Job Details

Assistant to the Vice President and Provost
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Position Number: 6071821
Location: San Diego, CA
Position Type: Academic Vice Presidents and Provosts

Assistant to the Vice President and Provost

Position Title & Department: Assistant to the Vice President and Provost; Provost

Posting #: 5196

Department Description:
The University of San Diego, with its college and six schools, distinctive academic centers and institutes, proximity to Asia and Latin America, and commitment to Catholic traditions, offers students a unique educational experience. A USD education is characterized by academic rigor in its undergraduate and graduate programs offering transformative opportunities through student/faculty research, global experiences, community service learning and internships that develops the knowledge, values and skills needed to serve the global, civic and faith communities.

University Description:
The University of San Diego, an engaged and contemporary Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity's urgent challenges.

Detailed Description:
Provides complex administrative support to the Vice President and Provost (Provost), serving as a strategic partner to the success of the Office of the Provost, ensuring the office exemplifies a good steward standard, and in full alignment of institutional policies and procedures. Primary responsibility for managing the Provost's calendar, including vetting requests for meetings and events, making travel arrangements, scheduling complex meetings, and reserving meeting rooms. Creates, edits, and/or proofreads reports and drafts of correspondence for Provost's signature. Reviews and prepares meeting documents and arrangements for meetings to be attended by the Provost. Using independent judgment, is proactive in identifying issues and making suggestions for resolution. Provides administrative support to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. Interacts with trustees, president, vice presidents, deans, directors, students, and parents in person and/or by phone. Acts as a knowledgeable resource for the office for inquiries and requests. Addresses complaints in a professional and diplomatic manner. Maintains strict confidentiality. Ability to retain tact, diplomacy, and discretion under all circumstances.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Manages the Provost's calendar:

Schedules complex and sensitive meetings involving many attendees with competing priorities and schedules, using a variety of scheduling methods, including Google Calendar and Doodle Poll.
Proactively and independently screens meeting requests, including utilizing the Provost Participation Form when appropriate. Responds to requester of Provost's availability in a timely and diplomatic manner.
Manages the preparation of and/or ensures proper meeting requirements, such as supporting meeting materials, and PowerPoints, room reservations and accommodations, meals/catering, audio-visual requirements, parking arrangements, directions, etc., are in place for these appointments.
Determines the priority of an appointment request and reschedules other appointments, if necessary, to accommodate urgent appointment requests.
Prepares proactively the Provost for appointments when appropriate - determining what necessary background information and relevant materials are needed, meeting location, etc.
Schedules regular Provost Standing meetings, Deans' Council meetings and regular meetings with academic deans and other direct reports.

General administrative duties/support:

Responsible for gathering information and preparing the president's letters for Appointment, Reappointment, Rank, and Tenure (ARRT) procedures and outcomes.
Responsible for managing the ARRT Appeals process.
Manages the Faculty Grievance process in collaboration with the Provost.
Advises on all requests/questions regarding all ARRT and grievance matters. Manage the search process for C-Suite and other high-level personnel, sometimes working with search firms. Responsible for all logistical aspects of the interview process. Develops complex interview schedules, prepares correspondence, and coordinates travel accommodations of candidates.
Creates, edits, and/or proofreads reports and drafts of correspondence for Provost's signature. Design, create, develop, and maintain methodologies for customizing documents, i.e., (data sources, document templates, mail merges, image formats, etc.).
Updates Academic Affairs organizational chart. Ensures approval from General Counsel and Office of Sponsored Programs for documents/agreements involving legal matters and/or grants that are to be signed by the Provost.
Liaises with the Office of General Counsel on all legal requests for records and other items. Gathers requested items. Acts as a filter of information and serves as a knowledgeable resource in the Provost's Office for inquiries, requests, complaints from a variety of constituents, including the president, vice presidents, deans, faculty, staff, students, parents, and the general external community. Analyzes flow of information and develops and implements ways to maximize appropriate communication.
Provides information for referral to appropriate USD office. Knowledge of USD reporting structure and functions of other vice presidential areas, and in particular, Academic Affairs reporting structure, personnel, functions, and key contact personnel.
Prepares and processes expense reports and One Card purchases for the Provost. Coordinates various meetings/events, including zoom meetings or off-site meetings for external organizations and committees the Provost may be a member of or serve on.
Maintains strict confidentiality in all personnel and student issues, including but not limited to: rank and tenure decisions, ARRT appeals, faculty grievances, student grade disputes, and sexual harassment allegations. Maintains confidentiality with regards to student records in compliance with Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA).
Manages the filing system for the Provost's documents. The filing system contains hardcopy, electronic and archival documents, reports, committee reports, and personnel files. Opens and reviews mail, and e-mails to provost@sandiego.edu, to direct to other individuals for response or alerting the Provost of critical issues, people and events. Utilize tracking system to ensure responses.
Analyzes correspondence with regard to university policies and procedures and advises Provost of their impact on administrative operations and ensures compliance.
Coordinates with the Vice Provost of Strategic Communication and Innovation on the Provost's remarks and expected duties at on and off campus events, including all commencement obligations.
Responsible for sharing essential information and best practices with Deans' Executive Assistants to support mutual assistance and process improvement.
Responsible for collecting and documenting membership appointments from academic units for various university committees.
Track performance evaluations authored by the Provost and performance evaluations requiring the Provost's signature.
Other duties as assigned.

