Program Assistant/

The Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

To achieve our mission of a more free, just, and equitable society, we commit to working proactively to advance the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion across our myriad endeavors such as the recruitment, compensation, training, and advancement of staff. The best people-serving institutions make this commitment, and we seek to be a leader in the ways that we do so and learn from others. Visit our website to learn more about our commitment and recent actions taken toward building and nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment

Program Description:

The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program (EEP) explores significant challenges with diverse thinkers and doers to make a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable society for all. We address critical energy, environmental, and climate change issues through non-partisan, non-ideological convening, with the specific intent of bringing together diverse stakeholders to improve the process and progress of policy-level dialogue. This enables EEP to sit at a critical intersection in the conversation and bring together diverse groups of expert stakeholders. In addition to energy and environmental policy, which the program has been addressing for several decades, EEP is now actively and purposefully engaging in climate change policy – mitigating the effects of climate change, adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, and the international cooperation needed to achieve these goals.

Basic Function:

The Program Assistant is a key member of the Energy and Environment Program team. The Program Assistant will work on a variety of projects, offer executive assistant support and will provide high-level administrative support to senior leaders at the Aspen Energy & Environment, including proactively managing schedules/calendars (internal and external) according to the leaders’ priorities, preparing briefing material for upcoming meetings and events, planning and organizing travel, processing reimbursements and credit card reconciliations. The Program Assistant will be expected to complete all tasks assigned in a timely manner while maintaining deadlines in a very fast moving and dynamic work environment. The ideal candidate will be able to manage multiple processes and projects at the same time, with significant complexity involving multiple inputs and stakeholders, and different timelines and an extremely organized manner. They will also be able to meet tight deadlines and anticipates roadblocks that might delay deadlines and comes up with solutions to overcome the obstacles.

This position reports to the Executive and Associate Director. The salary range for this position is This position is in the Aspen Institute’s Washington, D.C. office and is expected to work from the office at least 40% of the time.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides administrative assistance such as tracking, responding to, and drafting e-mails, drafting memos, and preparing meeting and event materials.
• Organizes meeting logistics, including scheduling, sending reminders, and organizing key operations, including catering, when necessary.
• Triages and assures timely response to internal and external inquiries and requests; manages follow-up on a wide variety of topics and priorities.
• Have ability to handle confidential materials and records with a high degree of integrity and discretion.
• Coordinates calendars and travel; schedule, track, and manage meetings with key stakeholders and internal staff.
• Supports Senior Staff in meetings and events, including creating prep materials, advanced briefing, and tracking follow-up; attend meetings and take notes as needed.
• Submits monthly expense reports for senior leaders, coordinates with EEP’s operations team to complete timely payments to vendors and contractors.
• Supports communications efforts of the program, including working with EEP comms team to post on social media and draft language for social media posts.
• The Program Assistant will be a key contributor to EEP’s DEI&B journey, including working with the leadership team to build a culture of inclusion and belonging within the team, focusing on diversity and inclusion efforts throughout EEP’s work, and continuing to contribute to projects that move the environmental movement toward better DEI&B outcomes.

Knowledge, Education, and Experience

• Undergraduate college degree
• A strong attention to detail and ability to successfully manage many tasks simultaneously, master workflow details, and self-prioritize.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to work autonomously and with a small team.
• The ability to plan, organize and follow through with staff and a variety of constituencies.
• Ability and desire to rapidly learn new subject matter.
• Strong customer service orientation – a “Yes, and” attitude.
• Willingness and ability to travel, sometimes internationally.

The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave.

The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against.

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