May I have your schedule please?
November 1, 2010 11:29 AM Subscribe
What is it like to work as a scheduler for the President of a University? I can not seem to find a job description online and want to know what it entails. Bonus points if you know the general salary as well...
The responsibilities depend heavily on where you are, how big the university is, and what the general culture of the university is, as well.
The president of a Jesuit institution in Missouri might have VASTLY different responsibilities as the president of a State University in Texas who might have VASTLY different responsibilities as the president of a Community College in NYC.
For a good wealth of information about Higher Education jobs and careers, check out the Career Center on HigherEdJobs.com. The category of Presidents/Chancellors on the Chronicle of Higher Ed job board might also be useful.
As a data point, our university is undergoing a search for a new president, and from what the staff and faculty are asking in some round-table discussions / forums, the new candidate should be Superman. A president of a university needs to have good interpersonal and delegation skills, at the very least.
posted by kellygrape at 12:10 PM on November 1, 2010
The president of a Jesuit institution in Missouri might have VASTLY different responsibilities as the president of a State University in Texas who might have VASTLY different responsibilities as the president of a Community College in NYC.
For a good wealth of information about Higher Education jobs and careers, check out the Career Center on HigherEdJobs.com. The category of Presidents/Chancellors on the Chronicle of Higher Ed job board might also be useful.
As a data point, our university is undergoing a search for a new president, and from what the staff and faculty are asking in some round-table discussions / forums, the new candidate should be Superman. A president of a university needs to have good interpersonal and delegation skills, at the very least.
posted by kellygrape at 12:10 PM on November 1, 2010
Kellygrape, I think the OP is asking about the job of the SCHEDULER for the President, not the President.
posted by two lights above the sea at 12:14 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by two lights above the sea at 12:14 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Ask.Me 101 Failure at reading the question before answering.
Sorry about that. Some of my answer may still help out. Different presidents will have different needs. You may be asked to make miracles happen : eg "I know the president is supposed to be at a fundraising dinner an hour away at 6, but XYZ Senator who is also a big donor is coming on campus at 5:30...". And the salary search on HigherEdJobs is somewhat useful for all levels. Best of luck!
posted by kellygrape at 12:16 PM on November 1, 2010
Sorry about that. Some of my answer may still help out. Different presidents will have different needs. You may be asked to make miracles happen : eg "I know the president is supposed to be at a fundraising dinner an hour away at 6, but XYZ Senator who is also a big donor is coming on campus at 5:30...". And the salary search on HigherEdJobs is somewhat useful for all levels. Best of luck!
posted by kellygrape at 12:16 PM on November 1, 2010
Response by poster: Scheduler for President of a state university with a student population of around 28,000. What does the job entail? HigherEdJobs offered no insight unfortunately.
posted by MayNicholas at 12:32 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by MayNicholas at 12:32 PM on November 1, 2010
If it's a public university, then the salary of the current and previous holders of that job should be publicly available. Whether it's easy to find is a different story, but here in Washington we have a celebrated/notorious person who FOIAs the salaries of every single state employee every year, including every paid position in the UW and WSU systems.
posted by AkzidenzGrotesk at 12:39 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by AkzidenzGrotesk at 12:39 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Maintaining the calendar of an in-demand, high-level person may sound like an easy job, but it's anything but. The calendar is a huge puzzle whose pieces have to be shifted constantly in order to make everything fit. However, when someone is as high up as a university president -- meaning they're meeting with other higher-ups too -- there is less flexibility when it comes to the many meetings that will need to be rescheduled. The the chair of the Senate's Higher Education Committee wants to have lunch on Tuesday? Hmm, well, we already have a meeting scheduled with the head of the Board of Regents. Who do we least want to offend? Who have we already postponed or rescheduled in the past?
People will expect you to find time when there is none -- essentially manufacturing it. You will be required to demonstrate extreme professionalism at all times (and that will probably go for your wardrobe too). You will be representing the president and will be responsible for the opinion many people have of his/her office. If you make a calendar error and someone is expecting the president to be one place while she/he is in another, you will probably feel you need more than a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day.
It's a difficult job. All that said, if you end up working for a person who knows how complicated scheduling can be, and knows that you're doing it well, you can end up as one of their most valued and most trusted employees.
Can't answer the question about salary for the job title 'scheduler.' At the public university where I work, Deans'-level executive assistants make around $60,000, and I suspect that the assistants for Provosts, Chancellors, and the President make quite a bit more than that. However, there's no job title of 'scheduler' within this university system, so I don't know if the focus on only that aspect of an assistant's job would result in a lower salary scale.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:15 PM on November 1, 2010
People will expect you to find time when there is none -- essentially manufacturing it. You will be required to demonstrate extreme professionalism at all times (and that will probably go for your wardrobe too). You will be representing the president and will be responsible for the opinion many people have of his/her office. If you make a calendar error and someone is expecting the president to be one place while she/he is in another, you will probably feel you need more than a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day.
It's a difficult job. All that said, if you end up working for a person who knows how complicated scheduling can be, and knows that you're doing it well, you can end up as one of their most valued and most trusted employees.
