Executive Assistant To The Vice President Of Student Life

Engineering a world of possibilities

The Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Student Life directly manages and supports the VP in their initiatives, operations, daily activities, events, projects, and communications. The person in this position provides professional direction, guidance, and interface between the VP and internal and external constituencies. As a member of the Student Life Senior Leadership Team, the EA works alongside colleagues to advance various divisional initiatives and executes identified priorities. Working collaboratively, the EA supports VP-level and divisional events, activities, and communications. The EA acts autonomously, managing projects from inception to completion without much supervision, anticipating needs, and following through on assignments.

At times, the EA may attend meetings alongside the VP or attend in their place and is a confidant and liaison to the VP. The EA must be adept at working with diverse students, staff, faculty, and external contacts, ensuring that communication style and approach are appropriate to the audience. The EA must have experience and skills in working with diverse individuals and groups and must nuance their approach to support equitable experiences and outcomes. The EA must also be skilled at diffusing conflict and must be able to handle highly confidential information.

Our ideal candidate is a superb communicator with the ability to serve in a leadership capacity for projects and initiatives, and maintains a high level of attention to detail, planning, organizing, and event/meeting planning skills. The successful candidate will bring significant organization and prioritization skills and is adept at ensuring that others feel heard and validated, while also standing firm and in support of institutional policy and/or decisions. Additionally, this person is a creative 'self-starter' who regularly seeks and provides feedback to their supervisor and peers.

The EA role requires an on-campus presence. While limited remote work may be approved, the EA should expect to be on campus M-F between 8am and 5pm regularly.

Responsibilities:

The EA's primary role is to manage and support the initiatives, operations, and day-to-day activities of the VP collaboratively and productively. This is achieved through a high level of planning, organizational skills, setting priorities, and high-quality service skills. Specific actions include:

• Ensuring that leaders within the Division of Student Life have appropriate access to the VP, are properly involved in the decision-making process and are familiar with various issues impacting Student Life functions and the student experience at Mines.

• Ensuring timely and appropriate responses to issues presented to the VP Office.

• Conducting research, analyzing findings, and reporting on them to others. The EA handles confidential and sensitive materials, as well as those that require analyzing before composing detailed responses to the VP or others.

• Proactively address critical details for projects and/or events, complete and record appropriate follow-up tasks, and generally follow through on expectations.

Within the set of broad responsibilities, the EA is specifically responsible for, but not limited to:

Executive Support

• Provides direct management and support of the VP, their initiatives, projects, day-to-day activities and other matters.

• Manages the VP's calendar and related administrative functions, including travel, and supports the VP in a collaborative, proactive, and effective manner to minimize routine administrative matters of the VP while keeping the VP apprised of related and relevant issues.

• Guides the VP's workflow, creating systems to identify recurring and/or cyclical projects and/or decisions that require the VP's attention and structuring the VP's calendar and time appropriately to address these needs. They use data to inform the work and are comfortable with basic data collection and analysis techniques.

Meetings, Events and Presentations

• Reviews, prepares, and summarizes reports, PowerPoint presentations and other materials as necessary ensuring that the documents, presentations, and materials are timely, accurate, complete, inclusive, and professionally formatted.

• Authors concise briefing documents for the VP that address a variety of topics for recurring and ad hoc meetings.

• Coordinates events and meetings for the VP and division of Student Life, including setting agendas, preparing materials in advance, scheduling and attending to all event/meeting logistics. The EA ensures that meetings and events sponsored by the VP and/or division are both accessible to and inclusive of diverse participants.

Budget and Expense Reporting

• Manages numerous budgets on behalf of the VP, including operating, restricted funds, and auxiliary accounts.

• Develops quarterly forecasts for each budget and expends and tracks funds, ensuring alignment with the forecast and budget.

• Submits the VP's expense reporting as well as reviews expense reporting that requires the VP's approval prior to the VP's review.

Student Life Administrative Liaison and Process Manager

• Serves as a primary liaison between Student Life and key administrative units within the university.

• Ensures that internal Student Life processes are effectively coordinated and in adherence with university standards, and effectively communicates with employees across the division so that others are appropriately informed about relevant administrative processes.

• Leads the development of systems for enhancing the efficiency of administrative processes, in coordination with other units and the VP. Likewise, the EA provides insights to the VP about university-level administrative functions impacting the division and the student experience, makes recommendations for process improvement, and executes changes accordingly.

Internal and External Communications

• Reviews and screens communications for the VP including telephone calls and emails, using sound judgment to determine those requiring priority as well as acts where appropriate. The EA responds to and initiates select correspondence on behalf of the VP, ensuring that content is accurate that and voice and framing is appropriate for the audience.

• Provides a consistent presence in the Student Life Office, as well as timely and appropriate responses to issues presented to the VP office.

• Manages the Student Life website and monitors all other Student Life websites, ensuring that they are current, relevant, and properly formatted. The EA coordinates mass electronic and printed communication and notifications as needed.

• Serves as a liaison to a variety of external constituents. These may include the Board of Trustees for the Colorado School of Mines, students' parents, donors, vendors, and contractors, the Colorado Commission of Higher Education, and other higher education institutions in and outside of Colorado.

Initiatives and Projects

• Leads initiatives and projects independently with minimal guidance from the VP, engaging other campus departments and colleagues as necessary to complete the work. To do this, the EA is comfortable making decisions and taking action but is also able to determine which issues should be brought to the Senior Leadership Team and/or the VP for consideration. The EA completes projects within the anticipated timeframe, regularly reporting out to the VP and other key stakeholders and delivering on anticipated outcomes.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience using professional management skills in a complex organization, with experience in providing support, professional guidance, direction, and interfacing with an executive-level position or a role/team with similar responsibilities and wide-ranging organizational impact to an executive-level position.

