Executive Assistant A

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine•Philadelphia, PA

7d•$65,628 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Assistant provides high‑level executive administrative support to the Director and Associate Director of the Division of Biostatistics within the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics. This role manages, plans, and coordinates all activities for the Office of the Director and Associate Director, enabling their leadership of highly complex academic programs, including 38 primary faculty, an educational program with 44 PhD students, 35 post‑doctoral fellows, multiple annual visitors, and numerous nationally positioned research network projects. The EA delivers executive‑level project management support by assembling data, preparing reports, and tracking division‑wide metrics such as faculty research portfolio transfers, incentive plan scoring, and administrative monitoring indicators. The role applies critical thinking to recommend solutions and improvements for administrative processes and operational workflows. A key responsibility includes negotiating and prioritizing scheduling requests from internal and external stakeholders—often with competing needs—requiring diplomacy, professionalism, and a deep understanding of the Director’s commitments across administrative, mentoring, research, teaching, and service responsibilities. The EA independently commits the Director’s time based on this comprehensive knowledge. As the primary point of contact for divisional administrative activities, the EA manages and implements faculty recruitment processes, including pre‑ and post‑screening, coordinating recruitment committee meetings, arranging travel and reimbursements, and preparing all required documentation for Faculty Affairs to ensure a seamless transition from applicant to faculty member. The EA serves as a liaison between division leadership, faculty, departmental administrators, Perelman School of Medicine and Penn Medicine staff, and external partners. As a senior staff member, the Executive Assistant participates in departmental initiatives as assigned and must handle confidential and highly sensitive information with discretion. The role also provides administrative support for the Director’s research portfolio and extramural activities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and 3-5 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience, required.
Demonstrated effectiveness supporting a senior academic program leader, in a university setting with large, complex educational and research programs absolutely essential.
Excellent organizational skills, and proficiency with Microsoft Office tools required.
Must demonstrate excellent communication skills and highly professional interpersonal style, with flexibility and effectiveness working with diverse groups of people.
Ability to work under pressure, with limited supervision, and confidence to exercise independent judgment.
Highly organized, meticulous, and flexible; ability to manage time and willingness to work with changing deadlines; ability to prioritize work.
Must exercise discretion in working with extremely confidential and sensitive matters.
Must have demonstrated exceptionally positive relationships with large groups of faculty, staff, and students.

Responsibilities

Manages, plans and coordinates the implementation of all activities for the Office of the Director and the Associate Director, including management of a complex calendar, travel arrangements and associated logistics.
Negotiates, with a high-level of professionalism and deep awareness of the competing priorities, among scheduling requesters, both internal and external to Penn, many presenting competing requirements that require compromises among faculty, project directors and external sponsors.
Independently commits the Director's time to those requesting access, based on this in-depth understanding of the Director's priorities and commitments to administrative, faculty mentoring, research, teaching and service roles.
Approaches these tasks with exceptional flexibility, strong interpersonal skills and effective communications style, to implement the Director’s availability in the scheduling of meetings, webinars, travel arrangements and associated logistics.
Facilitates and manages communications and collaboration among the departmental leadership.
Organize and maintain the workings of the Office of the Director.
Provides administrative project management support to the Director and Associate Director of the Division of Biostatistics in assembling data and developing reports, such as tracking for faculty research portfolio transfers, incentive plan scoring, and other division-wide metrics for administrative monitoring reports.
Applies critical thinking and provides solutions to the Director and Associate Director of the Division of Biostatistics for administrative process management and improvement.
Independently prioritize, plan, coordinate and/or oversee multiple projects, meetings, webinars and conferences; anticipate and track critical dates, events and organizational issues for the Office of the Director.
Follow up with appropriate parties to ensure deadlines are met.
Serve as the liaison of the Office of the Director's various internal and external constituencies, keeping the Director and Associate Director informed of all matters requiring their attention.
Serves in an exemplary senior capacity within the administrative staff; providing training and onboarding to new and temporary staff, as needed.
Compose correspondence; develop, review and edit presentations and documentation; independently research and analyze associated issues and/or compile materials needed for presentation and/or decision-making purposes.
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits
Flexible spending accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses
Exceptional tuition benefits for employee, spouse, and dependent children
Generous retirement plans (Basic, Matching, and Supplemental) with pre-tax or Roth options
Substantial amount of time away from work
Long-term care insurance
Wide variety of programs and resources for wellness and work-life balance
Resources for professional and personal development
Access to a wide range of University resources, cultural and recreational activities
Discounts on arts and entertainment, transportation, mortgages, new cars, cellular phone service, movie tickets, and theme parks
Flexible work options
Forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia
Reimbursement for qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child