ASSISTANT TO THE VICE CHAIR OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Details

University of Washington - Seattle, WA

Employment Type : Full-Time

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The Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine has an outstanding opportunity for an Executive Assistant to the Vice Chair of Finance & Administration (VC F&A). This position provides executive support for the VC F&A with a matrixed supporting relationship to the Vice Chair of Faculty Development, Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs. This role provides seamless executive administrative support as well as independently managing special projects and assignments. The Executive Assistant must be comfortable and able to speak for the VC for F&A absence on matters within the scope of the position. They must have the absolute confidence and trust of the VC F&A and other Vice Chairs described above and must regularly exercise independent judgment in a variety of arenas. This position is a senior administrative support position within the Department and as such must provide an outstanding example for the other administrative support staff. The position’s major responsibilities fall into three categories:

  • Operations and Communication Management = 50%
  • Executive Support of the APM VC F&A & other Vice Chairs = 30%
  • Special Projects & Events = 20%

    Given the size of the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine and the scope of the VC F&A and Vice Chairs work, the position has substantial and complex responsibilities. This individual will be working with persons and entities throughout UW Medicine, including frequent contact with the School of Medicine’s Dean’s office. A high level of discretion and strong “EQ” is a must for the successful incumbent. They must be able to independently manage projects of significant scope and complexity. The Executive Assistant must have a clear overall understanding of all programs and projects coming from the VC F&A and Vice Chairs, and provides essential support and detail management. This position plays a key role in department process and information flow and helps the team ensure continual process and internal policy improvement is achieved.

    In addition, this position will be responsible for Department communications from the VC F&A as well as Vice Chair’s projects designed to provide clarity, transparency and strategic direction to the Department. This individual must understand Departmental priorities and strategies and provide independent generation and/or final drafting of complex communications to the Department. This individual is the first representative of the VC F&A’s office and must have the ability to manage many situations that call for personal self-confidence and discretion.

    As the Assistant to the VC F&A and Vice Chairs of Faculty Development, Clinical Affairs and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, this position will have tremendous responsibility and will be pivotal in carrying out the strategic and operational initiatives of the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine.

    Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine (APM) is one of the largest departments in the School Medicine with 103 full-time clinical and research faculty members, 82 residents, 33 Postdoctoral Scholars and ACGME Fellows, 95 staff members, and 113 affiliated clinical faculty members.

    Our current annual research direct funding from both government and private sources is $12 million. The Department of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine has 8 clinical divisions including Cardiothoracic, HMC Trauma, Pediatric, Plastic & Reconstructive, Transplantation, Vascular and VA Puget Sound Health Care System as well as the Pain Medicine Division.

    The Department works at 6 University or University-affiliated clinical sites: UWMC – Montlake; UWMC- Northwest, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Veteran's Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System (VA) and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). In addition, the extensive and well-funded APM research is conducted at South Lake Union (SLU), Children’s Research Institute (CRI) and at labs in the Health Sciences complex.
    The Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine is a diverse group of clinicians, educators, researchers, and administrators who unite to advance medicine and healthcare through innovation and education. We believe every member of our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. We are committed to enhancing the diversity of our department and providing a safe and inclusive space for our faculty, staff, interns, and patients. We strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment where all feel valued, heard, and respected. The Department seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitments to serve the diverse people of Washington and fulfill the School of Medicine’s guiding principles while sustaining the excellence of APM.

    POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES
    Operations and Communication Management 50%
  • Relate and respond to questions to priorities, policies, and strategic direction and independently solves issues and problems within scope of position; know when and to whom to escalate issues
  • Understand and independently apply the “Need to Know” policy, balancing the need to keep information confidential, yet keep work flowing smoothly;
  • Communicate accurately, confidently, and skillfully in written or oral formats; apply appropriate etiquette to the communication situation; employing tact and diplomacy.
  • Independently manage all VC F&A- initiated meetings (e.g., Executive Team Meeting), including agenda management and active follow-through, production materials for meeting members, as well as timely summary of action items from meetings;
  • Independently manage the Vice Chairs’ initiative meetings (e.g. Diversity Council, Faculty Development Committee, etc.) including creation of materials, agendas, and reports; attend and produce follow up communications and action plans from these meetings;
  • Request and analyze information; prepare presentations for VC F&A and other supported VC’s initiatives. Examples include requesting and analyzing data for the VC for DEI.
  • Under general guidance, generate and produce high quality communication pieces related to Vice Chairs’ initiatives, including but not limited to content for internal newsletters and the department website
  • Under overall direction of the VC F&A, manage drive and support department policy and process development efforts; maintain information accuracy and integrity; demonstrate ability to improve processes, while understanding and keeping department values and culture;
  • Manage UW online financial systems applicable to position within Department and University parameters, including the travel systems
  • Work with other members of the department to ensure the work of the VC F&A office and Vice Chairs is completed in a timely, efficient and professional manner.
  • Create and maintain department organizational charts as well as work stream flow for executive and other positions within the Department.
  • Understand, interpret, and apply requirements, regulations and policies related to the Department of APM and UW Medicine within scope of position

    Executive Support of the APM VC F&A and other Vice Chairs 30%
  • Manage the complex schedules of the VC F&A and the assigned Vice Chairs’; determine appropriate appointment requests and prevent scheduling conflicts; coordinating with Vice Chairs’ clinical support staff and other executive leaders; understand mission critical events and expertly prioritizes schedule to optimally meet demands
  • Understand the value and limitations of the VC F&A and Vice Chairs’ time and prioritizes time demands accordingly; Adjusts and readjusts actions to fit changing priorities, balancing interests of all clients of the VC F&A and Vice Chairs
  • Plan and manage complex meetings within and outside the Department
  • Set routine priorities independently and sees to satisfactory conclusion tasks and requests;
  • Provide information management support by drafting editing, finalizing and publishing public and confidential correspondence, reports, and presentations on behalf of the VC F&A in a timely manner
  • Review, distribute & dispose of physical & electronic communications with acumen, timeliness and accuracy; Organize file management & information retrieval systems
  • Ensure all who need to know, receive timely and accurate information with respect to the VC F&A and Vice Chairs’ schedules as necessary to successfully perform their duties
  • Become increasingly expert at knowing who, how and when to loop in the appropriate people to solve issues; ensure the appropriate people/offices receive important communications
  • Manage faculty and personnel management processes that require VC F&A signatures and/or tracking of documents;
  • Provide back-up executive level support to the Assistant to the Chair

    Special Projects and Events 20%
    The individual in this position is regularly responsible for organizing and managing projects for the VC F&A office. Projects vary, but include independent organization and management of Department-wide programs and initiatives
  • Manage event planning for APM staff events including but not limited to the annual holiday potluck and staff retreats. Includes facility rental, catering planning, etc.
  • Partner with the VC F&A and HR team to develop and coordinate quarterly staff meetings, including preparing power-point slides, guest speaker coordination, room reservations, catering planning, calendar announcements, etc.
  • Participate in the Department Staff Culture Committee to help create and launch projects around professional development, recognition, wellness, and community building;
  • Work with Finance, Human Resources and Clinical teams to coordinate data report summaries to inform Vice Chairs’ initiatives (e.g. Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion metrics)
  • Manage special projects as assigned by VC F&A and other Vice Chairs

    REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
    Education: BA in business, Health Sciences, English, Communications, Psychology or related field
    Type and Years of Experience: Minimum of 2 years’ executive administrative support experience

    ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
  • Superb technical user of Microsoft Office Suite and other applicable software programs, particularly Word, PPT, Excel and organizational programs (e.g. Visio or similar)
  • Knows executive-level business norms and processes;
  • Understands and appreciates working with and/or leading a Team. Contributes positively to a team;
  • Able to set and adjust priorities as necessary; able to work independently;
  • Ability to work in matrixed relationships;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
  • Must be able to organize and complete work – both daily and projects;
  • Able to gain confidence of senior leadership within the Department and School-wide;
  • Experience working with issues of a confidential nature, using discretion and tact

    DESIRED
  • Project Management Experience, highly desired;
  • Training in Process Improvement methodology;
  • Previous work in a healthcare environment, particularly an academic healthcare environment;
  • Previous work in an academic medical center with faculty executive leadership

    Application Process:
    The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.


  • Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law.

    Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.

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    The University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

    To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.

    Posted on : 3 years ago