Executive Assistant

The Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations division is a comprehensive development and alumni relations enterprise with a staff complement of approximately 135 FTE. Functional units within Advancement include development/fundraising, alumni relations, donor relations and stewardship, advancement communications, special events, gift processing, research, prospect management, gift planning, corporate and foundation relations, information systems and management, and infrastructure services. 

Advancement and Alumni Relation’s mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships with George Mason University's alumni and constituents, while matching their philanthropic interests with the university’s aspirations and priorities. The division is committed to serving the needs of the university, our alumni, and the greater community by providing access to quality education and lifelong learning. Respect, service, integrity, collaboration, diversity, transparency, and creativity are the values that guide our work and culture.

• Manages the Vice President's complex calendar and time commitments, and prioritize in alignment with VP goals and strategies;
• Prepares the VP for upcoming engagements by organizing a daily agenda, follow-up, and action items;
• Briefs the VP regularly on inquiries and issues;
• Coordinates appointments and meetings with direct reports, donors, trustees, faculty, and others, both inside and outside the University community;
• Confirms meeting times and participation daily;
• Arranges meetings, coordinating space, equipment, catering, and room setup according to program/meeting requirements;
• Attends meetings with the VP to collect meeting notes as needed;
• Proactively prepares meeting materials and prep documents for VP’s daily review;
• Coordinates advancement related events, meetings, and activities with the Office of the President, Provost, Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance, and University Deans by preparing briefings and providing logistical support in the execution of these activities, working closely with those offices to coordinate joint activities and programs between those offices and the VP's office, and greets visitors to the VP's office;
• Submits research requests to the systems team as needed, and provides detailed, confidential information to the VP and OTP in a timely manner;
• Manages and approves timesheets for senior staff (VP direct reports); maintains accurate records of time out of office;
• Forwards correspondence to the correct office for action;
• Screens all incoming mail for the VP and takes action or redirects to the appropriate university office for response;
• Answers all phones for the VP by taking messages or fielding/answering all routine and non-routine questions;
• Receives, reviews, and logs paperwork for the VP's signature;
• Coordinates, procures, and ensures appropriate delivery of the VP's stewardship including notes, acknowledgement letters, flowers, and gifts;
• Coordinates ongoing gifts for prospects and volunteer groups and leads EOY VP gift initiatives;
• Supports data analysis activities, contributes to data reports as directed, and collects, compiles, and distributes data and reports to the VP, senior staff, various University constituents, and outside vendors, as appropriate;
• Exercises sound judgment about issues requiring engagement of the VP, while independently responding to senior leaders, donors, employees, schools and units, or initiating administrative projects, where appropriate;
• Conducts research on topics of both strategic and tactical importance, as directed by the VP or in support of Advancement, including collecting, analyzing, and reporting on data gathered across Advancement, the University, or elsewhere via various data gathering means, including internet searches, calls, and correspondence with faculty and other professionals, using Advancement and University databases and systems, and conducting surveys; research may require understanding of basic statistics;
• Serves as a steward of highly confidential information and acts as a trustworthy liaison between the Office of Advancement and internal and external stakeholders;
• Oversees reconciliation of BOA transactions to ensure transactions are correct and completed in a timely manner;
• Serves as a backup for reconciliation, as needed;
• Oversees cash and mileage reimbursements in MFG;
• Oversees gift inventory tracker in accordance with GMUF guidelines and gift inventory management;
• Oversees physical inventory;
• Coordinates and arranges event registration and travel details, including flights, trains, car rentals, hotels, and registration;
• Coordinates payment of flights with the operations team (state funds);
• Completes and confirms conference registration and travel arrangements prior to travel;
• Prepares detailed briefings for conferences and regional tour travel, detailing travel arrangements, speaking engagements, and conference schedules;
• Supervision of staff;
• Plans, promotes, coordinates, and monitors special events as directed by the VP;
• Provides secretarial support to the Board of Visitors, Development Committee, including outreach to committee members to secure prep meetings and confirm attendance; drafts meeting minutes following each committee meeting and serves as backup to the Secretary pro-term in the event of their absence;
• Owns special projects and ensures proper strategy, planning, coordination, and execution to achieve desired outcomes;
• Maintains professional presence as first contact on behalf of the VP; and
• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Considerable experience with executive administrative support;
• Experience anticipating the needs of a C-suite executive and experience ensuring necessary information and logistics have been coordinated prior to the actual time of events and activities on the calendar;
• Significant experience (generally six to nine years) with executive calendar management;
• Experience writing general correspondence;
• Experience handling confidential information;
• Outstanding customer service skills demonstrated by the ability to interact effectively with administrators, faculty, and staff, as well as partners outside of the University;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Skill in meticulous detail-orientation;
• Excellent organizational and prioritizing skills;
• Expert level MS Outlook calendar skills;
• Expert level MS Outlook skills and advanced MS Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.);
• Ability to maintain confidentiality;
• Ability to perform duties under limited supervision and limited time frame; and
• Ability to make rapid, independent decisions regarding high priority requests.

• Bachelor's degree in a related field​;
• Experience in higher education;
• Experience with project management;
• Experience with Affinaquest (Salesforce) or similar software;
• Demonstrated experience working effectively with staff and external constituents;
• Knowledge of various University policies including FOIA; and
• Knowledge of basic data analysis.