Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant (EA), People & Talent (P&T)

The Executive Assistant (EA), People & Talent (P&T) is an individual who reports to the Sr. VP People & Talent, working closely with and supporting the SVP of P&T and VP of Total Rewards to proactively support university and department strategic initiatives. The individual in this position will act as an extension of the SVP/VP and will work in collaboration within the P&T organization as well as other areas of Western Governors University (WGU) to provide support with goals and deliverables to meet business needs and future growth. This position will coordinate multiple P&T projects, ensuring implementation is successful as well as aligned to department and university goals.

This is a full-time, in-office position requiring 5 days per week in Salt Lake City, Utah, designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Act as point of contact between executives and employees and/or external candidates/vendors
• Build trusted relationships across P&T and enterprise stakeholders, serving as an employee liaison who navigates sensitive, confidential situations with diplomacy and sound judgement
• Prepare executive for meetings and presentations, calendar events with briefing packs, pre-reads, attendee alignment, and executive summaries
• Record meeting notes, summarize action items, open questions and debrief as needed
• Research, synthesize, and prepare briefing materials, decisions decks, talking points, and data-informed insights for executive meetings and business reviews
• Draft, Edit, and polish high-level executive communications, presentations, and organizational messaging representing the SVP/VP
• Maintain SVP/VP's schedules by planning and scheduling meetings, teleconferences, and team events/activities
• Organization and filing of electronic materials, including presentations, notes and supporting documents in a secure yet accessible way
• Plan and lead operational cadences, including leadership meetings, planning sessions, and enterprise/culture events
• Assist with managing top-line department budget, which includes budget proposal, monthly and quarterly review, and reconciliation of invoices and monthly expense statements to ensure we manage within budget
• Correspond with and prepare travel for senior-level candidates up to and including interview schedules and follow-up logistics
• Work closely with other team members to brainstorm, strategize and complete ad hoc requests creatively, effectively and efficiently
• Leverage Microsoft 365 (Teams, Sharepoint, Excel, PowerPoint) and AI-powered tools (e.g. Copilot) to manage project hubs, automate workflows, and optimize information flow
• Support the SVP/VP with administrative needs that include processing T&E expenses, booking travel, scheduling and coordinating meetings/events
• Prepare meeting materials and logistics for departmental meetings, external sessions and workshops
• Coordinate team activities including workshops and teambuilding activities
• Other duties as assigned

Required Skills and Experience:

• Extensive knowledge of modern executive administrative operations, calendar design, travel, and expense management in a distributed work environment
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams) with practical experience importing, verifying and presenting data via reports and visual graphs
• Superior written, verbal and active listening skills, with the proven ability to articulate complex concepts and draft executive communications representing the SVP/VP
• Exceptional maturity personal leadership, and sound judgement when handling sensitive, highly confidential employee and enterprise matters
• Thrives in high-energy, fast-paced environments. Comfortably adapts to change, shifts gears, prioritizes under tight deadlines and acts decisively without having the complete picture
• Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail, time management, and a strong sense of accountability to follow tasks through to completion
• Ability to empathize with individuals when approached for help in different situational circumstances
• Ability to work with confidential information and to apply maturity and discretion in daily operational role
• Strong interpersonal skills to build trust and work seamlessly across P&T, cross-department teams, and stakeholders
• Comprehensive thinker – can infer and identify the many potential items and actions relating to a project or request – digs deep when needed – assimilates new information quickly

Competencies:

Influences Others and Communicates Effectively:

• Communicates to improve and promote teamwork, decision making and problem-solving. Listens and responds effectively to the reactions and positions of others and encourages the expression of diverse ideas and opinions. Adjusts message and style to fit the audience. Provides timely and helpful feedback. Communicates appropriately to win support of all.

Collaborates:

• Works cooperatively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives. Represents own interests while being fair to others and their areas. Partners with others to get work done. Credits others for their contributions and accomplishments. Gains buy-in, trust and support of others.

Manages Ambiguity:

• Deals comfortably with the uncertainty of change. Effectively handles risk. Can decide and act without the total picture. Is calm and productive, even when things are up in the air. Deals constructively with problems that do not have clear solutions or outcomes.

Is Resilient:

• Is confident under pressure. Handles and manages crises effectively. Maintains a positive attitude despite adversity. Bounces back from obstacles and setbacks. Grows from hardships and negative experiences.

Drives for Results:

• Has a strong outcomes-based orientation. Persists in accomplishing objectives despite obstacles and set backs. Has a track record of successfully exceeding goals. Pushes self and others to achieve results to positively impact WGU and our students. Has a continuous improvement mindset.

Organizational Learning:

• Learns quickly when facing new situations. Experiments to find new solutions and enhance the student experience. Takes on the challenge of unfamiliar tasks. Extracts lessons learned from failures and mistakes. Expands knowledge through ongoing curiosity.

Education and Experience Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in human resources or business-related field preferred
• 5-7 years of executive support/assistant experience supporting C-Suite leadership
• Human resources experience is a plus for this role
• Exceptional working knowledge of MS Office tools and technology: PowerPoint, Excel, WebEx, Teams, etc.

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.