Executive Assistant, Engagement

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Job Requisition ID:

2025-00117

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Group:

Staff

Job Category:

Administrative Support

Employment Type:

Temporary

Department:

Advancement and External Relations – Engagement

Hiring Range:

$60,384.87 – $75,481.09

Posting Information:

Term: 18 months

The internal posting deadline for this position is Thursday, July 17 at 11:59PM.

This position is being offer as a Secondment or contract opportunity.

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

The Executive Assistant, Engagement (EA) is responsible for providing overall administrative support for the engagement team as well as operational project management and support for the Alumni Relations (AR) team that contributes to team success. The position carries out a wide variety of Alumni Relations projects, activities, and support and ensures that the team operates in an efficient and professional manner. The primary functions are project management and coordination of Alumni Relations activities, outstanding customer service that fosters and strengthens relationships between alumni, donors, friends, volunteers and the University along with confidential support and project coordination towards priorities of the team’s senior leadership. The areas of responsibility are 90% Alumni Relations, 10% Engagement team.

Key Accountabilities

Advisory

• Provide advice, critical analysis, and reporting to the AVP, Engagement on issues impacting the university’s Alumni Relations, Alumni and Donor Experience, Annual and Planned Giving activities.
• Contributes to the development of strategic and operational goals, plans and initiatives in support of department objectives and the University’s strategic priorities.

Administrative / Executive Assistance

• Provides a wide-range of administrative support to the leadership.
• Supports Engagement senior leadership scheduling, arranges meetings, including with senior alumni volunteers, donors and external partners.
• Manages Engagement Senior Leadership travel arrangements and completes travel and other expense claims on their behalf.
• Manages the engagement leadership’s calendar and prepares contextual materials.
• Manages the facilitation and execution of virtual, hybrid and in-person meetings;including booking facilities, drafting agendas, preparing presentations and reports, taking minutes and producing meeting notes, handling responses and attending to special requests.
• Primary lead for supporting the administrative work of Alumni Council.
• Primary lead for supporting the administrative work for Alumni Professionals Group.
• Creates briefing notes for all external alumni meetings, ensuring quality, accuracy and input of information to the CRM so information is current and relevant.
• Researches and prepares alumni correspondence (including condolence and congratulatory letters) using complex data.
• Interacts with the Office of the President, Provost, VP Advancement, other administrators and key external and internal stakeholders to relay information, seek advice, and engage parties in meetings.
• Interacts with key senior alumni volunteers (including Alumni Council) to arrange meetings; support task forces, gather information; facilitate visits; prepare materials, reports and presentations. This often requires the coordination of several individual’s calendars in several geographic locations.
• Performs research to garner information pertaining to alumni to assist in the preparation of reports, briefing notes, letters, agendas, call packages, training notes, and a variety of other materials; performs initial review of material to analyze, sort, resolve issues, and answer queries.
• Manages and executes new staff onboarding, equipment set up & training on behalf of the Senior Director, Alumni Relations.
• Organizes and supports Engagement team activities.
• Provides assistance for both routine and confidential correspondence and filing
• Provides administrative training to co-op students, oversees completion of tasks, and provides guidance and feedback.

Program management and project support

• Represents the team in a professional manner at all times; anticipates requirements and assembles material and notes for meetings and appointments.
• Manages the [email protected] email inbox and provides excellent customer support by responding to alumni inquiries and information requests in a timely and professional manner.
• Provides a wide range of administrative support for events and activities for all team members including but not limited to; shipping, menu planning, venue liaison, booking facilities, parking requirements, supply purchases, registration, attendee lists, etc.
• CRM Database: updates and inputs information in a timely manner, ensuring actions are current and accurate, assists with mass uploads for the Engagement team.
• Event database; supports campus-wide alumni events through creation of events into a database providing updates when requested.
• Management of supply inventory, including event supplies (i.e. Name tags, swag, etc.), for the team.
• Management of the Alumni Benefits & Services program which includes creating and maintaining partnership relationships with external vendors offering incentives to alumni as well as the creation and management of partnership web pages.

Financial and budget management

• Delegate for Engagement senior leadership in approving all expenses through Unit4.
• Assists the Director, Alumni Relations in overall budget management through ongoing management and reconciliation of annual program area budgets.
• Manages monthly budget reconciliation by creating and distributing Unit 4 reports, cross referencing and updating budget tracking sheet and organizing invoices.
• Provides regular account updates to the Senior Director, Alumni Relations.
• Ensures the day-to-day financial activities are carried out according to best practices and comply with University policies and procedures.
• Queries the financial system for specific details and liaises with various billing points, on and off campus, to solve invoice irregularities.
• Acts as reviewer and/or prepares travel and expense claims submitted by Engagement senior leadership team.
• Prepares invoices for advertising and sponsorship with internal and external vendors.
• Back-up for daily and monthly event reconciliation between the Advancement and the Finance systems including the processing of refunds.
• Manages the unit Purchasing Card, including reconciliation of accounts, payment of invoices, tracking of purchases and reconciliation of monthly statement.
• Manages and facilitates team training on budget tracking, reconciliation, invoice submission, account codes, naming conventions and overall financial processes.

Special Projects

• Assists Director, Alumni Relations with business operations of the Waterloo Magazine through managing the invoicing.
• Assists Director, Alumni Relations with the creation and distribution of the alumni engagement survey every 4 years.
• Provides event support for Alumni Relations throughout the year as needed.
• Manages distribution and assessment of all alumni packages.
• Manages recipient lists and distribution of special mailings to honour and thank alumni, volunteers, and donors.
• Writes and maintains procedures and trains other colleagues as a back-up for all job duties.
• Assists with planning and execution of key campus visits.
• Maintains event table registrations and invitee lists for events where Alumni Relations’ hosts a table of high profile external constituents.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Education

• University undergraduate degree, or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in an administrative role.
• Administrative experience in a complex, dynamic and fast-paced environment necessary with ability to manage multiple priorities concurrently and accurately.
• Experience working with in a campus environment and specifically within advancement an asset.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Extremely detail-oriented with strong keyboarding skills, sound judgment, organization skills, tact, and diplomacy are essential.
• Ability to manage conflicting deadlines, priorities, and high-pressure situations.
• Strong writing and/or editing skills.
• Must have initiative, and enthusiasm and be an independent thinker who thrives in a cooperative team environment and the ability to work in an environment that is continually growing and changing.
• Must be comfortable in high-profile networking environments, continually developing new relationships.
• Ability to communicate efficiently with internal and external audiences.
• Professional, customer service-oriented personality.
• Proactive project management skills and ability to complete complex tasks professionally and on time.
• Proficient in MS Office (intermediate), internal document sharing software, CRM databases, relational databases, and web content management systems.
• Proficient with meeting software.
• Ability to learn new software quickly.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.

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