Provides administrative support to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees (BOT):

Prepares draft agendas for the quarterly meetings. Reviews with Provost prior to Provost's consultation with committee chair. Reviews and, if necessary, responds to requestor with required corrections to all New Academic Programs and certificates, Emeritus Status, and other items seeking approval from the BOT.
Prepares Board of Trustee resolutions and supporting documents, including PowerPoint presentations by the Provost, emeritus certificates, new trustee orientation materials, etc. that originate from the Committee.
Requests and reviews/edits all meeting materials from members and presenters for distribution to committee.
Determines what information to gather from various personnel/units to draft Provost's remarks and remarks for the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.
Charged with oversight of all aspects of meeting set-up and other logistics in preparation of the meetings, including virtual access, audio/visual requirements, catering, and room layout.
Charged with collaboration with Vice Provost on what data, collected by Institutional Research and Effectiveness (IRE), to include on the Academic Affairs Committee dashboard. Inspects data provided by IRE for accuracy and creates impactful visual presentations of these data.
Prepares the Academic Affairs Board portal with all relevant documents and issues timely and appropriate e-mails to committee members, including distribution of meeting materials.
Attends committee meetings and writes meeting minutes. Gathers feedback on summary of minutes, obtains chair's approval and, when finalized, posts to Board portal.

Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.

Job Requirements:
Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree required. Two years of college plus one additional year of work experience may substitute for Bachelor's degree.
Five years' experience supporting an executive level role, such as a Vice President, Dean, etc., in a fast-paced, C-Suite level office.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in a higher education, academic-related office preferred.

Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Ability to work in a fast-paced office, with quickly changing priorities
Excellent public relations skills
Ability to work independently, identifying priorities and acting on those priorities
Excellent organizing, prioritizing, and time-management skills
Attention to detail is an essential priority
Ability to maintain confidentiality and familiarity with Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Critical thinking and analytical skills
Ability to sense urgency
Ability to diffuse difficult situations
Knowledge of university policies and procedures
Ability to work with different personality types
Strong communication, public relations and interpersonal skills
Excellent proofreading skills
Self-motivated and takes proactive initiative
Ability to concentrate on phone calls or projects in an environment that can be noisy and filled with interruptions
Strong computer skills in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Google Calendar and G-mail Ability to use software and implement programs to create, accommodate and enhance existing databases, spreadsheets, and tracking systems
Ability to summarize and present information with accuracy
Some working knowledge of web-based technologies

Posting Salary:
$5720-5833.33 per month; Excellent Benefits

The University of San Diego offers a very competitive benefits package including; medical, dental, vision, a retirement contribution given to you by the University, and access to on-campus Fitness Centers. Please visit the benefits section of our website to view all of the perks and benefits that USD has to offer. USD: Human Resources: Benefits

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position. Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Special Application Instructions:
Resume and Cover Letter Required
Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers' review. If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.

Additional Details:
Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Closing date: March 25, 2025

Note: External job postings will be up for at least three days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.

The University of San Diego is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the campus community.

The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.

Advertised: March 11, 2025
Applications close: March 25, 2025

To apply, visit https://jobs.sandiego.edu/cw/en-us/job/496970/assistant-to-the-vice-president-and-provost