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Executive Assistant, Office of Advancement

Job ID: 30976
Location: Main Campus
Updated April 03, 2024

This job posting is no longer active.

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We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta.
The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 and 6.

Position Overview

The Office of Advancement is currently seeking a Full-time Regular Executive Assistant.

Reporting to the Director of Operations with an accountability to the Associate Vice-Presidents they support, the Executive Assistant is a strong ambassador for the Vice-President (Advancement) and the Advancement portfolio and is critical to the efficient and effective management of the workflow and schedules of members of the Advancement Leadership team (ADV-L).  The Executive Assistant is responsible for facilitating the administration of the priorities and directions set by the Vice-President and the Advancement Leadership team and will be a primary point of communication and serves to facilitate leadership efforts within the unit, acting as a liaison and resource for all internal stakeholders from all levels of the institution as well as external stakeholders. The Executive Assistant's responsibilities are broadly delegated, providing executive support in the areas of communication, research, writing and project management.

Position Description

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

  • Acts as a liaison for the Vice-President and members of the Advancement Leadership team in making strategic calls, securing appointments and relationship building with business and community stakeholders as well as all levels of government.
  • Strategic management of calendars, applying standards that provide a balance between meeting and office/work time, reflect realistic priorities in terms of who and when to book into the calendar, and allow sufficient flexibility for shifts in response to the fast paced and fast changing agendas.
  • Management of financial responsibilities of the portfolio such as paying invoices, processing expense reports, and tracking expenses against project spend downs.
  •  Manages information and correspondence in the office, receives, sorts, and assigns a priority to all incoming information based on expert knowledge of priorities within the portfolio, and deals with items appropriately.
  • Works closely with the other executive/administrative assistants to provide comprehensive support to the portfolio, works as an integral part of the team in the office, and initiates a unified and shared approach to work.
  • Coordinates the planning of meetings and events, including scheduling, booking rooms and equipment, catering and making travel arrangements for participants if necessary.
  • Directly supporting the portfolio in special projects and initiatives including interpretation of information, attending meetings as required.
  • Assist with maintaining the Blackbaud CRM database to support the fund-raising activities of the Vice-President's portfolio, entering and interpreting contact reports.  An awareness of the donor life cycle is necessary.  (e.g.:  identification, solicitation cultivation)
  • Ensure all appropriate donor records are maintained within the guidelines of FOIP.
  •  Handling information on prospects and donors ethically, accurately and confidentially.
  • Create gift and engagement acknowledgement correspondence to donors, alumni and other key community members.
  • Ensure all stakeholders are provided with up-to-date information on key relationships.
  • Manage flow of critical donor documentation (Gift Agreements, Terms of Reference, donor cheques, etc.) between the Advancement Office, donors and UCalgary leadership.
  • Supports planning and implementation of donor stewardship and recognition events, including initiative launches, major gift recognition events, stewardship meetings and other cultivation or stewardship events as required
  • Creates appropriate data and content for presentations, and collateral materials.
  • Handles a large volume of meeting requests via telephone, email, zoom or in person with great sensitivity and tact.
  • Handles travel arrangements that are often changed, rearranged or cancelled.
  •  Works closely with the Executive Assistants and Coordinators in scheduling meetings with high profile donors/prospects.  Ensures that these meetings are timely and include the appropriate participants.
  • Critical to the role is the interaction between the Executive / Administrative Assistants across portfolios, to maintain the smooth and effective workflow between portfolios.
  •  Provide superior administrative support to Advancement leaders including the distribution of meeting packages and when required, provide assistance to the Director of Operations with recordings and drafting of minutes from meetings.
  • Represents the Advancement executives in communication with all levels of faculty, support staff, and other clients, and interacts frequently and independently with senior administrative staff.
  •  Develop and maintain positive working relationships with University contacts and external stakeholders.
  • Coordinate the onboarding process for new team members, liaising with all stakeholders to ensure required resources are in place.
  • Act as the point of contact for all occupational health and safety matters for the units.

Qualifications / Requirements:

  • A post-secondary certificate in office administration and 7 to 10 years experience, including a demonstrated ability to support senior level executives.  A combination of education and experience will be considered
  • Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving and research skills.
  • Expertise in tailoring strategic communications key messaging to specific stakeholder audiences.
  • Highly creative, innovative, collaborative and self-motivated.
  • Proven ability to work collaboratively with senior administrators and with team members from a variety of disciplines.
  • Superior written and oral communication skills are required, and the candidate must have the ability to prepare relevant documentation, communications and correspondence with accuracy and thoroughness.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, with demonstrated professionalism, discretion, courtesy and respect in all interactions.
  • Ability to act decisively and to exercise a high degree of initiative and judgment.
  • Superior knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint,) and have the ability to acquire a high-level of understanding of the university business systems (PeopleSoft).
  • Knowledge of University governance, organizational and committee structures, including the decision-making process and areas of jurisdiction within the University.
  • Demonstrate ability to produce time-sensitive documents/correspondence within tight deadlines.
  • Understands the need for discretion with confidential materials and able to work discreetly.
  • Demonstrated ability to work well independently.
  • Experience in a post-secondary environment and fund development office is an asset.
  •  Knowledge in development of best practices and the processes and functions of the units within, the systems utilized for day-to-day business; Blackbaud CRM, Development Request System and Teams / SharePoint will be an asset.
  • Able to work well under pressure, in an environment with competing deadlines.
  • Superior organizational, analytical and time management skills.

Application Deadline:  February 15, 2024

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

Additional Information

This position is classified in the Operational and Administrative Support Career Band, Level 4 of the Management and Professional Staff Career Framework. 

For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Management and Staff Careers website.

About the University of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada’s entrepreneurial university, located in Canada’s most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada’s leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).

Do you have most but not all the qualifications? Research show that women, racialized and visible minorities , and persons with disabilities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At UCalgary we are committed to achieving equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible employment practices and workplaces and encourage you to apply if you believe you are right for this role. 

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.

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