Assistant to the Chairs

About the role

This role provides high-level administrative support to the Chairs of both the Department of Classics and the Sage School of Philosophy, working closely with the Administrative Manager and Dean's office of the College of Arts and Sciences. The position involves managing complex academic processes, facilitating communication, and supporting faculty and staff in research, teaching, and administrative tasks.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative, research, and teaching support to the Chairs of both units.
• Track and manage tenure, promotion, and academic review processes.
• Manage and monitor all aspects of academic searches, including facilitating visits and serving as lead contact.
• Collaborate with HR specialists to draft letters and process employment status changes (hiring, reappointment, sabbatical leaves, retirements, terminations).
• Prepare agendas, coordinate votes, and take minutes at faculty meetings.
• Arrange meetings for various departmental committees.
• Coordinate the faculty and academic annual report process.
• Manage complex academic leave records.
• Facilitate and process all student hourly and temporary employee hires and terminations.
• What We Need
• A resume and cover letter are required for further consideration.
• Associate's degree with 4-6 years of high-level administrative experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proficient in Outlook, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, and video conferencing tools (e.g., Zoom, Teams).
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion and integrity.
• Strong judgment, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and diplomatically with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently while supporting a team and fostering a respectful work environment.
• Proven ability to manage multiple tasks, areas, events, and deadlines simultaneously.
• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to work under pressure, balance conflicting priorities, and make informed decisions.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• High attention to detail, including accuracy in spelling, grammar, and proofreading.
• Initiative, resourcefulness, and tact in addressing challenges.
• Ability to cultivate inclusive and collaborative relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.
• If you have all those things, great! We have a few more things that we would prefer you to have, but it's ok if you don't.
• Prior experience working in an academic setting or in executive-level administrative support.
• Knowledge and experience with visa processing.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Teams, Academic Jobs Online, Adobe Creative Suite, and Qualtrics.
• Familiarity with university systems such as Workday, eSHOP, Tableau Reporting Tool, and Oracle Analytics Server, or the ability to quickly gain fluency with these systems.
• This is a permanent part-time position for 10 months/year (August-May) at 32 hours/week that is based in Ithaca, NY and is fully onsite. Core hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. There will be flexibility in determining the weekly schedule.
• Rewards and Benefits
• Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability.
• Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more about our extensive educational benefits: Ed

Benefits

Additional Information

Assistant to the Chairs About The Sage School of Philosophy and The Department of Classics The Sage School of Philosophy and The Department of Classics offer rigorous undergraduate and graduate programs, active research, speaker series, and interdisciplinary collaboration across the university. The Sage School houses The Philosophical Review, a globally recognized journal. The Department of Classics also includes the grant-funded, interdisciplinary Lab of Dendrochronology, while a shared administrative team supports teaching, research, outreach, and numerous programs, events, and publications.

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