ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Position Summary

The Department Chair Assistant provides high-level administrative, operational, financial, and faculty affairs support to the Neurobiology Department Chair. This position ensures efficient management of the Chair’s schedule, communications, and academic leadership responsibilities. The role requires exceptional organizational skills, discretion, and the ability work independently to manage complex and confidential matters in a dynamic academic environment. The chair assistant serves as a key liaison among the department chair, faculty, administrative leadership, and institutional partners.

Responsibilities

Executive and Administrative Support (50%)

• Manage and prioritize the Department Chair’s complex schedule to ensure their time is focused on strategic, high-priority, and time-sensitive matters. Anticipate needs and coordinate preparatory meetings and materials to support timely completion of projects and deadlines.
• Oversee communications on behalf of the Chair with a variety of internal and external constituents. Independently draft correspondence, memos, meeting agendas, and reports requiring compilation and synthesis of data.
• Plan and coordinate logistics for the Chair’s daily meetings, speaking engagements, events, travel, and related functions.
• Schedule faculty meetings and arrange catering or other logistics as needed for monthly faculty meetings.
• Draft (when appropriate), proofread, and format correspondence, reports, agendas, and other documents to ensure clarity, accuracy, and professional presentation.
• Provide administrative support for departmental committees and senior faculty initiatives, including scheduling, recording minutes, and preparing meeting summaries.
• Coordinate effective working relationships with senior leadership, the Dean’s Office, Basic Science Departments, APT Office, Procurement, Facilities Management, Counsel’s Office, and diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.
• Coordinate special programs such as faculty recruitments, consultant visits, and be the back-up staff overseeing speaker series, including invitations, scheduling, logistics, publicity, and financial arrangements.
• Support departmental operations by assisting with the development and implementation of administrative procedures, ensuring alignment with institutional policies and priorities.

Faculty Affairs and APT Administration (25%)

• Advise and support the Department Chair, APT Committee, and faculty on appointment, promotion, and credentialing procedures in accordance with the Duke Faculty Handbook.
• Manage APT packets ensuring all materials are accurate, complete, and submitted within required deadlines.
• Assist with faculty recruitment and offer materials, maintaining communication with the Chair and Business Manager regarding status, progress, and issues.
• Coordinate the annual faculty performance evaluation process, including scheduling reviews, collecting documentation, entering data into dFAC, and maintaining departmental records.
• Utilize university systems such as Duke@Work, Outlook, Box and Teams to coordinate scheduling, documentation and information sharing.

Financial and Budgetary Responsibilities (15%)

• Monitor and reconcile all travel reimbursement and expenses related to the Chair’s accounts to ensure accuracy and compliance with institutional policies.
• Prepare and process reimbursement requests and travel and expense reports for the Department Chair and graduate students, ensuring accurate allocation to appropriate funding sources.
• Assist with processing Accounts Payable (AP) Check Requests, purchase orders, and Buy@Duke transactions, and support the monthly purchase reconciliation process, including goods receipt verification.

General Administrative Support (10%)

• Maintain current knowledge of institutional policies, systems, and administrative best practices through training and professional development.
• Provide general support for visitors to the department, ensuring a welcoming and professional experience.
• Assist other admin staff in maintaining and replenishing departmental office supplies and materials to ensure smooth daily operations.
• Serve as backup to other staff assistants to ensure coverage and continuity of departmental operations during absences or high-volume periods.

Required Qualifications at this level

• General educational background normally equivalent to a full high school education plus two years of post-secondary education in a business-related field. Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred although equivalent education and experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 4 years of related business or administrative experience to become familiar with general personnel practices, accounting and budgeting principles, and coordination of major office activities.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, exercise discretion, and maintain confidentiality.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with attention to accuracy and detail.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, scheduling tools, and enterprise financial or HR systems (e.g., dFAC).

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

Duke University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.