Department Manager

POSITION OBJECTIVE Working under general direction, this position is a high-level administrative support position in the department of institutional partnerships. The department manager will oversee administrative affairs of a complex and highly sensitive and/or confidential nature and will function as a liaison with inter and intra-departmental and institutional units, involving a variety of interactions with a diverse group of individuals at the university. This position also involves extensive interaction and collaboration with the senior associate vice president and related staff in planning appropriate and strategic encounters that support the overall strategy and goals of the department. The department manager serves as an administrative liaison with the Offices of the President, Provost, other vice presidents and deans, and represents the senior associate vice president in various means of communication with alumni, donors, trustees, friends, and other constituents. The department manager is responsible for managing the business activities of the department, including the budget with the senior associate vice president. These activities include but are not limited to researching prospects and donors, developing briefing materials and meeting presentations, establishing, and maintaining departmental shared drive and databases, processing grant awards through advancement services and research administration, and other priority operations of the institutional partnerships team. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Provide direct, high-level administrative support to the senior associate vice president and team in planning and implementing all aspects of institutional giving, foundation relations, corporate engagement, and competitive awards activities that support the overall strategy and goals of the department and university. Manage calendars and partner with prospect research to compile meeting briefings and assist with meeting follow up. Develop and produce high-level meeting presentations with senior associate vice president and team. Provide supervision and oversight of prospect meetings and site visits to ensure execution at the highest level. Plan meetings; collect, organize, prepare, and distribute agenda material. Handle all travel and meeting arrangements for the department, including restaurant, hotel and airline reservations and other rental reservations. (30%) Research and identify prospects, including web-based research, in consultation with the Advancement Services research team, to include extensive mining of external data and internal data via Advance and University Archives. Summarize and articulate prospect and donor relationships. Summarize and assess grant guidelines, histories, policies, and procedures for individual, foundation, and corporate entities. Independently facilitate grant administration and stewardship activity across Office of Research Administration databases (Sparta, PADS), Advancement Services database (Advance), and University Archives. (30%) Develop and manage relational databases and generate reports. Develop efficient, computer-based methods for tracking and mining prospect data and relationships, including inputting new data and extracting existing data. Oversee and track the team's grant-related activity across Office of Research Administration databases (Sparta, PADS) and Advancement Services database (Advance), ensuring all proposal submissions are appropriately facilitated through these internal systems. Work closely with Office of Research Administration and school-based finance and research administration offices to ensure compliance with funder and university policies. (20%) Serve as the department's administrative problem-solver and administrative expert for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the department. Prioritize multiple issues and matters addressed to the department, including those of a sensitive and/or confidential nature; determine appropriate course of action, referral, and/or response in consultation with the associate vice president. Advise on university policies and procedures and ensure that department operations are in compliance. Process expense reports and reimbursements, requisitions, and other required financial and budgetary requests, process Pcard expenditures and transactions, reconcile the department's budget monthly, forecast future expenditures and provide departmental budget forecast recommendations. Oversee and track the purchase of office supplies, equipment, and departmental subscriptions and maintain accurate documentation for budget reconciliation. Monitor expenses generated by department meetings, site visits, travel costs, and catering. (15%) NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Attend, and encourage others to attend, university training sessions to keep up to date with policies and procedures. Identify training and educational resources within the university and elsewhere for all departmental staff. Remain knowledgeable about the university mission, strategic plan, and funding priorities. (5%) Perform other duties as assigned. ( CONTACTS Department: Daily contact with faculty, senior/associate vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, deans, and support staff as required to perform essential functions. University: Contact with other university administrative areas and centers at all levels as required to perform essential functions. External: Contact with all constituents including elected officials, agency and community leaders, foundation representatives, and CWRU Board members as required to perform essential functions. Students: Contact with students to exchange information as needed as required to perform essential functions. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES No direct supervisory responsibility. The position will provide oversight to student interns as needed. QUALIFICATIONS Experience: 6 or more years of related and progressive operations responsibility in an academic or similarly complex setting. Education: High school education required; Bachelor's degree preferred. REQUIRED SKILLS Excellent communication skills: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, and asking questions as appropriate. Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate and talking to others to convey information effectively. Excellent research skills: Requires expertise in web-based research, in consultation with the Advancement Services research team, to include extensive mining of Advance data. Requires experience in summarizing and articulating prospect and donor relationships, particularly within family foundations, to include the creation of family trees. Also requires foundation and grant-related research externally, as well as through the Office of Research Administration databases (Sparta, PADS), Advancement Services database (CRM Advance), and University Archives. Excellent computer proficiency, including experience and expertise with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, as well as expertise in Adobe, Outlook, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Ability to learn new programs. Ability to understand grant guidelines, policies, and procedures for individual foundations and related to Case Western Reserve. Knowledge of or ability to quickly acquire knowledge of proposal submission process and databases at Case Western Reserve, including through the Office of Research Administration databases (Sparta, PADS), as well as Advancement Services (Advance). Ability to actively learn – understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. Ability to anticipate needs, errors, and omissions before they occur. Attention to quality and detail are essential; flexibility, tact, and responsiveness are required. Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and prospects/donors face to face; ability to handle sensitive information is essential. Ability to maintain consistent attendance. Demonstrated history of successful support, education, and advocacy for all students, aligned with the values, mission, and messaging of the university, while adhering to the staff policy on conflict of commitment and interest. Willingness to learn and work with artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies. WORKING CONDITIONS General office environment. This position may require occasional and often unexpected longer than 8‑hour days during the week and/or on weekends. The person in this position must have the attitude of being dedicated to his/her position and to give full attention to critical jobs until completed. #J-18808-Ljbffr