Associate Director, Dean’s Office

at  Northwestern University

The Associate Director is a key leadership position within the Dean’s Office at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. This position coordinates daily workflow of the Dean’s Office by overseeing the seamless execution of the following (but not limited to): daily and event briefings to maximize productivity, correspondence management, budget management and forecasting, managing complex travel and calendaring needs. This position expertly and confidently manages both internal and external executive relationships with a high degree of confidentiality. This position will be the conduit between the Dean’s Office and constituents in providing the most efficient, high-quality partnerships necessary to further the Dean’s strategic goals. A trusted partner, the Associate Director ensures the Dean has what she needs to be successful in the role, advises others across the school on best practices, and partners with the Dean’s Office staff to build a collaborative and competent work culture. Also, given the high confidentiality of the role, this individual must have the utmost discretion in sharing information.

The Associate Director manages the employee(s) who have responsibility for the Dean’s calendar, travel planning, and certain administrative tasks within the Dean’s Office.

• Note: Not all aspects of the job are covered by this job description.

Northwestern Pritzker Law prides itself on its active and diverse community, which brings together a passionate and talented group of students, staff, and faculty. The Law School endeavors to take principled action towards ensuring that we live up to our responsibility—and our institutional values—to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community for all constituents. Law School leadership commits to working tirelessly to ensure every member feels valued, all students can study and train to be successful in their careers, all staff members can develop personally and professionally, and where our faculty can both teach and support our students and produce top quality research and scholarship.
Target hiring range for this position will be between $84,973 - $96, 886.92 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
Specific Responsibilities:

Dean’s Office Operations

• Manage daily workflow for the dean’s office by developing appropriate systems and processes to ensure that meeting participants are prepared with appropriate background information and briefings. In partnership with the dean, ensure that schedules and workload are aligned with the strategic priorities of the school.
• Create systems and processes to prioritize requests and activities, using excellent judgement to determine which require the direct involvement of the Dean and/or Associate Dean and Assistant Deans to ensure the Dean’s time remains focused on highest priority activities.
• Provide outstanding project management, tracking assignments and required correspondence with both internal and external contacts, including drafting complex and professional documents and correspondence in response to e-mails, managing and participating on projects, developing complex reports, and coordinating activities that map to the strategic priorities of the office, while maintaining a high degree of confidentiality.
• Manage and execute departmental schedules including the management of proactive invitations, changes and cancellations.
• Partner with the Dean in managing and prioritizing her daily schedule, troubleshooting as issues arise throughout the day, and ensuring the Dean has the materials and preparation she needs to be maximally successful. Maintain confidentiality of privileged information and performs a wide range of duties that require sensitivity, independent judgment, diplomacy, discretion, and flexibility.
• Facilitate an organized process by which senior leadership team members and other key constituencies can get feedback and approval from the dean.
• Field and respond to requests to the Dean from academic units and administrative offices.
• Represent the dean’s office to all external parties with professionalism, confidence, and a high degree of service while accurately representing policies, procedures, and preferences of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
• Manage senior relationships and associated assignments on behalf of the Dean’s Office and or members of the senior leadership team, guest speakers, board members, donors, alumni that interact with the office for high-visibility, high-impact projects.

Budget & Financial

• Monitor and reconcile all budgets related to dean’s office operations and strategic initiatives expenses,
• Manage budget planning/projections and budget year-end reconciliation on all accounts; opening/closing accounts, manage all account transactions, internal transfers, reimbursements, purchases, payment of vendors, and procurement card maintenance and compliance.
• Develop Dean’s Office event budgets, coordinate estimates, invoices, payment, and reconciliation. Negotiate with vendors to acquire best pricing.

Leadership and Supervision

• Responsible for the effective performance of the dean’s office administrative assistant to include individual staff development, performance management, training, and rewards.
• Work with administrative assistant to regularly assess workload, develop strategies for managing the dean’s calendar, and align with evolving and shifting needs.
• Ensure professionalism and best practice functional knowledge.
• Establish development plan for current and future career opportunities.

Minimum Qualifications: (Education, experience, and any other certifications or clearances)

• Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent combination of education, training, and experience from which comparable skills can be acquired.
• 5 or more years’ experience in a professional/executive setting in supporting/partnering with C-suite executives

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.

• Proactive mindset to anticipate issues and to resolve independently of supervisor
• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication skills, including proofreading.
• Ability to multitask and complete assignments under pressure
• Professional presence to interact with faculty and external constituents
• Utmost discretion with confidential information
• Deep understanding of Dean’s priorities

• Note: Not all aspects of the job are covered by this job description