Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs

Job no: 493160
Position type: Staff Full Time - Full Year
Location: Lewiston, ME
Division/Equivalent: VP for Student Affairs
School/Unit: Office of the VPSA/DOS
Categories: Campus Life

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Title: Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs

Position Purpose:

The Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs provides high-level executive administrative support to the Vice President and delivers administrative management for special initiatives across the Student Affairs division. Operating in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, this role serves as the central administrative hub of the office—handling executive calendar management, documentation, correspondence, and operational oversight tied to the VP’s priorities. Under general guidance from the Vice President, the Assistant also supports divisional initiatives, managing project plans, deliverables, and resources to support operational effectiveness and the mission of the College.

Job Duties:

Project Administration

  • Leads, manages, or assists with planning, scheduling, and administrative follow-through for special initiatives and operational projects directed by the Vice President.
  • Develops project management plans, including tracking sheets, milestones, and deliverable schedules to ensure timely execution across participating team members.
  • Collaborates with and coordinates between stakeholders to identify needs, goals, success measures and the necessary resources for special projects and initiatives.
  • Creates and distributes project updates, summary notes, and action items to keep divisional stakeholders informed and aligned, ensuring that all team members have information necessary to fulfill their roles.
  • Applies critical thinking and organization to resolve administrative bottlenecks and scheduling conflicts that arise during project rollouts.

Executive Administrative Support

  • Manages the Vice President’s complex calendar, prioritizes meeting requests, coordinates travel logistics and itineraries, and compiles briefing materials and reports.
  • Manages and reconciles the Office of the Vice President’s operational budget, processing financial transactions, expense reports, purchase orders, and reimbursements in compliance with institutional policies.
  • Serves as the primary liaison and welcoming point of contact for the Vice President's office, handling inquiries with discretion and connecting students, families, faculty, and staff to appropriate campus resources.
  • Drafts, reviews, and edits routine correspondence, memos, agendas, and presentation materials for internal and external audiences on behalf of the Vice President.
  • Provides administrative coordination for assigned divisional committees; prepares agendas, records concise meeting summaries, tracks follow-up action items, and archives official documentation.
  • Exercises strict confidentiality and sound judgment when handling sensitive personnel, student, or institutional matters.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education

Bachelor’s degree required, or an equivalent combination of education and related administrative experience.

Experience

3 to 5 years of progressively responsible administrative support experience, including executive-level office support, meeting coordination, and project tracking (preferably in higher education or non-profit administration).

Skills and Knowledge

  • Broad understanding of higher education environments, student affairs functions, or institutional administrative operations.
  • Strong organizational, time-management, and task-prioritization skills, with a track record of handling multiple deadlines simultaneously.
  • High level of proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, virtual conferencing platforms, and database/ERP systems (e.g., Banner).
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to compose clear, professional correspondence and documentation.
  • Demonstrated ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with absolute discretion, professionalism, and integrity.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and a customer-service orientation to engage effectively with a wide range of campus constituents.
  • Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.

   
 

Benefits:  

Bates College offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits (health, dental, 9% retirement contribution with potential for an additional 3% match, sick leave, 24 days of vacation, 2 personal days, 13 paid holidays, dependent care subsidy, free parking, access to library and athletic facilities & more), and a supportive, collegial environment in a drug and smoke-free workplace.

Hiring Range:  The hiring range for this position is $59,795 to $74,744. Placement within the range depends on experience and other factors.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: 

Bates College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and providing an educational and work environment free from discrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status and other legally protected statuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in the administration of its education policies and programs, or in the recruitment of its faculty and staff.  Bates College adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations.  All college faculty, staff, students, contractors, visitors, and volunteers are responsible for understanding and complying with the Non-Discrimination Policy.

Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII, Title IX, and ADA/Section 504), and complaints may be directed to Gwen Lexow, Title IX Officer, 207-786-6445 or via email at glexow@bates.edu.

About Bates:

Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world.

Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. Committed to opportunity and excellence, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion, or national origin.

Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world. Bates engages the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.

Bates has highly competitive admissions, graduates over 90 percent of its entering students, and more than half of its alumni earn graduate degrees. Bates employs 200 faculty members and 550 staff.

The college is proud of deep roots in the Lewiston/Auburn community, Maine’s second-largest urban area with a population of approximately 65,000. Bates is located on a beautiful, 133-acre, traditional New England campus in Lewiston, an emerging city with an entrepreneurial climate, a lively arts scene, and a dynamic business community. Bates is 35 miles north of Portland, 140 miles north of Boston, and 350 miles north of New York City.

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