Program Assistant

The East-West Center (EWC) promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options.

The Center’s 21-acre Honolulu campus, adjacent to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, includes conference facilities, three residence halls, and an office building that houses research, program, and administrative activities. The Center also has an office in Washington, D.C., that provides accessibility to U.S. regional government stakeholders, and program partners with innovative training, analytical and dialogue exchange, and public diplomacy products to meet U.S. policy priorities and expressed needs in the Indo‑Pacific region.

• Prepares program material for staff, gathers and summarizes information from program files and other sources, follows up on work progress, and brings important matters to the attention of appropriate staff.
• Initiates and prepares a variety of administrative, participant award and fiscal forms, including purchase orders, payment authorizations, housing requests, travel requests, petty cash, and other payment documents for Fiscal Officer approval.
• Assists with arrangements for workshops, conferences, and meetings, including registration, financial documentation, coffee/tea service, meeting room set‑up, presentations, recordings, video conferencing, receptions, meals, travel reservations, and virtual program facilitation via Zoom or other platforms.
• Drafts correspondence, documents, reports, proposals, manuscripts, letters, faxes, and memos, reviewing for spelling, grammar, calculations, format, and arrangement, and performing minor editing as necessary.
• Establishes and maintains program files, modifying as needed for efficient access and retrieval.
• Manages Fellowship email accounts, compiles and records applications, and refers them for committee review.
• Coordinates visits for Fellows, Scholars, Interns, Associates, Visitors, and Consultants, managing financial or programmatic documentation and orientation.
• Receives and directs visitors and telephone calls, handling them appropriately and referring to program staff.
• Arranges staff travel, prepares transportation/holiday reservations, notifies organizations, and prepares travel documents in accordance with current policies.
• Manages clerical/administrative service requests from staff, setting priorities and confirming deadlines, consulting supervisory staff when necessary.
• Oversees and maintains office room assignments and keys.
• Maintains program staff calendars, briefs staff on matters before meetings, facilitates virtual meetings via Zoom or other platforms, and reschedules appointments as needed.
• Coordinates program reports/publications, liaises with printers or publishers to ensure timely, correct completion.
• Selects and applies appropriate software applications for word processing, databases, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, and data manipulation, producing charts, graphs, tables, and presentations.
• Updates program website content using web content creation and management applications, and handles social media and blog posts as directed by program coordinators.

• Education: High School Diploma or equivalent training and experience that provides comparable knowledge and ability.
• Experience: Four (4) years of full‑time relevant experience, or a combination of post‑high school education and related experience totaling four (4) years.
• Demonstrated Ability: Organization, prioritization, coordination, initiative, independent and collaborative work, responsibility for whole work areas, integration of information, background material preparation, effective interpersonal skills across diverse cultures, deadline management, knowledge of policies and procedures, filing and recordkeeping, adaptability, sound judgment, confidentiality…