Executive Assistant: UT Libraries - UTK

This role coordinates and prioritizes the Dean's complex schedule, communications, travel, meetings, and special projects while serving as a key liaison with library faculty and staff, university leadership, donors, alumni, community partners, and colleagues across the state and nation.

The position exercises a high degree of professionalism, discretion, independent judgment, and initiative in handling sensitive and confidential information. By anticipating needs, identifying priorities, and proactively resolving issues, this role serves as a strategic partner to library leadership and contributes significantly to the effectiveness of executive operations and the achievement of organizational goals.

Executive Level Administrative Support:

• Manages and prioritizes the Dean’s day-to-day activities and complex calendar, including appointments, meetings, external engagements, speaking commitments, dining arrangements, and room reservations while proactively protecting the Dean's time for strategic priorities.

• Ensures timely transitions between meetings and events and monitors RSVP responses to ensure alignment with library and university priorities.

• Manages Senior Associate Dean and Associate Deans day-to-day activities and complex calendars

• Arrange numerous meetings for library, campus administration, university and local entities; answer and screen phone calls; schedule conference calls; greet visitors to the administrative suite and coordinate office coverage.

• Manages communications on behalf of the Dean by drafting, reviewing, and distributing routine and confidential correspondence, emails, reports, and other materials using discretion and independent judgment.

• Screens, triages, resolves, redirects, and responds to communications on behalf of the Dean as appropriate.

• Serves as the primary liaison between the Dean and internal and external stakeholders, including university leadership, faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, community partners, and professional organizations.

• Anticipates administrative and operational needs, identifies priorities, and proactively addresses issues before executive intervention is required.

• Conducts research and gathers information on confidential, sensitive, and strategic matters; prepares reports, presentations, briefing materials, talking points, background documents, and decision-support materials for executive meetings and engagements.

• Attends meetings as requested and prepares agendas, minutes, action items, briefing materials, and follow-up communications.

• Handles complex inquiries, issues, and confidential matters with professionalism, sound judgment, and discretion.

• Serves as a resource regarding university and library policies, procedures, and administrative practices.

Executive Level Travel Support:

• Coordinates & manages all travel arrangements and logistics for the Dean, Senior Associate & Associate Deans including airfare, lodging, transportation, registrations, itineraries, vendor coordinator, travel documentation, reimbursements, and expense reporting while ensuring compliance with university policies.

• Anticipates travel needs and proactively resolves issues related to scheduling, reservations & reimbursements

• Prepare organized folio for each trip containing all registration and confirmation numbers as well as complete agendas for each trip for Dean.

• Coordinate travel arrangements for library guests and candidates selected for on-campus interviews, including flight arrangements, hotel arrangements, parking, lunch/dinner arrangements for interviewee including prepared & process expense reports as needed

Operational, Event and Special Project Coordination

• Serves as the primary point of contact for library administrative events, receptions, retreats, meetings, and special programs.

• Coordinates event logistics including scheduling, facilities, catering, technology support, registration, vendor communication, budget tracking, and attendee communications.

• Partners with campus units, external organizations, and vendors to ensure successful event planning and execution.

• Exercises delegated authority, in consultation with library leadership, to approve, modify, reschedule, or decline event-related requests based on operational priorities and resource availability.

• Coordinates TDX proposals for catering for internal programming & events with the event organizer

• Works with Libraries Facilities Manager and event stakeholders to ensure adequate space, staffing, technology, and logistical support are available for all events.

• Creates and maintains libraries administration on SharePoint site, including updating SharePoint events calendar; Creates and maintains Libraries Teams site for Libraries HR and Administration; annually makes calls for standing library committees & updates standing committees

• Manages and maintains lists for all-library staff, library faculty, library training, and library bulletin board listservs.

• Maintains web presence for Library Administration (and Hodges Society as needed) & updates libraries organizational charts

• Assists with Student Library Advisory Committee

• Maintains Speaking Volumes email list - ARL, SEC Deans, Campus leadership (Chancellor & cabinet, Provost & leadership team, Deans)

• Serves as the Parking representative and acquires orange dots for the library

• Manage office supply inventory and order supplies as needed

• Serves as back up for search support: schedules interviews for all faculty & staff searches; schedules reference calls; assists with interview schedules

• Assists with hiring, training, scheduling, onboarding, and co-supervision of student library assistants to ensure effective office operations and customer service coverage.

• Completes 1 – 3 hours of professional development per month.

• Other duties as assigned

The Administration and HR Office must be covered from 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday.

Required Qualifications

• Education:

  • High school diploma or GED with 4 years of relevant experience or an equivalent, combination of education, training & experience

• Experience:

  • Experience supporting senior level directors, executives, Deans, or Associate Deans

• Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

  • Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion in handling highly confidential information.

  • Exceptional organizational and project management skills.

  • Ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.

  • Ability to anticipate leadership needs and proactively address issues.

  • Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with individuals at all organizational levels.

  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and related administrative technologies.

  • Strong customer service orientation and professional presence.

  • Ability to analyze information, conduct research, and prepare executive-level reports and presentations.

  • High attention to detail

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree with 2 years of relevant experience

• Experience:

  • CAP Certified

  • Experience in higher education and UT policies & procedures

  • Experience with Oracle (DASH)

• Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

  • Knowledge of University policy and procedures

  • Skilled in Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, Publisher), Canva, or Zoom

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN

• On-site

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: 06

• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

• Resume

• Cover Letter