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Epidemiology has an outstanding opportunity for an ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST. The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) serves as the data, communication, and collaboration coordinating center for the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRC) Program. NACC is home to one of the largest, oldest, and most powerful Alzheimer’s datasets, built in collaboration with more than 42 ADRCs throughout the US over the past 20+ years. We are on a mission to modernize data collection, integration, and sharing to advance Alzheimer’s research. NACC is part of the Department of Epidemiology within UW’s School of Public Health.

The NACC Administrative Specialist (NAS) will serve as the executive assistant to the Program Director (PD) of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC). This position will directly report to, support, and work closely with NACC’s PD who sets the strategic direction for the center and oversees the center’s Technology, Operations, Research, Grants and Finance, and Communications teams. The Administrative Specialist must have outstanding interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, and be able to coordinate and collaborate across teams at NACC and with a wide range of external partners. This position will provide high-level administrative assistance to the PD in managing competing priorities and will help ensure a cohesive and streamlined program. The NAS must be able to problem solve and work independently and to take initiative to prioritize the workload and accomplish a broad volume of work.

NACC is currently funded by a $36M grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and is home to one of the largest (45,000+ participants), oldest, and most powerful Alzheimer’s datasets. Our extensive database of rich, longitudinal, standardized clinical and neuropathological data was built in collaboration with more than 42 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) across the US over the past 20+ years. NACC facilitates impactful research by serving as the data, communication, and collaboration coordinating center for the ADRC Program. NACC is in the process of driving major innovations that will modernize data collection, integration, storage, and sharing to transform and advance Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) research. NACC is expanding its database to integrate electronic health records, Medicare claims, digital biomarkers, and digital neuropathology data, as well as additional genetic, biospecimen, and standard imaging (MRI and PET) metadata. Additionally, NACC is developing a novel data search and visualization portal to make all these data streams readily searchable and accessible to the international research community. This work will open the door to new discoveries in Alzheimer’s, improve our understanding of the disease, and enable the development of earlier disease detection technologies and more impactful therapeutics. 

NACC is organized into five teams: 1) technology team, 2) operations team, 3) research team,?4) grants and finance team and 5) communications team. NACC has been funded by NIA since 1999 and is based at the University of Washington, Department of Epidemiology. 

Responsibilities

Executive Administrative Support for the Program Director (PD)

Manage complex day-to-day priorities of the PD, including preparing daily or weekly briefings on deadlines, updates to projects and meetings with an understanding of priority hierarchy and organizational strategy

Maintain the PD’s schedule, including complex meeting scheduling, appointments, speaking engagements, and travel (may include domestic and international) arrangements. Exercise discretion in committing and prioritizing time by evaluating priorities with PD regularly

Serve as a point of contact for NACC staff to submit schedule requests, correspondence for review, meeting requests, and other administrative tasks.
This may include determining the priority of requests requiring PD attention and rerouting requests to alternate NACC team members as appropriate.

Monitor and prioritize PD emails, and in some cases on behalf of PD, bringing high priority items to the attention of PD as required.

Draft executive level correspondence and communicate with both internal and external stakeholders on behalf of the PD.

Prepare, maintain, and organize executive-level presentation materials such as slides for PD presentations, agendas, and high-level meeting resources for contacts internal and external to NACC.

Attend meetings on behalf of PD, and/or serve as a NACC liaison at predetermined meetings.

NACC Program Support

Under the direction of the PD, plan and execute center events and meetings including room reservations, communications, RSVPs, and catering (if required) – this will include the biannual team retreats

Provide administrative and project support to NACC managers and other staff

Coordinate NACC activities with external vendors as required for joint events

Manage and maintain employee directory, ensuring information is up to date at all times

Manage NACC staffing and work closely with the Department of Epidemiology’s Staff HR Manager to assist with recruiting and hiring open administrative positions.

Manage the onboarding and offboarding processes of NACC employees, coordinating with the Department of Epidemiology’s Staff HR Manager.

Develop, recommend, implement, and evaluate projects, procedures, workflows, SOP’s, and policies related to NACC program administration

Manage and maintain internal and external program listservs

Maintain rapport and provide excellent customer service for NACC staff and external NACC collaborators

Run NACC sponsored meetings and record minutes as directed

NACC Organizational Support

Develop and manage processes to support organization’s strategic priorities.

These strategic priorities include streamlining systems, facilitating cross-team collaboration, and maintenance of inclusive practices

Support NACC’s evolution by leading special projects

Tracking leadership deliverables

Develop and manage NACC file architecture in MS Teams and SharePoint

Maintain NACC branded templates (letterhead, slides, etc.)

Manage and maintain employee and partner directory

Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in related field and 3 years of progressively responsible administrative support experience. An equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills have been acquired may substitute for a degree

Skilled in administrative responsibilities such as calendaring, coordinating meetings, and communications

Experience working with executive leadership to manage time and focus and anticipate the executive leader’s needs

Enthusiastic teammate with exceptional interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills – must be able to work well with a diversity of personalities and forge effective partnerships

Experience planning meetings, workshops, and events
Operationally minded with experience developing, implementing, and managing effective processes and systems

Skilled at drafting and editing communications and reports

Strong time-management skills and ability to multitask to meet internally and externally imposed deadlines

Self-directed and proactive

Strong organization skills and attention to detail

Ability to exercise discretion, maintain confidentiality, and independent judgement and creatively solve problems

Comfortable in a fast-paced, dynamic, and deadline-driven environment

Ability to navigate complex systems and organizations
Strong proficient using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) and Adobe Acrobat

Demonstrated experience in working on diverse groups and teams; respects, values, and contributes to UW’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Desired Qualifications

Familiarity with Smartsheet and other project planning platforms, scheduling, and task management tools

Prior work experience in an academic, healthcare and/or administrative environment

Experience with University of Washington systems and procedures

Experience with a comprehensive approach to strategic planning and organization development

Working Environmental Conditions

Remote/hybrid, Seattle campus

Working on site or teleworking as job requires; work may take place in a clinical, academic, research or office setting; may be required to attend events outside of normal working hours

Ability to work varied and long hours as position and deadlines require; ability to move from one location to another based on job assignment

Must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without accommodation

Out-of-state travel may be required to attend biannual ADRC meetings, as well as other scientific conferences and site visits to the various ADRC’s nationwide.

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.