Administrative Assistant

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) is a private grantmaking foundation based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. We work towards a world in which every woman controls her reproduction and all reproductive decisions are treated with dignity and respect. Toward this end, our core mission is to prevent unintended pregnancy and ensure access to safe abortion.

Position Title: Administrative Assistant – Global Programs Reports To: Director – Global Programs Job Location: Omaha, Nebraska Classification: Exempt

Background | STBF’s Global Programs (GP) strategy invests in sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world. At the core of our strategy is the central tenet that our funding will lead to permanent change: we want our funding to help build the systems, organizations, and institutions that will outlive our grantmaking so that women and girls will continue to receive services when our funding comes to an end. In order to deliver on this ambitious strategy, the GP team is expanding thoughtfully, adding strategic and grants management capacity in key areas. Compared to the size of its grant-making, the GP team is small in staff size, though growing globally.

Position Description | The primary role of the Administrative Assistant is to provide a range of timely and dynamic support to the IP Director in her leadership and vision to ensure optimal effectiveness and achievement of the GP strategy. The GP team is currently implementing a new program strategy and is planning for growth in the coming years. The Administrative Assistant will serve as a linchpin to the team’s delivery on this strategy by supporting the Director to work as efficiently and dynamically as possible. S/he will have a can-do attitude and humility and will be willing to do what it takes to enable the team to succeed in delivering on their ambitious strategy. The Assistant will have insight into a critical cross-section of team functionality; s/he will help to optimize existing systems and processes to improve outcomes and enhance collaboration while continuously executing on tight, high-stakes deadlines.

The Ideal Candidate | This position is right for you if you are:

• Service and support oriented | You truly enjoy serving others and playing a supportive role, knowing that your role is critical to our mission, though often unseen. You are not out for ownership or credit and get job satisfaction from knowing that you have helped someone else to be and do their best. You love to solve problems and are willing to go the extra mile to consider needs that someone may not have yet articulated. You approach your work with humility and a growth mindset, taking pleasure in being a ‘life saver’ to many. You are able to manage up and enjoy doing so – you anticipate others’ needs, preferences, and style and are able to adapt seamlessly.
• Great at managing complexity | You are able to juggle multiple asks, issues, and problems at the same time while keeping your cool. You feel comfortable and ready to jump into new problems and projects and can manage competing priorities, overlapping timelines, and especially tight turnarounds. You know when to ask for help and when to act to help. You have a proven track record of doing so, and you aren’t afraid of seemingly impossible tasks or challenges. You love to troubleshoot on issues from IT to scheduling and travel.
• Very detail oriented | Your memory is like a trap, or you own a to-do list (or four) like nobody else. You don’t miss details, you always write things down, and you always close the loop. You notice details, whether they are a missing location in a meeting invite, a time zone shift, or a formatting issue in a brief. At the same time, you are comfortable with details that change... often.
• Flexible mindset | You are comfortable with ambiguity and are able to help bring order to chaos and structure to grey. You keep an open mind, a good sense of humor, and you love to pivot as the situation calls for it. You keep the end-goal in sight, and you are creative in finding new routes to get there as the situation demands. You can always find a path forward through information-gathering, establishing facts, following procedures and precedents, and using good judgement as a way forward when no precedents exist.
• A skilled relationship manager | You provide a high standard of service to GP Director, and exercise discretion in all of the matters in which you are involved. You also offer a high standard of service to GP team members, other foundation staff, grantees, and external partners, whom you will interact with in a range of ways. You are a thoughtful communicator and use good judgment when dealing with internal or external issues. Discretion and confidentiality are always top of mind for you. You work to ensure a positive image of the Foundation by being responsive and prompt in responding to requests.

Responsibilities | Primary responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

Administrative support

• Managing and tracking the GP Director’s schedule, including calendar management, travel support, and on-site meeting and administrative support.
• Ensuring that the Director is prepared for meetings and events and follows up as needed in a timely manner.
• Overseeing and administering day-to-day activities and functions of the Director, utilizing a high degree of independent judgment and initiative.
• Participating in the Director’s internal and external communications. Drafting and overseeing external communications as necessary.
• Scheduling and arranging meetings and travel details; making arrangements for facilities, lodging, transportation and a variety of other details.
• Identifying opportunities for enhancing team effectiveness or cohesion and make solution-based recommendations to Director.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Systems

• Supporting the overall functionality of GP team systems, online and offline
• Continuously identifying opportunities to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and increase collaboration for positive outcomes.

Logistics and Coordination

• Providing support to the GP team on a range of team logistical and coordination needs for meetings, both internal and external.
• Collaborating with other foundation administrative and operations colleagues to provide occasional support on foundation-wide meetings, events, and monthly lunches.
• Researching, recording and obtaining information from other Departments and team members and other sources as necessary to perform assigned duties.
• Providing continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality service to the team.
• Scheduling calls and teleconferences, making travel arrangements, and processing reimbursements on behalf of team members.
• Preparing agendas and managing all logistics for regular team meetings, including organizing program updates, external speakers, and strategic plan timeline reviews.

Overall Team Functionality

• Providing operational and logistical support to remote GP team members and coordinating a unified team environment.
• Maintaining continuous lines of communication between the GP team, keeping members informed of critical issues and ensuring that members have needed information in a timely manner.
• Maintaining communication and positive relationships with all GP team members.
• Contributing to an inclusive, collaborative, productive global GP team culture.

Qualifications | Skills and knowledge the candidate must possess:

• Expertise in Microsoft Outlook and Office, and proficiency in Excel.
• Proven track record of providing administrative excellence on a dynamic team, global preferred.
• Ability to work quickly under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Strong communications skills with a range of audiences, written, verbal, and otherwise.
• Ability to synthesize and summarize large amounts of information and complex data in an orderly and efficient manner.
• Superior organizational, scheduling, and planning skills to balance multiple activities, projects, and priorities, paying attention to detail as well as an ability to take a big-picture perspective.
• Impeccable ability to safeguard confidential information, particularly for personnel-related matters and confidential Foundation business.
• Ability to manage up and experience collaborating successfully with a range of personalities and work styles.
• Patience, flexibility, adaptability, and a sense of humor.

Education and Experience | A range of professional experiences or educational preparation will be considered. Finance and operational skills are more important than reproductive health content knowledge, however, topical familiarity is certainly a plus.

Benefits and Compensation | The annual salary range for this position is competitive and will be commensurate with experience. The Foundation offers a full and generous benefits package, including medical/dental insurance and a retirement program.

Application Process | Send cover letter and resume or CV to internationalprograms@stbfoundation.org with subject line Administrative Assistant- International Programs. Applications without a cover letter will not be reviewed. References, writing samples and other information may be requested. Position finalists will be invited to interview in-person at the Foundation in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.