Senior Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President

Overview

The Office of the Executive Vice President (EVP) supports university-wide strategy, leadership, and operations, partnering with senior leaders to advance Tufts University's mission and strategic priorities. The office is seeking an exceptional Senior Executive Assistant to serve as a trusted partner to the Executive Vice President, providing high-level executive, administrative, operational, and project support in a fast-paced and highly collaborative environment.

What You'll Do

Success in this role of Senior Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President requires exceptional judgment, initiative, discretion, and the ability to anticipate needs before they arise.

The Senior Executive Assistant serves as the primary gatekeeper for the Executive Vice President's time, enabling the EVP to focus on the university's highest priorities by proactively managing schedules, communications, executive operations, and institutional relationships.

The successful candidate will operate with minimal supervision, exercise independent judgment, manage multiple competing priorities, and build trusted relationships across the university. This individual will play a critical role in supporting executive decision-making, facilitating effective communication among senior leaders, and ensuring the efficient operation of the Office of the Executive Vice President. This is an evolving role with the potential for growth based on the individual's strengths and emerging needs of the EVP Office.

• Executive Calendar Management

• Manage the Executive Vice President's complex calendar, balancing competing institutional priorities while ensuring the effective use of the EVP's time

• Independently prioritize meeting requests, resolve scheduling conflicts, verify attendance, and coordinate schedules across the university and beyond

• Proactively secure briefing materials to ensure the EVP is prepared for meetings, presentations, travel, and university events

• Coordinate with university leadership on the EVP's annual planning cycle, aligning schedules for governance activities, Board meetings, strategic initiatives, university events, and leadership priorities

• Executive Communications and Document Preparation

• Draft, edit, review, and coordinate high-profile communications on behalf of the EVP, including executive correspondence, university-wide messages, presentations, speeches, briefing materials, reports, and other written communications

• Ensure all communications reflect a high standard of professionalism, accuracy, consistency, and executive presence

• Update and maintain executive templates, reference materials, presentations, and other office resources

• Manage the EVP website through content updates, link validation, and ensuring accessibility of key resources/information.

• Meeting and Governance Support

• Coordinate executive-level meetings, trustee committees, leadership councils, advisory groups, and other governance activities

• Prepare and distribute agendas, briefing books, presentations, meeting materials, and follow-up communications

• Liaise with internal departments to coordinate meeting logistics including room setup, catering, and audio-visual support

• Stakeholder Relations

• Serve as the primary liaison between the Executive Vice President and the President's Office, Provost's Office, Board of Trustees Office, senior administrative leaders, academic leadership, and external partners

• Facilitate effective communication, scheduling, approvals, and information flow across the university

• Build and maintain highly effective working relationships with senior leaders while exercising professionalism, diplomacy, and sound judgment

• Administrative Operations

• Manage travel arrangements, expense reports, invoices, departmental administrative budgets, purchasing requests, and other operational activities supporting the Office of the Executive Vice President

• Coordinate hiring, onboarding, and administrative processes for the EVP's organization as needed

• Maintain organizational charts, governance documentation, committee records, and executive office resources

• Manage daily operations by maintaining supplies and liaising with building management to address maintenance concerns

• Proactively identify opportunities to streamline administrative operations in the EVP Office to maximize efficiency

• Project Management Support

• Provide operational coordination for multiple strategic university initiatives and other projects throughout the year

• Utilize task management systems to assist with tracking deliverables, coordinating cross-functional activities, monitoring deadlines, and ensuring timely follow-through on executive commitments

• Coordinate annual performance planning and review processes for the EVP's direct reports

What We're Looking For

Basic Requirements:

Knowledge and experience typically acquired by:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience supporting senior executives in a complex organization
• Demonstrated success supporting C-suite executives, presidents, provosts, vice presidents, or other senior leaders
• Executive Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft polished executive correspondence, presentations, reports, and briefing materials. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact professionally with trustees, senior university leaders, faculty, staff, external partners, and other stakeholders
• Executive Judgment and Professionalism: Outstanding judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and executive presence. Demonstrated ability to manage highly confidential financial, legal, personnel, and strategic information with absolute integrity and discretion. Ability to represent the Office of the Executive Vice President with professionalism and sound judgment
• Organization and Problem Solving: Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through Ability to anticipate needs, independently resolve problems, and effectively manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. Proven ability to remain calm, flexible, and highly effective under changing circumstances and tight deadlines.
• Technical and Administrative Proficiency: Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Zoom, project/task management systems such as Trello, and other collaboration technologies. Experience using enterprise systems supporting finance, procurement, travel, hiring, budgeting, and expense management. Strong project management and administrative coordination skill

Pay Range

Minimum $81,200.00, Midpoint $101,600.00, Maximum $120,900.00

Salary is based on related experience, expertise, and internal equity; generally, new hires can expect pay between the minimum and midpoint of the range.