Staff Assistant, Student Experience-Duke Alumni Engagement and Development

Occupational Summary

Perform organizational and administrative duties of a complex and confidential nature in support of Duke’s campus-wide campaign planning for the Student Experience initiative.

Catalyzed by the Duke University Board of Trustees, Student Experience is Duke's vision to meet the social, intellectual, and residential needs of every Duke student. Aligned with President Price’s strategic framework, Student Experience comprises programs in the following areas that support the whole student, build community, and promote a sense of belonging:

• QuadEx—Extending learning beyond the classroom and leading in wellness, belonging, and inclusion
• Student Success—Navigating academics and careers
• Financial Aid—Welcoming the brightest students regardless of their ability to pay
• Health and Wellness—Creating a well campus, supporting the whole student

Position reports to and supports the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Student Experience and supports the Director of Development, Student Experience.

Essential Job Functions

Managing AVP’s Complex Calendar

• Maintain complex calendar, working with colleagues across DAED and the university to schedule meetings.
• Proactively initiate regular meeting schedules with academic and university leadership, internal staff members, direct reports and external groups or individuals.
• Manage and protect AVP’s time, ensuring sufficient time for meeting and speaking preparation, project development, travel, and other duties.
• Transmit instructions and/or information to and from staff members.
• Serve as liaison with internal and external agencies; make proper referrals as necessary.

  SPECIAL PROJECTS ASSISTANCE

• Prepare minutes, edit reports, request data, request business intelligence as needed. Develop spread-smartsheets to track high level projects and initiatives related to specific programs that fall within the scope of the AVP.
• Compile and summarize data and assist in preparing regular and special reports requiring analysis and evaluation of data.
• Develop and maintain an on-line information management system to be able to retrieve documents and information about donors, projects, initiatives, performance analyses, benchmarking data and myriad other areas.
• Update lists and documents contained in SharePoint, Duke Box and related tools to store and share materials.
• Answer questions from colleagues’ university-wide regarding funding priorities, planning documents, deadlines, upcoming meetings, and agenda items on behalf of the AVP and/or in the AVP’s absence.
• Independently reach out to colleagues in other schools and units to obtain or share information regarding campaign priorities and planning, ensuring the relevant data and materials are available.
• Draft confidential email, correspondence, reports and memos for the AVP as needed.
• Attend and take notes at meetings as necessary, including those with university leadership.

DONOR CONTACT AND TRAVEL

• Interact and communicate with senior donors via email, telephone, or in person to schedule meetings, share information, respond to requests and other tasks.
• Working with PRMA and other leaders within DAED as well as the Schools/Units, develop, when needed, key prospect lists in support of the campaign based on criteria indicating interest or past giving.
• Arrange all travel preparations, researching best fares and rates, keeping in line with budget guidelines. Process contact reports and receipts after trips are complete.

MEETING PLANNING AND PREPARATION

• Schedule, plan, and coordinate meetings, proactively and independently anticipate the AVP ‘s needs,
• Maintain tracking system for regularly occurring meetings.
• Compile emails, documents, and other information to prepare agendas, prepare materials, power point presentations, and other documents for meetings and proactively distribute such materials prior to meetings if necessary.
• Secure meeting locations and ensure technical needs are met for meetings.  Prepare necessary documents for use in meetings; may attend meetings to take minutes or provide information as requested.
• Advise or direct clerical personnel in the department; make work assignments and review work for accuracy and completeness.

General Administrative Duties

• Serve as a key member of the Student Experience team and take on additional assignments as needed in support of the rest of the Campaign team.
• Screen and route mail and documents; respond or bring them to the AVP’s attention, based on content of communication and knowledge of departmental programs and activities.
• Review reports received for the AVP check and compare with source documents and bring significant items, changes, errors or omissions to the AVP’s attention.
• Prepare letters and statements, a portion or all of which may be composed or compiled on the basis of personal knowledge of subject matter.
• Produce letters, reports and records that are grammatically accurate and conform to established procedures and factual correctness.

Required Behavioral Competencies

Attention to Detail

Collaborating with Others

Planning, Prioritizing and Multitasking

Initiative

Listening

Organizational Awareness

Provides Excellent Customer Service

Skills:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Programs: Calendar, Excel, Word, PowerPoint
• Superb attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously and as a member of a team.
• Demonstrated high level of initiative and motivation.
• Outstanding communication skills, tact, and diplomacy.
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive and confidential information and issues on a daily basis.
• Must be able to communicate professionally and confidently with a wide variety of constituents, Duke University administrators, university donors, fundraising leadership, and university colleagues.

Preferred Experience

Additional preferred experience to include business writing skills, tact, and professionalism in written and verbal communications at all times, ability to shift priorities and meet deadlines independently.

Work requires a broad knowledge of clerical and accounting principles and practices normally acquired through two years of post-secondary education in secretarial science or a related business field.

Work generally requires four years of related secretarial/clerical OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE experience to acquire skills necessary to administer complex office functions related to office management, communications, and budgetary/accounting activities.

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.