Can't answer the question about salary for the job title 'scheduler.' At the public university where I work, Deans'-level executive assistants make around $60,000, and I suspect that the assistants for Provosts, Chancellors, and the President make quite a bit more than that. However, there's no job title of 'scheduler' within this university system, so I don't know if the focus on only that aspect of an assistant's job would result in a lower salary scale.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:15 PM on November 1, 2010
Best answer: mudpuppie has nailed it. Many moons ago, I was the scheduler/EA for a state-level official. For salary range in your area, look for "executive assistant" or "personal assistant" to compare. Administrative assistant salaries will be easier to find but are not comparable to scheduler.
The scheduler is the VIP's gatekeeper, which is a big responsibility, and comes with zero glamour. When very important people have to go through you to get to your boss, it feels nifty, but it can also be nightmarish. As mudpuppie said, the scheduler owns the calendar. If someone wants to see your boss, they call you to check availability, and if your boss wants to take the meeting, you arrange it. Or if your boss wants to see someone, it's your job to initiate that and make it happen.
The specifics will depend on whether the president also has a PA/EA (which is likely). You will work very closely with this person, and will need a very strong working relationship.
Your primary tools will be a computer, the internet, and something on which to take very good notes. (VIPs are prone to tossing out information verbally on the fly, and trusting that someone (you!) will be there to receive it and manage it.)
You will need superior written and verbal interpersonal skills. You will communicate primarily with other schedulers and assistants, yet you are always communicating on behalf of your boss—and by extension, on behalf of the entire institution.
You will need to be extremely organized, like to the millionth degree—because your boss likely won't be, and you have to pull up the slack.
Some schedulers also book travel, so you will need to learn how to be a travel ninja if you aren't already. (Being a travel ninja when you aren't actually the one traveling is a real challenge.)
Some schedulers also plan events, so you will need some skills in event booking and management as well as advance. Advance is one of my favorite parts of working for a VIP; it requires good analysis and research skills.
Depending on the university, you will almost certainly need some political savvy. Your boss answers to the school's Board of Trustees (or Regents), all of whom are powerful people in their realm, and most of whom have agendas. He or she will also answer to the media, the deans, and myriad other campus stakeholders.
Thick skin is a useful trait. When Thurston "Thirsty" Howell Gotrocks IV, a wealthy alumni and school booster, wants to have a meeting with your boss right this very minute! and do you know who he is??? he'll have your job if he doesn't get it what he wants!
...and your boss doesn't want to meet with ol' Thirsty till after the athletic director has received the annual endowment check from the Gotrocks Foundation... guess who gets to be the brave and polite buffer? I used to get "do you know who I am" at least once a week. It's scary at first.
Feel free to memail me for more info if you like. This is a mostly thankless job, but it provides a ton of insight into the workings of the institution at a higher level, and creates a lot of good relationships, and it can pay very well.
posted by pineapple at 3:32 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
The scheduler is the VIP's gatekeeper, which is a big responsibility, and comes with zero glamour. When very important people have to go through you to get to your boss, it feels nifty, but it can also be nightmarish. As mudpuppie said, the scheduler owns the calendar. If someone wants to see your boss, they call you to check availability, and if your boss wants to take the meeting, you arrange it. Or if your boss wants to see someone, it's your job to initiate that and make it happen.
The specifics will depend on whether the president also has a PA/EA (which is likely). You will work very closely with this person, and will need a very strong working relationship.
Your primary tools will be a computer, the internet, and something on which to take very good notes. (VIPs are prone to tossing out information verbally on the fly, and trusting that someone (you!) will be there to receive it and manage it.)
You will need superior written and verbal interpersonal skills. You will communicate primarily with other schedulers and assistants, yet you are always communicating on behalf of your boss—and by extension, on behalf of the entire institution.
You will need to be extremely organized, like to the millionth degree—because your boss likely won't be, and you have to pull up the slack.
Some schedulers also book travel, so you will need to learn how to be a travel ninja if you aren't already. (Being a travel ninja when you aren't actually the one traveling is a real challenge.)
Some schedulers also plan events, so you will need some skills in event booking and management as well as advance. Advance is one of my favorite parts of working for a VIP; it requires good analysis and research skills.
Depending on the university, you will almost certainly need some political savvy. Your boss answers to the school's Board of Trustees (or Regents), all of whom are powerful people in their realm, and most of whom have agendas. He or she will also answer to the media, the deans, and myriad other campus stakeholders.
Thick skin is a useful trait. When Thurston "Thirsty" Howell Gotrocks IV, a wealthy alumni and school booster, wants to have a meeting with your boss right this very minute! and do you know who he is??? he'll have your job if he doesn't get it what he wants!
...and your boss doesn't want to meet with ol' Thirsty till after the athletic director has received the annual endowment check from the Gotrocks Foundation... guess who gets to be the brave and polite buffer? I used to get "do you know who I am" at least once a week. It's scary at first.
Feel free to memail me for more info if you like. This is a mostly thankless job, but it provides a ton of insight into the workings of the institution at a higher level, and creates a lot of good relationships, and it can pay very well.
posted by pineapple at 3:32 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Pineapple thank you for that very through answer! That is what I expected of the position, but wasn't 100% positive.
posted by MayNicholas at 3:41 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by MayNicholas at 3:41 PM on November 1, 2010
I would look for job descriptions for executive assistants and then focus on the subset of the description that is about managing the executive's calendar.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:00 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 4:00 PM on November 1, 2010
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posted by kimdog at 11:47 AM on November 1, 2010