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Policy Assistant

SUMMARY : The Policy Assistant provides administrative and project management support to the Associate Vice President and Counsel for Policy and Federal Relations, the Associate Vice President for Immigration and International Issues, and the Senior Policy Officer. The assistant will be responsible for webinar, workshop, and conference logistics, including coordinating schedules, organizing travel, managing databases, and sending communications. The assistant also provides support for the General Counsels (GC) constituent group, specific Council on Federal Relations task forces, the Golden Goose Award steering committee, and the Open Monograph (TOME) Initiative.

The assistant conducts research and develops content for AAU letters, talking points, issues briefs, and legislative and policy summaries and coordinates and collaborates on special projects.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned to meet business needs:

  • Schedule in-person and virtual meetings, telephone calls, conference calls, and webinars; assist in prioritizing, screening, and responding to media and speaking requests; anticipate schedule conflicts, preparation and travel time, and other events that impact schedule.

  • Assist with the execution of meetings, conference calls, and webinars by coordinating logistics, developing agendas, developing content, taking notes, and following up on resulting action items.

  • Draft, conduct research for, and help develop content for AAU letters, comments, talking points, issue briefs, legislative and policy summaries, charts and visuals, infographics, and PowerPoint presentations that are tailored for specific audiences and stakeholders with the ability to make complex topics understandable, compelling, and inspiring.

  • Coordinate the workflow and collaborate on special projects related to AAU’s Science Policy and International Issues department priorities by tracking project timelines, deliverables, and internal/external partners across multiple projects and teams; proactively communicate progress and potential challenges to supervisors and project teams as needed.

  • Produce professionally written emails, memos, documents, and other materials that are succinct, clear, and audience appropriate. Demonstrate proper grammatical use of the English language and present written material using the proper format/form per established AAU guidelines.

  • Administer complex international and domestic travel logistics for supervisors and prepare itineraries, credit card reconciliations, and reimbursement forms.

  • Assist in the management of supervisors’ email and correspondences as deemed appropriate and ensure mail and correspondence assignments have been completed; use discretion to assist in prioritization of e-mail and correspondences, and in many instances, respond to correspondence on behalf of supervisors.

  • COMMITTEES AND CONSTITUENT GROUP MANAGEMENT

  • Use AAU’s email system via Salesforce to send out mass communications and help maintain AAU online constituent communities and listservs relating to the work of supervisors and the entire policy department.

  • Organize and post issue portfolio content on SharePoint; draft landing page text and, after review and approval from content owner, post content to the AAU website using AAU’s content management system (Drupal) and any departmental online community; post new documents and delete obsolete information on the AAU website and the online community in a timely manner.

  • Draft, prepare, and work closely with the communications team to distribute social media material on behalf of the policy department, including creating initial drafts, proofing, editing, and formatting.

  • Track records in AAU’s database (Association Management System); retrieve and relay information from database.

  • Cooperate and coordinate with other administrative assistants, serve as a dedicated backup, and fill in as necessary.

  • Perform other duties as assigned.

  • General Counsel (GC) Constituent Group

  • Act as liaison between General Counsel group members and the Associate Vice President and Counsel for Policy and Federal Relations.

  • Coordinate with the Director of Meetings for logistics of annual GC meeting (online registration, venue, room set-up, meals, registration packets, nametags).

  • Coordinate regular conference calls and in-person meetings by helping develop agendas and meeting materials.

  • Maintain current membership list and facilitate member communication as needed.

  • Council on Federal Relations

  • Provide support for and maintain membership lists for the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (IP/TT) Task Force, Immigration Task Force, and others as deemed appropriate based upon supervisors’ policy and federal relations responsibilities.

  • Act as liaison between Council on Federal Relations group members and the Associate Vice President and Counsel for Policy and Federal Relations, Associate Vice President for Immigration and International Issues, and the Senior Policy Officer.

  • Provide administrative support in developing content for monthly CFR meetings and procuring speakers for CFR Annual Conference and monthly meetings as needed.

  • Assist in securing meetings between CFR officers and congressional staff or members of Congress and executive branch officials.

  • Golden Goose Award Steering Committee

  • Act as liaison between Golden Goose Award Steering Committee members and the Senior Policy Officer.

  • Alongside Senior Policy Officer provide administrative and logistical support for annual Golden Goose Award Ceremony.

ONLINE COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

  • Provide administrative and program support for online communities, including relevant CFR task forces.

  • Help develop and maintain online community guidelines.

  • Respond to member requests as appropriate in a professional, personable, and timely manner to grow and keep communities thriving.

  • Monitor, track, and report on community discussions to relevant internal stakeholders.

  • Serve as the Science Policy and International Issues administrative liaison alongside the Policy Associate and work with other departments within AAU to coordinate community activities and discussions as necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • Superior organization and prioritization skills; meticulous and detail oriented; must follow through in a timely manner and complete tasks without prompting.

  • Flexibility and ability to manage competing demands; work efficiently in a fast-paced environment; work both alone and as a member of a team; prioritize and manage multiple projects.

  • Resourcefulness and ability to work proactively and think ahead; good logic skills to review minutes and summarize the conclusions and actions taken.

  • Must maintain a strict code of ethics in working with highly confidential data.

  • Must be able to resolve problems, use analytical judgement, and produce a high volume of accurate, detailed, and quality work product.

  • Must be able to create and support an environment that fosters teamwork, cooperation, and respect; must value diversity, equity, and inclusion.

  • Must promote and foster productive multidirectional communications with staff as well as AAU member university officials and external parties.

  • Must have intermediate writing and editing skills; ability to vary writing style and voice as needed; must be able to take good notes/minutes.

  • Ability to work ethically and with integrity; must follow AAU’s policies and procedures; consistently be at work and on time and ensure that work responsibilities are covered when absent.

  • Must be willing to take ownership of wide-ranging responsibilities; be able to demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness and look for ways to improve and monitor own work to ensure quality.

  • Must be fully vaccinated and up to date on vaccinations; remain fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING/EXPERIENCE:

  • Bachelor’s degree preferred, 1-3 years of experience providing administrative support.

  • Experience in nonprofit or higher education and with meeting/event planning preferred.

TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE

  • Proficient in Microsoft 365 Suite (Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint). Experience working with Zoom, SharePoint, and OneDrive required. Working knowledge of Microsoft Planner and To Do a plus.

  • Experience working with an association management system or CRM, mass email systems, and website content management systems is strongly preferred.

TRAVEL. Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some evening, out-of-the-area, and overnight travel may be expected.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY. This position has no supervisory responsibilities. However, the Policy Assistant is expected to coordinate efforts with key personnel in the department and the Association to achieve the position’s purpose.

WORK ENVIRONMENT. This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate and exchange information.

This is largely a stationary position; however, the employee is required to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc. and operate a computer and other office productivity machinery and equipment, such as a copy machine, a computer printer, filing cabinets, etc. Some filing is required; this requires the ability to move files up to 20 pounds across the office for various needs.

POSITION TYPE. This is a full-time, non-exempt position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.

OTHER DUTIES. Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

DISCLAIMER: This job description is not to be construed in a manner that implies an employee’s right to employment. This job description is not a contract of employment, expressed or implied, nor is it an offer to enter into such a contract or guarantee of employment for any duration.

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT. As a condition of successful hire, individuals must (a) provide proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. To be fully vaccinated, at least two weeks must have passed since receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series or two weeks after the first dose in a single shot, and the receipt of a booster dose at least five months after the second dose of the two-dose series or two months after the single shot; or (b) obtain an approved accommodation.

AAU is committed to a work environment that is inclusive to all and free of discrimination. It is our policy to be an equal opportunity employer without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, citizenship status, or any other factors prohibited by federal, state, and local law. AAU will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with a disability.

MUST BE CURRENTLY AUTHORIZED TO WORK FOR ANY EMPLOYER IN THE UNITED STATES AND BE ABLE TO WORK IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. METRO REGION.