A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.
The Gilbert S. Omenn Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics (DCMB) is seeking an Administrative Specialist Senior to provide high-level executive, operational, and strategic administrative support to the Chair of the Department.
This role serves as the primary coordinator for the Chair?s administrative portfolio, managing a complex calendar, facilitating department leadership and governance bodies, coordinating faculty affairs processes, and leading special administrative projects.
This position requires a premium level of professionalism, absolute discretion, excellent independent judgment, and the ability to anticipate executive needs within a highly dynamic academic medical school environment. The selected candidate will represent the Chair and the department in communications with Medical School administration, Michigan Medicine leadership, faculty, staff, and external global collaborators.
Executive Administrative Support to the Chair (60% Effort)
- Manage the Chair's complex, high-volume calendar and email inbox; review and prioritize all incoming correspondence, triage and flag action items, draft responses to incoming requests, resolve scheduling conflicts proactively, and coordinate cross-functional meetings.
- Prepare the Chair for daily schedules, classes, meetings, and speaking engagements by assembling briefing portfolios, agendas, historical correspondence, and background materials; actively monitor schedule progression to ensure on-time meeting transitions, providing proactive pacing reminders when meetings run over.
- Coordinate comprehensive domestic and international travel itineraries, lodging, registrations, global telecommunications, and virtual/in-person conferences alongside timely expense and PCard reconciliations.
- Provide expert, high-level administrative assistance including proofreading, editing, and formatting of scientific manuscripts, letters, course/class materials, recommendation letters, and executive presentations on behalf of the Chair.
- Partner with the department or institutional webmaster to keep the content on the Chair's website and academic profile current.
- Maintain highly confidential files, managing sensitive departmental and personnel information with the utmost discretion.
Department Leadership and Governance Support (25% Effort)
- Coordinate Chair-led leadership committees, faculty meetings, retreats, strategic planning sessions, and special academic initiatives; manage all associated logistical arrangements, including room reservations, hybrid/AV technology setups, catering, travel coordination, and detailed itineraries for visiting dignitaries.
Draft and distribute department-wide communications from the Chair, including announcements, leadership updates, and faculty-facing policy messages.
Faculty Affairs and Academic Support (10% Effort)
- Coordinate administrative processes related to faculty recruitment (including planning, organizing, and managing on-campus visits and travel itineraries for potential recruits), onboarding, annual performance evaluations, promotion and tenure reviews, and joint/dry appointments.
Other Duties as Assigned (5% Effort)
- Other duties and special projects as assigned by the chair.
- Education: Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible administrative experience.
- Experience: 7+ years of high-level administrative experience, preferably supporting senior executives, directors, division chiefs or department chairs within an academic, healthcare, research, or higher education setting.
- Executive Support: Demonstrated mastery in executive calendar management, complex travel coordination, global telecommunications, and meeting preparation.
- Communication: Superb written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated expertise in proofreading, copyediting, and polishing executive-level correspondence and academic materials.
- Faculty Credentials Support: Demonstrated experience working with, reviewing, updating, and formatting academic faculty Curriculum Vitae (CVs) and NIH-format Biosketches for institutional records and recruitment files.
- Discretion: Absolute commitment to discretion, integrity, and professional boundaries when handling highly sensitive personnel information.
- Technical Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Dropbox and Zoom.
- Prior experience working within the University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine, or a peer academic medical center.
- Knowledge of U-M policies, procedures, and systems related to faculty affairs (e.g., M-Pathways, Standard Practice Guidelines).
- Knowledge of academic publishing, manuscript preparation, and editorial submission guidelines.
- Basic understanding of and interest in using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to draft emails, compile documents, automate follow-ups, and summarize complex texts.
- Hours: Full-Time (40 hours per week, Monday - Friday).
- Location: Hybrid work schedule requiring three (3) days per week of onsite presence at our Ann Arbor, MI campus, with the remaining days worked remotely in accordance with department guidelines.
The Gilbert S. Omenn Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics (DCMB) within Michigan Medicine integrates computational sciences, biomedical informatics, and data science to advance medical research and education.
Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings. Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.
Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally. Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.
Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.
The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
