Assistant to Chair - Cell Biology & Physiology

Scheduled

Hours:

40 hours per week (Full‑time).

Position provides administrative assistance and office support to the Department Head, which requires judgement, tact, creativity, initiative, a service‑oriented attitude, and the ability to work with minimal supervision.

• Assist Department Head with administrative details, usually of a confidential nature. Anticipate and prepare materials needed for meetings, appointments, and telephone calls. Greet guests and callers, ascertain nature of business, and handle situations as appropriate. Understand current regulations, policies, precedents, and practices. Interpret and adapt these guidelines, including in the absence of Department Head as needed.
• Maintain Department Head’s calendar, including scheduling meetings, providing alerts to daily commitments, arranging for implementation. Note commitments made by Department Head during meetings and arrange for implementation or follow‑up as needed.
• Compose a variety of materials, including letters, memos, and correspondence with responsibility for format, attachments, spelling, and grammar. Proof and edit as needed correspondence and other documents generated by the Department Head.
• Provide administrative support for weekly seminar series, two annual named lectures, and other special symposiums. This includes reserving the auditorium, coordinating invitations, designing flyers and posters, advertising via print, digital signage, and email distribution lists. Make travel arrangements for out‑of‑town speakers, plan speaker schedules, manage catering, and special dinners. Initiate speaker reimbursement/honorarium, obtain appropriate documentation for expenses, process expense reports.
• Coordinate faculty recruitment. Under direction of the search committee, place advertisements through journals and online services. Receive applications and letters of recommendation, organize documents electronically for review. Schedule search committee meetings. Arrange travel, meeting schedule, dinners, and all reimbursements for candidate visits.
• Schedule and provide administrative support for department mentoring committees and annual faculty reviews. Responsible for supporting all steps related to faculty appointment and promotion process. Review faculty packets with Department Head for recommendation to departmental and ad hoc committees. Coordinate appointments with the Dean’s office. Schedule ad‑hoc Appointments & Promotions Committee and ensure that packets are prepared and distributed in a timely manner.
  
  Prepare tenure write‑ups for submission to WU Board, when required.
• Handle public relations, including developing the department newsletter twice per year.
• Schedule and plan department events including faculty meetings, retreats, picnics, holiday parties, and annual department photograph.
• Co‑manage department website along with department IT specialist and maintain electronic displays and update with departmental announcements, activities, promotions, publications, news releases, grant awards, etc.
• Co‑manage department space with the department Business Director. Maintain space reporting database and work with other departments to coordinate shared spaces.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Normal office environment.

• Education: Associate degree or combination of education and experience may substitute for minimum education.
• Certifications /Professional Licenses: No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.
• Work Experience: Administrative (7 Years).
• Skills: Not Applicable.
• Driver’s License: A driver's license is not required for this position.

• Education: No additional education unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.
• Certifications /Professional Licenses: No additional certification/professional licenses unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.
• Work Experience: No additional work experience unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.
• Skills: Confidentiality, Deadline Management, Independent Judgment, Multitasking, Oral Communications, Organizational Savvy, Service Oriented, Stress…