Executive Assistant and Assistant Director, Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business seeks an experienced Executive Assistant and Assistant Director of Administration in the Dean’s Office.

This position supports Darden dean Yael Grushka-Cockayne and serves as a core member of the collaborative Dean’s Office team. Working closely with the dean’s Chief of Staff, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, and other leaders, this role helps drive efficiency, alignment, and execution to advance the work of the dean and the school’s priorities.

The Executive Assistant and Assistant Director of Administration provides executive support as well as strategic oversight of Dean’s Office operations. The position collaborates with administrative and operational teams at Darden and the University of Virginia to coordinate activities, manage workflows, and ensure timely follow-through. Reporting directly to the dean, the successful candidate must exercise sound judgment, discretion, preparedness, and initiative in a highly visible and strategic role.

This role offers significant exposure to leadership and enterprise-wide initiatives, making it ideal for someone who enjoys serving as a connector, anticipating needs, identifying opportunities, and solving problems collaboratively. The successful candidate will be highly organized, proactive, adaptable, and comfortable working across a matrixed organization. The role requires excellent communication and project management skills as well as the ability to understand and manage competing priorities in support of the dean and the broader Darden School and Darden School Foundation.

Occasional availability outside regular working hours is expected to support time-sensitive executive needs, travel, and special events.

Key Responsibilities:

Executive Support to the Dean

- Support the dean’s daily schedule, adapting dynamically to changing priorities and critical meetings and engagements.

- Manage the dean’s long-term calendar and meeting request process, prioritizing commitments in alignment with the dean’s strategic priorities, recurring deadlines, and the school’s academic calendars.

- Handle critical and confidential information with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment.

- Anticipate executive needs and adapt systems to the dean’s communication and working style, consolidating information, organizing requests, and coordinating follow-through to support timely decision-making.

- Review and draft correspondence for the dean.

- Ensure the dean is fully prepared for meetings, events, travel, and other engagements by securing agendas, executive briefings, and important background information.

- Coordinate domestic and international travel, including airfare, ground transportation, accommodations, visas, travel briefings, and other travel requirements.

- Manage travel reimbursements, expenses, and related administrative and compliance processes.

- Serve as an ambassador of the Dean’s Office to internal and external stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

- Liaise with the Darden School Foundation and relevant UVA offices, including the Provost’s and President’s Offices, to support the dean’s commitments and institutional relationships.

Dean’s Office Administration and Operations

- Build strong relationships across teams at Darden, fostering alignment and collaboration.

- Plan and facilitate regular Dean’s Office meetings to support coordination across the core Dean’s Office team.

- Oversee projects and special initiatives prioritized by the Dean’s Office and monitor deadlines, identify issues, and follow up with stakeholders to ensure timely completion.

- Establish, maintain, and develop innovative and effective processes and solutions for effective office procedures, tracking systems, and workflows, both internal to the Dean’s Office and in working with colleagues across the enterprise.

- Manage the Dean’s Office budget, including expense tracking, invoice processing, procurement, vendor coordination, and financial reporting.

- Support the successful planning and implementation of events hosted by the dean.

Required Education and Experience:

- Bachelor’s degree and four years of relevant experience required.
- Combination of education and related experience in lieu of a degree may be considered.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

- Demonstrated ability to support senior leaders in a complex, fast-paced, and highly confidential environment.

- Successfully manage multiple priorities, meet tight deadlines, and deliver high-quality work with minimal supervision.

- Comfort working collaboratively in a trusted, open, flat, and matrixed leadership environment.

- Sound judgment, integrity, discretion, tact, and the confidence to advocate on behalf of the dean’s priorities.

- Flexibility, adaptability, and comfort working with ambiguity and changing priorities.

- Strong organizational, prioritization, and project management skills.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly, succinctly, and professionally.

- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, particularly Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and experience using technology to improve administrative efficiency, including collaboration platforms, project planning and tracking tools, and AI tools.

- Experience with management systems such as Workday.

- Commitment to Darden’s mission and community norms (https://www.darden.virginia.edu/about/mission/darden-norms).

- Knowledge of the University, including various schools, systems, and administrative processes, is strongly preferred.

About the Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible leaders through unparalleled, transformational learning experiences.

Darden offers the Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA), Ph.D., and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning. Darden's faculty is renowned for teaching excellence and consistently ranked among the best in the world for bringing out the best in learners.

Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, DC metropolitan region, with representation in Shanghai, China, and Mumbai, India. UVA Darden's Sands Family Grounds in Rosslyn, Virginia, serves as the home of the School's professional degree programs and provides a dynamic environment for working professionals, employers, alumni, and executive learners.

Darden's global community includes approximately 1,250 degree-seeking students, 4,000 Executive Education participants, 20,000 alumni across 90 countries, and millions of online learners.

Driven by innovation and a bold vision reflected in the brand mantra, 'Not business school as usual,' Darden continues to strengthen its professional degree portfolio while expanding opportunities for students and employers through world-class degree programs and lifelong learning.

At Darden, we believe our greatest strength is our people. We strive to create an environment where every member of our community can learn, grow, contribute, and do their best work.
 
Successful candidates will demonstrate integrity, curiosity, accountability, respect for others, and a commitment to excellence. These community norms  shape how we collaborate, serve one another, and advance Darden's mission. If these values resonate with you, we encourage you to apply and become part of our community.

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

Position Type & Work Location

- This is an Exempt-level, benefited position. Learn more about UVA benefits (https://hr.virginia.edu/benefits).

- This position is based in Charlottesville, VA, with an in-person presence.

The position will remain open until filled.

Additional Requirements

- Background checks will be conducted on all new hires prior to employment.

- This position will not consider candidates who require immigration sponsorship now or in the future.

How to Apply

Please apply online , by searching for requisition number R0087859. Complete an application with the following documents:

- Resume

- Cover Letter

Upload all materials into the resume submission field. You can submit multiple documents into this one field or combine them into one PDF. Applications without all required documents will not receive full consideration.

Internal applicants may search and apply for jobs on the  UVA Internal Careers website .

Reference checks will be completed by UVA’s third-party partner, SkillSurvey, during the final phase of the interview. Five references will be requested, with at least three responses required.

For questions about the application process, please contact Karon Harrington, [email protected].

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment .