Administrative Assistant: Education Leadership

The Wallace Foundation -- an independent, national, New York-based philanthropy with $1.4 billion in assets – traces its origins back more than half a century to DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, founders of The Reader’s Digest Association.

The Wallace Foundation seeks to improve learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and foster the vitality of the arts for everyone.  The foundation has an unusual approach: We seek to identify, and help answer, a significant question whose answer is not known but which, if known, could help propel social progress more broadly.  We work with a small number of grantees to help them test new ideas and generate improvements for those they serve, while also generating evidence and insights that, when shared broadly, can improve policy and practice in an entire field. 

The foundation currently works in five areas:

• Strengthening school leadership to improve student achievement,
• Expanding time for learning during the school year and over the summer,
• Enhancing after-school opportunities,
• Building audiences for the arts, and
• Fostering arts education for children and teens.

At Wallace, we have a team-based structure and seek employees who are both highly skilled in their professions and able to work collaboratively with others.  Wallace employees need to be able to think analytically and communicate clearly.  We value the flexibility to adapt to change, a desire to learn, and the ability to work productively both on one’s own and with colleagues inside and outside the foundation. For more information about Wallace, please visit www.wallacefoundation.org.  

Education Leadership at The Wallace Foundation

Good school leadership is essential to turning around the nation’s failing schools, research has shown. For more than a decade, Wallace has been working with states and school districts to develop better ways to train, hire, support and evaluate principals and other key figures in schools. There are three key initiatives focusing on: the principal pipeline, principal supervisors and university principal preparation programs.

ROLE

The Administrative Assistant provides the full scope of administrative support to the director, officers and staff in Education Leadership, reporting to the Director of Education Leadership.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide administrative support for director, three program officers and consultants
• Schedule a high volume of calls and meetings with grantees, partners and consultants and ensure calendars are up-to-date
• Manage major mailings, e.g., Requests for Proposals, meetings of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s)
• Track documents, e.g., proposals from prospective grantees in response to an RFP, grantee reports,  submitted and those outstanding for follow-up
• Assist in the preparation of agendas and other materials for Wallace-sponsored meetings and presentations
• Notify the office services manager who makes all travel arrangements for the Foundation about travel plans; prepare background materials and travel itineraries for trips and meetings as requested
• Notify office services manager of offsite meetings and conferences and make timely requests for publications
• Manage incoming mail and draft correspondence as requested
• Handle telephones, filing, copying, and updating of contact lists
• Fulfill responsibilities in shared administrative support:
• Provide coverage as assigned at reception desk, and as needed
• Provide administrative support as requested, to balance coverage and needs foundation-wide
• Demonstrate expert-level administrative skills, specifically high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office – Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and project management to efficiently and effectively support the work
• Build knowledge and understanding of the work of the foundation and the grantees and contacts in Education Leadership

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required; interest in education, public policy or leadership a plus
• Highly proficient/expert level in Microsoft Office suite: Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
• Ability to multi-task and determine priorities, seeking guidance as needed, to effectively support several director, program officers and consultants
• We place a premium on accuracy and attention to detail: proofreading, complete information for meetings (location, participants, time), up-to-date contact information, and logistics of travel
• Ability to work productively in a fast-paced environment generating high volume of quality work
• Ability and interest in building an understanding of our work in Education Leadership and the grantees
• Strong communication skills: listening, speaking and writing 

Salary is commensurate with experience. Our benefits include health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, a 403(b) Retirement Plan and Paid Time Off (PTO). 

To Apply

Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to [email protected]. Please note “Administrative Assistant” as the subject in your email.

The Wallace Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to maintaining a diverse workplace where differing perspectives are a source of strength.