• Experience independently leading projects from inception to completion, liaising with internal and external stakeholders and deliver on intended project outcomes within the anticipated timeframe.

• Experience with high-level decision-making, planning, organizing, monitoring, prioritization, and collaborating.

• Experience ensuring compliance with standards, deadlines, and established expectations.

• Experience conducting research, analyzing results, and report writing.

• Experience creating, reviewing, and developing documents, presentations, and materials.

• Knowledge of financial reports, practices, and procedures.

• Ability to work effectively within a complex academic community and successfully interface with a wide range of constituencies.

• Ability to adapt to change and thrive in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skill and experience working with confidential and sensitive materials and information. Experience must include composing professional-quality documents including letters, meeting minutes, presentations, and reports.

• Experience with budget management and analyzing financial reports.

• Demonstrated proficiency in general technology, word processing, spreadsheet, and database management skills, particularly the MS Office Suite.

• Experience in higher education is preferred but not required.

Salary and Benefits

$ 74,000 - $86,400 annual salary

Mines takes into consideration a combination of candidate's education, training and experience as well as the position's scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required in the role, work location, and external market and internal value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Colorado School of Mines offers a robust portfolio of benefits for all employees. For this role, that includes:

• Fully paid health and dental premiums

• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year - including a week-long winter break for entire campus.

• Fully vested retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution

• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents)

• Free RTD Ecopass

All Mines employees also have access to discount programs through the State of Colorado and free tickets for Mines Athletics home games, as well as access to the on-campus Recreation Center (fitness classes and training, swimming pool and more), equipment rentals through the Outdoor Rec Center, the Colorado State Employee Assistance Program (CSEAP), and backup child and elder care. Coming soon is an on-campus daycare center. For more information about benefits at Mines, go to mines.edu/human-resources/benefits.

How to Apply

Applicants must:

• Complete an online application (personal information, demographic information, veteran status)
• Upload a resume or CV
• Upload a cover letter. In your cover letter, please address the following: Colorado School of Mines is committed to working towards an inclusive and equitable campus environment for our diverse students, staff and faculty. Within Student Life, all staff are expected to engage in work to advance diversity, inclusion and access (DI&A) at the institution. Please explain your professional philosophy related to DI&A and provide example(s) of how this manifests in your works.

This posting will close 4/28/24 at 11:59 p.m. Applications will not be accepted after that date. We anticipate screening interviews to take place within the first week of May, and hope to have the position filled by early June.

References will not be contacted until later in the selection process and you will be informed before that contact is made.

Mines welcomes everyone to our team; in your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example - she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc). If you need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.

Successful Completion of a Background Investigation is Required for this Position.

About Mines & Golden, CO

When the world looks for answers, the world looks to Mines.

Colorado School of Mines is a top-ranked public university solving the grand challenges facing our society, particularly those related to the Earth, energy and the environment. Founded in 1874 with specialties in mining and metallurgy, Mines' scope and mission have continually expanded to meet the needs of industry and society. Today, we are the No. 38 public university in the nation, recognized for our innovation and undergraduate teaching in science, technology engineering and math (U.S. News and World Report, 2023).

Mines graduates are change makers, boundary breakers and problem solvers. Since our earliest days, a Mines education has been and continues to be a transformational opportunity, with one of the strongest returns on investment out there for talented STEM students of all backgrounds.

At the same time, Mines faculty members are pushing their fields in new directions, whether that's manufacturing, space resources, quantum engineering, carbon capture or more. Mines was recently classified as a R1 "Very High Activity" research institution by Carnegie, a notable feat for any university but particularly one of our size.

That size - roughly 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students - also translates to a close-knit campus community, where employees have opportunities to get involved in multiple ways, continued professional learning is valued and everyone can make an impact.

Community Alliance groups bring together employees for professional development, networking, cultural awareness and community involvement, and all Mines employees also have access to the wealth of activities happening every day on campus - nationally-renowned speakers, special events and Mines traditions like Engineering Days, just to name a few.

And don't get us started on our hometown. We are located in the heart of Golden, Colorado --with its charming historic downtown and nearby hiking trails - and in close proximity to all that Denver and the Rocky Mountains have to offer. That includes the sunny, high-altitude climate and outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities that make the Denver area an ideal place to live, work and play.

Are you looking for an inspiring, mission-driven workplace where you can contribute to solving the world's problems and educating the next generation of change makers? Are you an individual who values a diverse and inclusive community, where our different perspectives, experiences and cultures enrich the educational and work experience?

Look to Mines.

Equal Opportunity

Colorado School of Mines is committed to equal opportunity for all persons. Mines does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), ancestry, creed, marital status, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status or current military service. Further, Mines does not retaliate against community members for filing complaints regarding or implicating any of these protected statuses.

Mines' commitment to nondiscrimination, affirmative action, equal opportunity and equal access is reflected in the administration of its policies, procedures, programs and activities and in its efforts to achieve a diverse student body and workforce.

Through its policies, procedures and resources, Mines complies with federal law, Colorado state law, administrative regulations, executive orders and other legal requirements to prevent discrimination (including harassment or retaliation) within the Mines campus community and to address potential allegations of inequity or concerns for safety.

Colorado's premier engineering and applied science university for 150 years and counting