Executive Operations Assistant to the President and Board Liaison, Executive Office

JOB OUTLINE

The Executive Operations Assistant to the President and Board Liaison works directly with the President to pursue the President’s agenda, manages the operations of the Executive Office, serves as principal staff to the Board of Trustees, and holds oversight of special projects and initiatives originating in the President’s office. They will operate with a deep understanding of Union’s role within the community and around the globe.

This is a position of unusual proximity and unusual scope. The person in this role sits where governance, institutional strategy, and daily operations meet — present for the conversations in which decisions are made, responsible for what happens after them, and trusted with the confidences that come with both. In a first-year presidency, this position helps build the Office of the President rather than inherit it.

GENERAL

Since 1836, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York has forged a distinctive vision for theological education—one that centers rigorous scholarship and personal faith in an urban context so that they might respond to the needs of the world. Progressive theology has long taken shape at Union, where faith and scholarship meet to reimagine the work of justice. Today, Union trains people of all faiths and none who are called to the work of social justice, forming courageous leaders who make a difference wherever they serve.

The Union community is diverse not only in race, age, gender, and sexuality, but also in geography, background, perspective, denomination, and faith tradition. It is set in the urban environment of New York City, a microcosm of the world and a place where the local and the global intersect. Union enjoys cooperative relations with academic, cultural, and church institutions in the Morningside Heights and Harlem neighborhoods, throughout the greater New York area, and beyond.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The principal focus areas are enacting the President’s agenda, managing the operations of the Executive Office, supporting the work of the Board of Trustees, and holding oversight of the special projects and initiatives of the President’s office.

The President’s agenda and the Executive Office

– Organize the President’s schedule and set priorities for daily, weekly, and long-term goals, exercising independent judgment about what reaches the President and what does not.

– Manage communications and correspondence on the President’s behalf, with an eye for relationships and outcomes.

– Support the President in carrying out the mission and vision of the school, including planning travel and external facing meetings .

– Meet weekly with the President to plan and prioritize the President’s agenda.

– Work with the Vice President for Administration to carry out the administrative and operational functions of the Executive Office, including budget accounts, reporting, reimbursements, and vendor relationships.

– Attend executive and selected institutional meetings; capture decisions, drive follow-up, and hold colleagues to commitments made in the room.

– Supervise office staff, student workers, and interns assigned to the Office of the President.

– Route incoming mail and telephone calls to the appropriate offices.

Board of Trustees governance

– Serve as principal staff liaison to the Board of Trustees, supporting the President and the Vice President for Administration in the cultivation and stewardship of trustee relationships, including creating and maintaining comprehensive database files for all trustees.

– Oversee and maintain the Board’s governance calendar, including setting and enforcing deadlines for all committee meetings and full Board meetings.

– Manage all Board governance activities, including planning and executing Board meetings and retreats — collaboratively setting agendas, securing accommodations, reserving meeting rooms, coordinating meals, assembling and distributing all materials, communicating with trustees regarding attendance and travel, and filing accounting paperwork for meeting expenses and reimbursements.

– Attend all Board meetings; oversee follow-up projects arising from committee and full Board action.

– Maintain all Board minutes and related documentation, organizing official Board records within Union’s electronic and paper archives.

– In close collaboration with communications colleagues, oversee and direct communication between the Board of Trustees and the full Un…