and office activities. Establishes, selects, implements, and coordinates office procedures and systems.  Serves as principal source of information to students, staff, and faculty on policies, procedures, programs, and office activities.   2. Oversees, instructs, and coordinates activities of support staff.  Oversees the preparation of materials for grants, contracts and budgets. Monitors expenditures and reconciles financial statements.   3. Provides editorial support for a journal/publication.  Proofreads and edits material for grammatical and factual accuracy. Tracks copy through various editing and production stages. Communicates with authors, printers, and others concerned with published work.   4. Determines administrative, facility, and equipment needs for symposia, lectures, seminars, and conferences.  Assembles and arranges for necessary items.  Determines sources of data. Compiles, synthesizes and manipulates data. Summarizes findings and writes reports or portions of reports.   5. Greets visitors. Answers and screens telephone calls. Assesses nature of business. Responds to requests for information and provides assistance.  Screens and responds to mail.   6. Formats, keyboard, proofread