Executive Coordinator, Landscape Architecture – Harvard Graduate School of Design

Position Description:
Job Summary:

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) educates design, research, and scholarship leaders to make a resilient, just, and beautiful world. The GSD offers degree programs across a range of design disciplines—architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, design engineering, and real estate—as well as advanced research programs that cut across these disciplines and a robust public program of lectures, exhibitions, and publications. The immense variety of people, programs, and ideas at the School sustains a vibrant and rich environment for learning, inquiry, and collaboration, unlike any other design school.

This position reports to the Associate Director, Academic Administration, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning and Design and provides detailed assistance to the LA department chair as well as the department’s faculty, while acting as primary information source and liaison with faculty, staff, and students on matters pertaining to the LA department.

TYPICAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Serves as main assistant for Landscape Architecture chair, providing a wide range of high-level administrative support with accuracy, discretion, and good judgment.
• Responsibilities include, tracking and maintaining information for chair pertaining to departmental events, awards, faculty meetings, and travel guest lecturers, courses, publications, lectures, etc.
• Schedules all appointments and maintains daily calendars; coordinates travel arrangements as needed for both chair and guests as required; tracks and keeps chair’s memberships current; composes, prepares and proofreads correspondence, announcements, reports, and agendas on behalf of the chair for alumnae, students, recommendation letters, etc.
• Monitors chair’s email as requested, reviewing, prioritizing, and distributing all correspondence to the appropriate individuals; monitors replies and informs chair of items requiring attention;
• Coordinates monthly LA department meetings: drafts agenda for chair, books rooms, orders catering, prepares materials, and assists with meeting execution and logistics as needed (such as with presentations), and generates and disseminates department meeting agendas and logistics.
• Reconciles chair’s corporate card expense reports in Concur
• Works with chair, department manager, and Academic Programs Business Office to track discretionary spending.
• Works frequently with academic affairs department staff and other departments in the GSD to coordinate and execute department and School-wide tasks, including studio lottery, search committee meetings, pre-term workshops, orientation, open houses, welcome receptions, end of year celebrations, and commencement, as well as other ad hoc or special events and initiatives.
• Coordinates Final Review logistics for LA department, including invitations/confirmations, travel, schedules, catering, and tracking studio budgets in conjunction with studio instructors and the Academic Business Programs Office.
• Coordinates many departmental awards, fellowships, and grants, which recur on an annual or bi-annual basis: collecting application materials, coordinating selection committee meetings, and communicating with awarded students/faculty regarding timeline of deliverables and disbursement of funds. Detailed recordkeeping is required for each individual award cycle, which includes editing award webpages on the GSD website with any changes and updates.
• Disseminates department information and relevant external announcements to students and/or faculty; composes and sends announcements and reminder messages regarding events, important dates and deadlines
• Creates and updates resource pages on the GSD website.
• Assists Department Manager with onboarding visiting faculty and tracking visitor information.
• Coordinates and staffs all departmental events. This includes coordinating with Chair, Loeb library staff, and faculty to schedule 3-5 semesterly faculty lectures; also includes planning, booking, and staffing recurrent semesterly student and course events
• Coordinates departmental and course trips; collects travel waivers and information for all studio travel.
• Serves as point person for LA faculty and visiting faculty in relation to School/University systems and databases.
• Supports accreditation efforts by collecting and maintaining faculty CVs, course syllabi, course TAs, office hours, and other program related materials.
• Serves as the main point of contact for visitors to the department office. Provides general office support including in-person staffing, ordering office supplies, maintaining faculty resource room, purchasing parking passes, updating department office labels, responding to walk-in inquiries, managing office resources such as printers and copiers, monitoring department email address and voicemail, answering department phone, providing office coverage, and other administrative support duties.
• Processes PCard expenses in Concur for departmental purchases
• Provides additional support as needed, including proofreading documents, data entry and tracking, and other administrative support duties as necessary including individual or team projects such as assisting with course field trips and coordinating committees.
• Provides assistance to the Program Coordinator and Department of Urban Planning when necessary.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
There are no supervisory responsibilities associated with this position.

Working Conditions:
This position will be based in Cambridge, MA. The work is mainly performed in an office setting. This position requires frequent in-person work at the GSD throughout the academic year. The first 3-months of this role will be on-site/in person. Flexible work options for this role will be discussed during the interview process.

Applications are accepted and encouraged from candidates not based in the Boston-Cambridge area, so long as they are able to commute to campus regularly during the academic year and reside in one of our approved payroll states. Harvard registered payroll states currently include Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington, and California (CA for exempt positions only).

Additional Information:
Essential skills include organization and analytical skills, and a strong aptitude for prioritizing and multitasking under tight deadlines, amid frequent interruption. Must be collaborative and able to work well in a team as well as independently. Excellent customer service including: ability to use discretion, good judgment, and work effectively with all individuals. Strong communication skills in person, in writing and on the telephone.

Harvard University views equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging as the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence and fostering a campus culture where everyone can thrive. We strive to create a community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent to unify excellence and diversity while fully embracing individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values.

The health of our workforce is a priority for Harvard University. With that in mind, we strongly encourage all employees to be up-to-date on CDC-recommended vaccines.

Basic Qualifications:
• HS diploma or equivalent.
• 3+ years’ administrative support experience in a high-level environment required, with demonstrated experience in office administration and customer service.
• Strong writing, editing and proofreading skills.
• Experience with complex travel arrangements and visas.
• Proficiency with MS Office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Additional Qualifications and Skills:
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred.
• University work experience preferred.
• Professional manner and excellent organizational skills, confidentiality, and judgment.
• Ability to prioritize and execute multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Must be detail-oriented and able to work with flexibility.
• Must be able to interact professionally with all levels of staff, faculty, potential donors, and the public.
• Ability to work as part of a close team of staff sharing responsibilities when necessary to meet the needs of the department.

[Full-Time (Salaried)] Salary Range: 60000-70000

Schedule Requirements:

Minimum Requirements:
Working Conditions:
This position will be based in Cambridge, MA. The work is mainly performed in an office setting. This position requires frequent in-person work at the GSD throughout the academic year. The first 3-months of this role will be on-site/in person. Flexible work options for this role will be discussed during the interview process.

How to Apply:
In order to be considered for this position, a cover letter and resume are required with the submission of your application.

Apply Online

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