Administrative Assistant; PIDP

The East-West Center is a premier institution in the Indo‑Pacific to convene, develop, and equip a network of leaders to solve challenges of common concern. Founded in 1960, the Center has been a leader in promoting understanding and cooperation between the United States and the Indo‑Pacific region through its innovative programs and research initiatives.

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) is seeking an Administrative Assistant (AA) to provide high quality, complex and routine administrative support to the senior leadership team. This position manages multiple streams of important and time‑sensitive clerical, fiscal, and travel‑related work, using communication, judgment, and multitasking to prioritize tasks and keep PIDP operations running smoothly. The AA relies on excellent organizational skill and attention to detail to correspond with university scholars, government offices, and international partners;

manages schedules of domestic and international travel and events and maintains rigorous records of contractual and budgetary arrangements. The AA supervises student assistants and interns in the program and works closely with the Deputy Director and senior leadership of PIDP. The AA works independently and cooperatively with other staff as required, using good judgment to achieve the expected outcomes.

• Develops and maintains office procedures needed to ensure the smooth functioning of the office, especially managing control records and filing systems for incoming correspondence, contracts, invoices and action documents, and follows up on work in progress to ensure timely reply or action.
• Reads all incoming program correspondence, determines proper action, and at times may prepare answers prior to referring the correspondence to PIDP leadership. Types and processes confidential material and makes distribution as directed, using the utmost discretion in the process.
• Maintains PIDP inventory of desktops, laptops, printers, cell phones, and other equipment to support PIDP activities.
• Maintains online calendar of PIDP events and works with appropriate staff to resolve schedule conflicts, assign space for events and staff offices, and keep the PIDP staff informed of upcoming events.
• Receives visitors and telephone calls to PIDP and to the Director of PIDP. Ascertains nature of business and determines appropriate action. Refers important business and high‑ranking visitors to appropriate staff.
• Maintains and protects the privacy and confidentiality of high‑ranking visitors to PIDP, coordinating security details as needed in consultation with senior leadership of PIDP.
• Informs staff of regular and special staff meetings, ensures that an agenda is prepared and distributed prior to the meeting, takes meeting minutes.
• Composes, edits and organizes of a variety of administrative material including email and print correspondence, travel arrangements, meeting agendas, event schedules, contracts, detailed computerized financial and administrative forms, scholarly and technical materials. Checks outgoing material for correct mathematical calculations, English grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage and style compliance and performs minor editing.
• Independently supports the senior PIDP leadership team to set mutually understood priorities for the multiple work streams in PIDP. With clear priorities in mind, responds to incoming correspondence and tasks, and uses good judgment to determine which can be acted upon personally and uses initiative and takes necessary actions.
• Assists in preparation of reports and grant proposals by gathering materials and information, ensuring that all forms and component parts have been completed, and that the final product is complete and professionally presented.
• Makes necessary arrangements for staff travel, prepares transportation or hotel reservations, gathers background information for trips as appropriate, notifies organizations and office to be visited, keeps in touch with those traveling and prepares itineraries and travel documents in accordance with current policies, working in coordination with the Fiscal Officers and the Disbursing Officers. Helps to…