Executive Assistant to the Dean

UNC-Chapel Hill•Chapel Hill, NC

About The Position

The Executive Assistant to the Dean of the Gillings School of Global Public Health serves as the Dean’s operational partner and trusted administrative resource. This senior-level executive support role requires exceptional judgment, institutional awareness, discretion, and the ability to anticipate complex needs and act calmly in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. The Executive Assistant develops a sophisticated understanding of the Dean’s priorities, communication style, working preferences, and institutional relationships. The role manages a complex calendar of local, regional, and national engagements; triages competing demands; drafts correspondence and communications on the Dean’s behalf; and helps ensure the Dean is prepared, informed, and equipped to lead. As an authorized representative, the Executive Assistant independently solves problems, answers questions, provides information, and takes action on the Dean’s behalf. The position is the primary entry point to the Dean for a broad range of internal and external stakeholders. The role analyzes, prioritizes, and tracks complex and often confidential information; makes accurate and efficient workflow decisions; and facilitates the processing of information and correspondence. It also synthesizes institutional information into clear, actionable intelligence for the Dean and serves as a key liaison to the Dean’s Office team, supporting alignment, information exchange, and coordination of schedules and priorities. The Gillings School administrative team works in a matrix model, with staff cross-trained to support one another as needed. The position calls for calm steadiness, genuine investment in the Dean’s success and the school’s mission, and the maturity to work with initiative and humility. Work schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Requirements

Exceptional judgment, deep institutional awareness, and sound discretion.
Ability to anticipate complex needs and take calm, measured action in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
Ability to understand and adapt to the Dean’s priorities, communication style, working preferences, and institutional relationships.
Strong situational awareness, initiative, and proactive anticipation of needs.
Ability to independently solve problems and make authorized decisions on the Dean’s behalf.
Ability to analyze, prioritize, and track multiple pieces of complex and confidential information.
Ability to make connections between events, anticipate consequences, and synthesize complex institutional information into clear, actionable intelligence.
Poise, professionalism, and unfailing discretion when representing the Dean’s Office.
Professional maturity, reliability, and ability to work with both initiative and humility.

Responsibilities

Manage the Dean’s complex calendar of local, regional, and national engagements.
Triage and resolve competing demands.
Draft high-quality correspondence and communications on the Dean’s behalf.
Help ensure the Dean is prepared, informed, and equipped to lead.
Independently solve problems, answer questions, provide information, and take action on behalf of the Dean as authorized.
Serve as the primary entry point to the Dean for students, staff, faculty, university administrators, government officials, philanthropic partners, peer institution leaders, and other stakeholders.
Analyze, prioritize, and track complex and confidential information to make accurate, efficient workflow decisions.
Facilitate and process information and correspondence.
Connect events, anticipate downstream consequences, and synthesize institutional information into actionable intelligence for the Dean.
Liaise with the Dean’s Office team to align work and coordinate information, schedules, and priorities.
Support colleagues as needed within the school’s cross-trained, matrix-model administrative team.