Senior Administrative Assistant

Description & Requirements

The Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is an amazing place - we apply our deep scientific knowledge and technological expertise to empower a revolution in biomedicine and accelerate the pace at which the world reduces the burden of disease. Through our partnerships with MIT, Harvard, and the Harvard teaching hospitals, Broad is a hub of cutting-edge science in the Boston biomedical research community and a global leader in the development and application of experimental and computational technologies. For more on Broad’s mission, values, and unique approach, visit broadinstitute.org/about-us.

Our team is currently seeking a Senior Administrative Assistant and this mission-critical executive support role encompasses comprehensive administrative, operational, and financial support to Core Faculty Member Dr. Paul Blainey and his research group. The Blainey group develops and applies cutting-edge biotechnology in close partnership with many other units at Broad, around the Boston area, and beyond with leading academics and industrial partners, including start-up companies founded by alumni from the group. This position anchors the Blainey lab’s front office and entails overall responsibility to coordinate administrative, operational, financial, and strategic activities involving a wide range of stakeholders.

This position will be based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the expectation of 5 days onsite/week.

Administrative Responsibilities

Calendar Management:

• Proactively manage the Faculty's complex calendar, prioritizing commitments, anticipating and proactively resolving scheduling conflicts with authority to determine what may and may not be scheduled
• Ensure timely and accurate scheduling, including travel arrangements (domestic/international) and meeting logistics
• Provide comprehensive calendar details and relevant information to the Faculty in advance of meetings and events
  
  

Communication & Coordination

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the Faculty, group members, and external partners
• Triage and respond to inquiries in real-time throughout the business day, managing sensitive information with discretion
• Manage a high volume of email inquiries to multiple accounts, effectively triaging and responding or redirecting as needed across the Faculty’s office, the group, the institutes, and external partners
• Effectively communicate with stakeholders across the Broad and partner institutions
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and address challenges
  
  

Document Support

• Prepare and review a range of documents, including letters of reference, job descriptions, letters of collaboration, Faculty biosketches/CVs, materials transfer agreements, collaboration agreements, expense reports, research progress reports
  
  

Event Planning & Support

• Plan and execute meetings, workshops, and events to achieve desired outcomes, including logistics, catering, and venue booking
• Prepare meeting agendas and maintain detailed meeting notes
• Understand catering guidelines, vendor management, and budgets
• Provide excellent customer service to lab members, visitors, and partners
• Make travel arrangements as necessary for the Faculty including itinerary, flight, ground transport, and accommodation, including complex and international multi-event itineraries and itineraries with mixed purposes
• Familiar with travel guidelines and the ability to generate reimbursements for travel-related expenses
  
  

Operational Responsibilities

Lab Operations:

• Attend to urgent communication and issues in real-time during the business day
• Oversee lab facilities and coordinates recruitment/onboarding/offboarding
• Coordinate lab personnel within the Faculty lab, ensuring compliance with EHS and institutional guidelines
• Address facility issues and support lab operations, including supply chain management and equipment requisition, coordinating responses to maintenance and logistical issues as they arise
• Support research and academic activities, including grant preparation, manuscript submissions, data management, trainee evaluation, Faculty teaching, and more
• Liaise with purchasing, supply quality management, lab managers, office of academic affairs, sponsored research office, communications, development, office of strategic alliances and partnering human subjects protection, and other Broad and Partner and collaborating Institution units
• Monitor and analyze the group research supply chain, nominating and capitalizing on opportunities for optimization of reliability, quality, cost, and more
  
  

Project Management

• Drive special projects to completion in collaboration with the Faculty, group members, and partners
• Apply understanding of academic research model funding acquisition, performance of research, and results reporting including through peer-reviewed academic papers and talks to support group operations
• Assist in the preparation of grants, manuscripts for publication, lectures/seminars, and course materials
• Monitor the progress of a large and diverse set of projects and coordinate Faculty and group attention to ensure mission-critical tasks are met in a timely and strategic way
  
  

Policy & Compliance

• Maintain records of lab operations for strategic review and planning
• Ensure compliance with relevant policies and regulations
• Develop and apply policies for purchasing across projects, teams, individuals, and funding sources including equipment requisition in coordination with the Faculty
  
  

Financial Responsibilities

Financial Planning & Management:

• Collaborate with the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) and the Faculty to develop and implement strategic financial plans and resource development strategies aligned with the lab’s needs over a multi-year outlook
• Monitor and control expenses to maximize the scientific impact of research funding, with delegated authority over day-to-day expenditure approvals
• Identify and implement strategies to improve fiscal efficiency
  
  

Budget Management & Reporting

• Develop, monitor, and manage the lab's detailed budgets across projects and awards in collaboration with OSR and the Faculty office, ensuring the most effective use of research funds
• Ensure accurate allocation and tracking of lab expenses to awards
• Leverage knowledge of projects, teams, and funding sources to optimize resource utilization
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience, with administrative and/or operational experience in an academic research environment a plus
• Minimum of 6 years’ full-time relevant experience in a professional administrative position, with experience in an academic or research environment preferred
• Track record of curiosity, initiative, and creativity in identifying and meeting challenges within the areas of responsibility
• Strong commitments to excellence and community in the spirit of the Broad’s values
• Affinity for proactively building and monitoring administrative systems and policies
• Strong commitment to holding a high standard of professional ethics
• High sense of urgency, drive, and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to effectively balance multiple, competing priorities and deadlines with a strong results orientation
• Experience managing expenses across complex budget portfolios
• Ability to interact with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders electronically and in person, including with VIPs
• Thrives in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
  
  

The Broad Institute will not offer visa sponsorship for this opportunity.