Executive Assistant at Columbia/Barnard Hillel

Executive Assistant

Columbia/Barnard Hillel

Role Overview

Make your mark as a member of our dedicated team at Columbia/Barnard Hillel. As the needs of the wider Columbia/Barnard Hillel community grow, we’re seeking a highly resourceful, proactive, and organized individual for the position of full-time Executive Assistant. As the first Executive Assistant to join the team, you will play a vital role in ensuring the smooth and efficient day to day operations in the executive office. In this role, you will contribute directly to the culture and success of the Kraft Center and the Jewish community on the Columbia and Barnard campuses. 

Reporting to the Executive Director, you will provide him with essential administrative and project support, and provide general support across the organization. On this small, entrepreneurial team, everyone rolls up their sleeves to support one another to achieve our shared mission to help students. You will work closely with the Student Life, Development and Operations teams.

The Executive Assistant is often a first point of contact for students, donors, campus partners, prospective applicants, vendors and visitors to campus. Communication with these populations requires thorough knowledge of details relating to programs managed by the student life team, as well as discretion, professionalism and confidence in relaying information. We are looking for an individual who takes initiative and is a creative and resourceful problem solver, with strong written communications and interpersonal skills.

This is an in-person position, requiring work in the Kraft Center on West 115th and Broadway.

What You’ll Do

Manage correspondence on the Executive Director’s behalf to create efficiency and ensure that all those who engage with his office are responded to in a timely, helpful manner and treated with respect 

• Manage email inboxes, taking initiative to handle requests whenever possible 
• Answer phone calls and route calls to appropriate parties
• Draft emails and physical letters on behalf of the Executive Director
• Sort and manage physical mail; Make trips to the post office or FedEx as needed

Manage the Executive Director’s time and calendar to ensure it enables him to achieve his objectives and commitments to students, the team, alumni, donors and the university 

• Manage a high volume of scheduling requests
• Coordinate logistics for meetings, travel and events, including sending reminders, organizing room reservations/set-ups/catering, and making travel arrangements
• Enter all relevant details accurately into the calendar 
• Consistently evaluate calendar commitments to ensure that the Executive Director is investing his time in a way that is consistent with the organization's priorities 
• Greet guests as they arrive to meet with the Executive Director
• Provide time checks and updates throughout the day to ensure that the Executive Director is on time and aware of any schedule adjustments that arise

Proactively maintain the Executive Director’s files and records to ensure that he and the team are always equipped with accurate, up-to-date information.

• Attend meetings, take notes and compile minutes
• Maintain comprehensive and accurate electronic and paper files related to meetings and conversations with students, donors and other partners, including uploading notes into Google drives and donor-relationship management databases
• Update database on ongoing basis to ensure accurate, relevant, and up-to-date information 
• Manage passwords and access to online records​
• Process the Executive Director’s expense reports
• Maintain strict confidentiality and professionalism

Who You Are 

• A self-starter who can navigate through ambiguity and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Entrepreneurial; accountable for your results and how they are achieved 
• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback 
• A flexible team player with a strong work ethic and commitment to excellence 
• An organized and efficient operator
• Resourceful, proactive, solutions oriented and persistent in overcoming and removing obstacles that impact goal achievement 
• Someone who operates with integrity, kindness and transparency 
• Passionate about our mission

You have

• 1-3 years experience in a related role, preferably in a non-profit organization or academic institution
• A Bachelor's degree from an accredited university 
• A high level of attention to detail and a high sense of urgency
• Strong interpersonal skills; An ability to develop and maintain collegial relationships with a variety of stakeholders
• Excellent communications skills, both written and verbal 
• Discretion and good judgment  
• Excellent analytical, organizational, creative problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated capability to work independently and collaboratively, success managing multiple priorities
• An ability to work in the New York office 5 days per week and to support evening and weekend meetings a few times per year.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the non-profit marketplace of $50,000 - $60,000.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance and retirement plan
• Generous vacation and sick leave, and family leave. 
• An employer that values the whole person
• Terrific colleagues and an enthusiastic supervisor who all want you to succeed
• An opportunity to be part of engaging and nurturing the next generation of global Jewish leaders
• An opportunity to learn about the operations of a dynamic, leading non-profit organization

About Columbia/Barnard Hillel

Columbia/Barnard Hillel is an exciting, fast-paced, intellectually rigorous work environment. We are a high energy, dedicated team of professionals committed to enriching the Jewish experience of our students. Columbia/Barnard Hillel serves the undergraduate and graduate Jewish communities of Columbia University, Barnard College, and The Jewish Theological Seminary. There is a large and very active Jewish community based in the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life and around campus. While more than 1,000 Jewish students are involved with Hillel, there are many students who have not found their Jewish niche on campus.

Columbia/Barnard Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Hillel International enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world, and envisions a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.