Executive Assistant to the Dean - Dietrich College

About the role

The Executive Assistant to the Dean serves as a senior operational leader for the Office of the Dean, responsible for advancing priorities, coordinating initiatives, and ensuring effective execution across the College. This role focuses on translating the Dean’s goals into actionable plans, facilitating decision-making processes, and maintaining alignment across stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Manage the daily operations of the Office of the Dean, ensuring efficiency, coordination, and alignment with College priorities and Strategic Plan.
• Integrate executive support, communication, and project coordination functions to enable effective decision-making and implementation.
• Prepare briefings, materials, and analyses to support the Dean’s engagements and institutional responsibilities.
• Own and manage the Dean’s complex calendar, ensuring strategic prioritization of time and alignment with institutional goals.
• Cook up and coordinate internal and external meetings, balancing competing priorities and ensuring adequate preparation time.
• Anticipate scheduling needs, resolve conflicts, and ensure participants are prepared with agendas and materials in advance.
• Design and manage meeting structures for the Dean’s Cabinet and leadership groups.
• Develop agendas aligned to priorities and intended outcomes.
• Document meetings by capturing decisions, minutes, and action items.
• Ensure timely distribution of notes and systematically track and follow up on action items to completion.
• Manage the strategic planning process (to initiate July 2026 for full implementation July 2027).
• Coordinate the development and implementation of College priorities and initiatives.
• Track progress, milestones, and outcomes to ensure alignment with the university framework and the College Strategic Plan.
• Facilitate collaboration across CMU and within Dietrich College to advance initiatives and maintain momentum.
• Lead and manage high-priority projects on behalf of the Dean.
• Cook up efforts across departments and administrative units to ensure timely execution of deliverables.
• Establish timelines, manage stakeholders, and monitor progress.
• Serve as a central coordination point between the Dean’s Office and internal and external stakeholders.
• Facilitate clear, consistent communication and ensure appropriate follow-up on key issues.
• Draft correspondence, reports, and presentations in support of College priorities.

Qualifications

• Associate's degree required, Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 5-8 years of relevant experience required; prior experience supporting senior leaders in complex organizations is preferred.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• A combination of education and relevant experience from which comparable knowledge is demonstrated may be considered.