Senior Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Operations

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Overview

The Senior Executive Assistant provides high-level executive and administrative support in a fast-paced executive office to the Senior Vice President. The Senior Executive Assistant has primary responsibility for managing a complex calendar and is a thought partner working closely with the Chief of Staff to ensure alignment of priorities and initiatives, exercising sound judgment, and anticipating needs before they arise. This position reports to the Chief of Staff with a dotted line to the Sr. Vice President for purposes of daily operation needs.

The Senior Executive Assistant responds and triages communications and requests directed to the SVP in a timely manner, and partners with the communications and office of strategic initiatives team to ensure consistency of messaging, materials, and executive communications. The role formally represents the SVP and the Operations organization through emails, communications and responsiveness to university trustees, officers, deans, directors, external partners, and other key stakeholders, ensuring professionalism and institutional continuity in all interactions. The Senior Executive Assistant may accompany and help staff the SVP at internal and external events as needed.

The Senior Executive Assistant builds relationships and collaborates closely with peer Senior Executive Assistants and serves as a liaison to offices and departments across the University and to external stakeholders. Success in this role requires anticipating challenges, researching and proposing viable solutions, and triaging requests to appropriate individuals or units with clarity and tact. The role demands an astute understanding of political and organizational dynamics, particularly when navigating sensitive matters involving trustees, senior leadership, and external constituencies.

The Senior Executive Assistant exercises strong judgment, makes independent and well-reasoned decisions, and provides guidance to others by articulating options and weighing pros and cons. The ability to build and sustain strong working relationships is essential, as is the flexibility to support the office in the absence of other senior level staff.

The ideal candidate brings exceptional organizational skills, discretion, adaptability, and political acumen. The successful candidate is a self-starter with consistent attention to detail, responsiveness and can thrive in a high-volume evolving environment while serving as a trusted and reliable partner to the Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff.

This position requires a five-day/week onsite presence, at the discretion of the SVP.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Executive Organization & Prioritization: Manages a complex, rapidly shifting executive workload, balancing strategic and operational needs. Exceptional time management skills. Manages travel, events, and communications; anticipates issues; maintains long-range calendaring; and prepares thorough briefings/background materials for high-stakes engagements with meticulous attention to detail.

2. Discretion, Judgment & Integrity: Maintains strict confidentiality and exercises sound, independent judgment on sensitive matters involving trustees, senior leadership, and external constituencies. Acts as a trusted advisor and professional representative of the SVP’s office, weighing options, mitigating risk, and making well-reasoned decisions under pressure.

3. Executive Communication & Relationship Management: Communicates clearly and diplomatically across all levels and with external partners, including trustees and governing bodies. Builds strong relationships, collaborate closely with communications partners, synthesize information for executive decisions, and conveys messages on behalf of the SVP with poise and professionalism (strong written and oral skills).

4. Political & Organizational Acumen: Demonstrates astute understanding of institutional dynamics and stakeholder interests in a large, complex organization. Navigates sensitive situations and competing priorities with tact, diplomacy, and discretion, maintaining alignment with leadership intent and protecting institutional relationships and reputation during high-visibility interactions.

5. Adaptability, Initiative & Digital Fluency: Thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment by proactively identifying challenges, proposing solutions, and taking ownership with minimal supervision. Leverages Microsoft 365/Teams/Zoom and project-tracking tools to manage workflows and documentation; ensures consistency and can compile, organize, and present basic data and analytical reports.

Preferred Skills and Abilities

1. Bachelor's degree preferred plus 3-5 years in a comparable role supporting a high-level executive in an academic setting or corporation.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Calendar Management and Executive Briefings: Ability to manage the AVPs time strategically, balancing competing demands and constraints on the executive’s calendar. Prepare high-level daily briefings and background information for the SVP's meetings and events; anticipate and plan for long-term calendaring in a strategic and comprehensive manner, including critical meetings, events, and travel. Provide timely and forward-looking decisions and communications related to calendar changes while balancing competing priorities.

2. Communications & Correspondence: Receive, prioritize, triage, and respond to invitations, inquiries, and requests in a timely manner on behalf of the SVP; manage a high volume of correspondence, reports, and documents with accuracy, consistency, and appropriate tone; collaborate with the communications and portfolio management team to ensure alignment of messaging and logistics for speaking engagements and official functions.

3. Travel & Event Coordination: Independently prioritize, plan and coordinate complex travel logistics based upon the priorities and needs of the SVP. Develop and organize all briefings material and agendas, ensuring the AVP is fully briefed and prepared in advance. Accompany and staff the SVP at select internal and external events. Support logistics for the SVP’s external board commitments.

4. Stakeholder Representation & Relationship Management: Formally represent the SVP's office to university trustees, officers, deans, directors, and external visitors; ensure guests are welcomed and transitioned smoothly; interact with staff at all organizational levels with professionalism and discretion. This position works closely and cohesively with the Chief of Staff, a key partner to the SVP.

5. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree in business administration or a related field and a minimum of five years of related experience in a similar role, including two years of demonstrated leadership, project or process management, and/or supervisory experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree preferred plus 3-5 years in a comparable role supporting a high-level executive in an academic setting or corporation.

Job Posting Date

10/01/2026

Job Category

Professional

Bargaining Unit

NON

Compensation Grade

Administration & Operations

Compensation Grade Profile

Associate (00)

Salary Range

$0.00 - $0.00

Benefits

A general description of the benefits to be offered with this Managerial & Professional position is available at:

Yale Benefits

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

On-site

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.

Posting Disclaimer

Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through  their hiring department.

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.