Executive Assistant to UBC Liaison of Musqueam

About Musqueam

We are traditional hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking people. Today, we are a strong, growing community of over 1,300 members. We live on a small portion of our traditional territory, known as the Musqueam Indian Reserve, located south of Marine Drive near the mouth of the Fraser River. The name Musqueam relates back to the River Plant, the name of the plant is məθkʷəy̓. There is a story that has been passed on from generation to generation that explains how we became known as the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) - People of the River Plant. We have always moved throughout our territory using the resources it provides for fishing, hunting, trapping and gathering. We remain distinct and our cultural practices are strong, despite the devastating impacts of residential schools, colonial laws banning our ceremonies, and other attempts to assimilate our people. Our lands and waters continue to support our cultural and economic practices while serving as a source of knowledge and memory, encoded with our teachings and laws. To learn more about Musqueam, please visit www.musqueam.bc.ca 

Position Summary:

Musqueam Indian Band (MIB) has an opening for a permanent, full-time Executive Assistant with a focus on administrative and research drafting duties. Reporting directly to the UBC Liaison, the Executive Assistant will provide organizational, administrative, project development, and clerical support to the Liaison. The Executive Assistant works on tasks such as communications, research, office administration and planning meetings, gatherings and occasional travel. 

The Executive Assistant must be community oriented. The ideal candidate will have the ability to work independently and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities and confidential matters with discretion. 

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Completes a broad variety of administrative and logistical tasks for the UBC Liaison, including: managing an extremely active calendar of appointments; composing and preparing documents and correspondence that is confidential; arranging complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agendas; and compiling documents for travel-related meetings.
• Coordinates and books meeting arrangements
• Provides content support for meetings (including assisting with meeting preparation, taking minutes, transcribing, providing meeting summaries, and learning about negotiations.
• Manages and tracks ongoing communications of the UBC Liaisons and responsible for writing additional communications materials.
• Communicates as directed by the UBC Liaison, with the CAO on matters related to the UBC Liaison’s programmatic initiatives.
• Researches, prioritizes, and follows up on incoming issues and concerns addressed to the UBC Liaison, including those of a sensitive or confidential nature.
• Build relationships crucial to the success of the organization and reviews a variety of special projects for the UBC Liaison, some of which may have organizational impacts.
• Successfully completes critical aspects of deliverables with a hands-on approach, including create draft documents, and drafting personal correspondence, and other tasks. 
• Reviews materials.
• Manages access to information requests and procedures.
• Offers support to the UBC Liaison and Negotiations team with document tracking and labelling (digital and physical) and maintaining specific project files.
• Provides support on related initiatives and projects.
• Tracks and manages the UBC Liaison’s action items and helps to define timelines and follow-ups.
• Knowledge of MIB-UBC policies, procedures, precedents and mandates.
• Supports the UBC Liaison in managing calendars and commitments through careful planning, communication, and coordination.
• Manages daily administrative functions of the UBC Liaison, including anticipating daily needs, and ensures the UBC Liaison is briefed on all appropriate matters.
• Manage and conduct research tasks
• Attend scheduled meetings and negotiations
• Create and compile briefing documents
• Other duties as assigned

The successful candidate:

• Be adaptive, flexible, and be able to prioritize multiple competing demands with frequent interruptions.
• Be knowledgeable about and support the mandate and mission of the Musqueam Indian Band.
• Demonstrate an understanding of BC History and Indigenous land rights issues.
• Has the ability to exercise good judgement in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organizational skills.
• Work is performed in office environment

Qualifications:

• Strong organizational skills that reflect the ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail
• Very strong interpersonal skills
• Expert level written, verbal and analytical skills
• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability
• Demonstrated ability to achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Forward looking thinker

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• 3 to 5 years of experience supporting Executives / in a government office / or working for an aboriginal community
• Experience and interest in internal and external communications, and partnership development
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Adobe Acrobat, and Social Media platforms.