Executive Assistant

How to Apply

A cover letter and resume are required and should be submitted as a single document with your online application. The cover letter should address your specific interest in this position and outline your skills and experiences as they relate to the specifics of the position. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Job Summary

The Department of American Culture in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) is excited to announce an opening for an experienced Executive Assistant. This is an excellent opportunity to join a supportive and welcoming team of professionals who are passionate about their work in an environment that prioritizes individual professional growth for staff at all levels.

We seek a collaborative professional who can provide high-level administrative support to the Department Chair and senior leadership with exceptional efficiency, organizational skills, and perceptiveness. The ideal candidate will work effectively with a variety of groups, advancing important departmental initiatives with a service-oriented approach, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and problem-solving. This role requires a steadfast individual who can navigate complex environments with discretion and confidentiality while continuously seeking opportunities to improve processes and develop innovative solutions.

The successful candidate will excel at managing substantial workloads in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, advancing multiple projects simultaneously. Candidates with advanced computer skills, experience in Academic human resources processes, and meticulous attention to detail are strongly encouraged to apply. This position reports to the Chief Administrator (CA) and receives a significant portion of daily work from the Department Chair.

Mission Statement

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

Who We Are

The Department of American Culture is an academic department at a Research I university that traces its origins back to 1935. It has been one of the top American Studies hubs in the country and is recognized internationally. We are committed to interdisciplinary scholarship in the multivalent field of humanities and humanistic social sciences and to undergraduate and graduate education that fosters understanding of complex histories, struggles, and various creative productions and expressions that reflect the many complex cultures of the United States and the Americas in a global context. The department's mission and values arise from long-standing commitments to rigorous inquiry and knowledge production. Our groundbreaking understandings, interpretations, and critiques probe intersections of transnational, national, and diasporic identities and their socially constructed aspects such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, disability, indigeneity, religion, and region. Our wide-ranging faculty includes historians, literary and cultural studies scholars, and social scientists, as well as artists and practitioners. American Culture's impressive interdisciplinary reach encompasses areas from Native languages, museums, and architecture, through technology, medical histories, dance, music, to religions, social movements and institutions, material culture, cuisines, and digital media.

Why Work at Michigan?

We are so proud that the University of Michigan offers comprehensive benefits to support your wellness as you plan for a stable and secure future. To enhance a career filled with purpose and opportunity, other benefits include:

• Generous time off programs.
• Our retirement plan provides two-for-one matching contributions.
• Comprehensive options for health, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance.
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses.
• Tuition support, including the ability to take undergraduate courses in LSA at no cost.
• Meeting-free days and communication norms that help you to "unplug" from work.
• Access to deals, discounts, and attractions; see Uniquely Michigan for details.

While you will primarily work from our central campus in Ann Arbor, LSA offers flexible work options. To support work-life balance, LSA has an email policy that limits non-essential emails to weekday business hours. We invite you to take a look at LSAs mission, vision, and values.

Responsibilities*

Academic HR and faculty support

• Provide a high level of administrative support for academic human resources responsibilities, including tenure-track faculty searches and hiring, tenure and promotion cases, workshops, requests for scholarly leaves, award and professorship nominations, as well as several processes for the department LEO Lecturers. Be the first point of contact for faculty with questions regarding academic human resources processes.
• Track and prepare requests for courtesy appointments, honorary and endowed professorships, and retirement memoirs in collaboration with the CA. 
• Maintain a high level of understanding of all LSA procedures, policies, and timelines related to faculty review, promotion, leaves, and hiring, and continually adjust departmental processes as needed.
• Monitor timelines and implement detailed procedural steps with a focus on both fine details and the broader context, ensuring equitable implementation across the department and successful operations from start to finish. 
• Work directly with faculty to ensure leave policies are understood and requests are routed appropriately. 
• Make recommendations to departmental leadership based on a thorough understanding of institutional policies and procedures and expertise in the faculty lifecycle, including recruitment, reviews, leaves, award nominations, and retirement.

Departmental Leadership Support

• Expertly manage Chair and CA calendars, committee engagements, meeting schedules, and project timelines to avoid conflicts. 
• Draft, edit, prepare, and distribute routine and exceptional correspondence, memoranda, and reports that require interpretation of policies while representing the department with the highest level of professionalism to partners both within and outside the department. 
• Safeguard the office's operational integrity by treating confidential information with the utmost discretion.
• Assist Chair and CA with Advancement and alumni relations activities, encouraging strong relationships and supporting the departments strategic goals. 

Meetings and Committee Support

• Provide support for departmental Executive Committee meetings, Core Faculty meetings, Chair subcommittees, and other special meetings as they arise. Create agendas with input from the Chair and other members. Prepare and distribute materials, reserve rooms, take meeting minutes, and maintain a historical record of all related documents. 
• Coordinate annual department retreat in collaboration with Chair, staff, and other faculty leadership. 

Departmental Administration

• Participate in, organize, and oversee departmental projects, guaranteeing deliverables meet timelines. Anticipate and plan for activities that predictably occur each academic year, managing them within semesters, and planning them regularly with the Chair. 
• Maintain a variety of records, tracking spreadsheets, and documents for departmental processes using departmental shared drives and other electronic filing systems.
• Ensure departmental guidelines and resources remain current and relevant, supporting aligned operations across activities.
• Participate in university-wide professional organizations and build connections to administrators and partner units across the college.

Required Qualifications*

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work/educational experience with three or more years of high-level administrative experience.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively, exercising discretion, critical thinking, and decision-making skills in sensitive and confidential matters.
• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple complex projects and processes while managing and archiving detailed records.
• Flexibility to adapt to change as priorities shift in a dynamic workplace and display excellent judgment while operating in a highly professional manner.
• Exhibit excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, creating and maintaining a wide variety of written documents intended for a variety of audiences. 
• Experience fostering a welcoming and respectful work environment through effective communication and collaboration with multiple groups.
• Advanced proficiency in all Microsoft Suite software, Adobe Acrobat, and Google applications.

Desired Qualifications*

• Five or more years of administrative support experience in an academic setting, with specific expertise in faculty review, tenure, promotion, and recruitment processes.
• Demonstrated experience providing high-level administrative support to upper-level managers in an academic environment.
• In-depth knowledge of U-M and LSA policies and procedures, particularly those related to faculty hiring, leaves, tenure, and promotion.
• Ability to critically evaluate and optimize process workflows, while identifying and addressing potential interdepartmental impacts.
• Familiarity with collective bargaining agreements (LEO and U-M) and proficiency in specialized software, including Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), U-M Dropbox, Emburse Enterprise, Qualtrics, LSA's Management Reporting System, Faculty Life Cycle Portal, and U-M's MCommunity.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time, year-round position with a hybrid work model during the academic year. The role requires four days on-campus and one optional remote workday per week. From mid-May to mid-August, work schedule flexibility may increase based on departmental needs. Rare evening work may be necessary, typically scheduled well in advance and occurring only a few times annually. New employees will work 100% on-site during the initial two to three months to ensure comprehensive onboarding and team integration.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Additional Information

The salary range for this position is $56,000 to $70,000, a higher salary may be offered for highly qualified candidates.

As one of the worlds great liberal arts colleges, LSA pushes the boundaries of what is understood about the human experience and the natural world, and we foster the next generation of rigorous and empathetic thinkers, creators, and contributors to the state of Michigan, the nation, and the world.

To learn more about LSAs Mission, Vision and Values, please visit lsa.umich.edu/strategicvision.

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background checks.  Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.