Executive Assistant to the CFO
Alleghenycollege-Ibwwjb Cx · Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States
Executive Office Management and Proactive Support
- Manage the CFO’s complex calendar, executive scheduling, meetings, correspondence, travel arrangements, and daily office operations; coordinate competing priorities and protect time for critical work.
- Anticipate upcoming needs, deadlines, meetings, decisions, and required materials; independently prepare, organize, and follow up on action items without waiting for direction.
- Serve as a professional liaison with senior leadership, trustees, employees, and external partners; triage requests and elevate sensitive or time-critical matters appropriately.
- Exercise excellent judgment, initiative, discretion, and confidentiality when handling executive communications and sensitive personnel, financial, and institutional information.
Board Committee and Governance Support
- Coordinate planning and logistics for three Board of Trustees committees and other governance committees supported by the CFO.
- Prepare and organize agendas, presentations, reports, rosters, minutes, meeting packets, and related communications in collaboration with content owners.
- Track committee deliverables, Board-directed actions, deadlines, and follow-up; help present financial and operational information clearly and accurately.
Budget Monitoring, Purchasing, and Expense Administration
- Assist the CFO in monitoring the CFO office and assigned divisional budgets by tracking expenditures, commitments, available balances, and variances; flag unusual items and approaching limits for review.
- Prepare, submit, and track purchase requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, and related purchasing documentation in accordance with College policies and approval requirements.
- Prepare and process the CFO’s expense reimbursements and related documentation; review receipts, coding, and completeness, and follow up on outstanding items.
- Coordinate routing of invoices, expense reports, contracts, and DocuSign approvals; maintain accurate records and monitor outstanding transactions through completion.
- Compile routine budget and expense summaries for the CFO; coordinate with Finance on questions, reconciliations, and corrections without assuming independent spending or approval authority.
Divisional Coordination and Team Collaboration
- Provide responsive administrative and coordination support to Finance, Human Resources, Physical Plant/Facilities, Information Technology, Campus Store, and Sustainability, balancing shared needs with the CFO’s priorities.
- Partner with divisional leaders and staff to organize meetings, deadlines, communications, documentation, and cross-functional projects; ensure that responsibilities and next steps are clear.
- Build positive relationships and work collaboratively as part of a team while independently managing assigned projects and routine issues with minimal supervision.
- Identify opportunities to streamline administrative processes, improve information-sharing, and strengthen service and operational effectiveness across the division.
Executive Communications and Project Follow-Through
- Draft, proofread, and coordinate high-quality correspondence, reports, presentations, and other materials on behalf of the CFO.
- Maintain action-item lists and project trackers; proactively check progress, surface risks, recommend practical solutions, and ensure timely follow-through.
- Use sound judgment to determine what can be resolved independently, what requires collaboration, and what must be referred to the CFO.
Additional Responsibilities
Perform other related duties as assigned to support the CFO and division.
Fiscal Authority
Monitor some selected budgets and transactions on behalf of the CFO; does not independently authorize expenditures unless separately delegated in writing. Initiates purchases via purchase requisitions and procurement card.
Education and Experience
- Required education: High school diploma or GED.
- Preferred education: Associate’s or vocational/technical school degree in Administrative Professional Studies, Legal Studies, or a related field. A Bachelor's degree in business or related field would be a plus.
- Required experience: 3 or more years of progressive administrative and/or executive assistant experience supporting senior-level executives;
- Experience or understanding of working in higher education or similar complex entities, executive governance support, purchasing, expense processing, legal, or budget tracking is beneficial.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Exceptional organization, accuracy, follow-through, prioritization, and ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced executive office.
- Demonstrated initiative and foresight: anticipates the CFO’s needs, identifies potential issues early, proposes solutions, and acts independently within established authority.
- Excellent judgment, professionalism, tact, confidentiality, and discretion in sensitive financial, personnel, and institutional matters.
- Ability to work both independently with minimal supervision and collaboratively as a dependable, flexible member of a diverse divisional team.
- Strong quantitative skills and comfort with budgets, expense documentation, purchasing workflows, spreadsheets, and routine financial tracking.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, customer service, interpersonal skills, and ability to build effective campus-wide relationships.
- Ability to produce accurate reports, presentations, correspondence, meeting materials, and project records; adapt to changing priorities.
Computer Skills
- Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word): Required, intermediate or advanced.
- Google Workspace: Required, advanced preferred or willingness to learn and adapt to it.
- Asana: preferred, basic, but willing to learn.
- Databases: preferred, basic.
- Computer networks and systems: Preferred, basic.
- Ability to learn College purchasing, expense reimbursement, financial, document-routing, and other administrative systems.
Travel and Working Conditions
Travel outside the College is rare (approximately 3 times per year, typically within the regional area). Work is primarily in an office or similar indoor environment; occasional outdoor, street, or vehicle exposure may occur. Occasional work outside normal business hours may be required as directed by the CFO.
Physical Requirements
As indicated: continuous sitting, repetitive hand motion, hearing/listening; frequent talking, standing, walking, and stair climbing; seldom bending, reaching overhead, pushing/pulling, or lifting up to 20 pounds. Other listed activities are not required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform essential functions.