Senior Administrative Assistant

Job Description

Position Summary
The Senior Administrative Assistant will serve as the point of contact for seminarians, prospective seminarians, college students, families, priests, parish staff, university personnel, and other ministry partners. This position will provide administrative, organizational, pastoral, and operational support in the ministry of priestly and religious vocations and university ministry. The successful candidate will understand and respect the mission of the Catholic Church and represent the Director and the ministry with warmth, discretion, professionalism, and charity.

Essential Responsibilities

Administrative and Office Support - Vocations and University Ministry
• Maintain an orderly and productive work environment sensitive to the needs of the many individuals and offices that connect with the Office of Vocations and University Ministry, doing so in an efficient and confidential manner.
• Manage the Director's calendar, appointments, meetings, ministry commitments, and other scheduling needs.
• Coordinate meetings with prospective seminarians, seminarians, college students, families, priests, university personnel, parish leaders, and other ministry contacts. Assist with travel accommodations and other logistical arrangements.
• Receive and direct phone calls, take and forward messages, receive and distribute correspondence, and monitor and respond to routine inquiries, directing matters to the Director when appropriate.
• Establish and maintain confidential and organized electronic and paper files, records, contact lists, ministry databases, and other office information.
• In collaboration with the communications department, update the ministry website and other electronic media.
• Assist with expense tracking, purchasing, reimbursements, invoice payments, office financial records, and monitoring of departmental budgets. Review and process reimbursement requests submitted by seminarians, ensuring accuracy.
• Assist with preparation of the annual departmental budget, including gathering historical and projected expenses, organizing budget information, and monitoring expenditures throughout the year.
• Prepare agendas, correspondence, forms, reports, worship aids, newsletters, mailings, announcements, publicity, and other administrative or ministry materials for meetings, retreats, vocation events, campus ministry activities and other programs.
• Provide administrative support and hospitality details for meetings, meals, receptions, retreats, and ministry events.
• Coordinate promotions, registrations, and communications for all events.
• Plan and coordinate annual and ad hoc ministry events from initial scheduling and logistics through registration, hospitality, communications, execution, and follow-up.
• Recruit and direct volunteers for special projects and coordinate their assignments as needed.
• Work collaboratively with chancery support staff and other diocesan offices as needed.
• Support the Director in other reasonable administrative and ministry-related responsibilities.

Vocations Ministry
• Assist with communication and scheduling for men discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.
• Coordinate logistics for vocation retreats, discernment events, visits, interviews, and other gatherings.
• Maintain professional and pastoral communication with prospective seminarians, seminarians, families, pastors, and vocation contacts as directed by the Director.
• Assist seminarians and discerners with questions and requests, directing matters to the Director when appropriate.
• Maintain and monitor seminarian and international priest visa records and documentation, coordinate required renewals and updates, and communicate with appropriate diocesan, seminary, and governmental contacts as directed.

University Ministry
• Assist in coordinating events and activities for Catholic college and university students.
• Help organize campus visits, retreats, Bible studies, social gatherings, speaker events, service opportunities, and other ministry programs.
• Communicate with campus ministers, university personnel, chaplains, priests, students, and volunteers.
• Maintain accurate student and ministry contact information.

Qualifications

Required
• Strong organizational and administrative skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High degree of discretion and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Professional, dependable, and detail-oriented work habits.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Comfortable working independently while also collaborating with clergy, staff, volunteers, students, and families.
• Proficiency with email, calendars, Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, and basic database/spreadsheet functions.
• Ability to communicate with a diverse group of people with warmth, patience, and professionalism.
• Commitment to the mission and teachings of the Catholic Church.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends for ministry events

Preferred
• Previous experience as senior level administrative assistance or executive assistant, parish operations employee, campus ministry staff member, or in a similar role.
• Familiarity with Catholic parish or diocesan life.
• Experience working with college students, young adults, seminarians, or vocation ministry.
• Experience coordinating events and maintaining confidential records.
• Knowledge of diocesan or parish administrative systems.

Personal Qualities
• Faithful: Demonstrates respect for and commitment to the Catholic Church and her mission. Trustworthy: Handles sensitive pastoral and personal information with exceptional discretion. Organized: Anticipates needs, follows through, and keeps information and schedules in order. Personable: Creates a welcoming environment for students, families, clergy, and visitors.
• Pastorally Sensitive: Understands that vocation and university ministry often involve personal, spiritual, and family matters requiring care and discretion.
• Self-Motivated: Able to identify what needs to be done and take initiative.
• Flexible: Comfortable with the changing demands of ministry and occasional evening or weekend responsibilities. Professional: Represents the Director and the diocese/parish with maturity, courtesy, and good judgment.

Confidentiality
Because of the nature of vocation, formation, and pastoral ministry, the Senior Administrative Assistant will have access to sensitive personal and pastoral information. The employee is expected to exercise the highest degree of confidentiality and discretion and to comply with all applicable diocesan policies concerning privacy, safeguarding, records, and communications.

About the Employer

Evangelize. The heart of evangelization is the cultivation of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - nurtured through prayer, Scripture and Sacrament, especially the Eucharist, which is the fire that impels us to share our faith with the world.
Strengthen faith communities at all levels - friends, families, parishes, schools, inter-parish, vicariate, diocesan - through prayer, resource allocation and the works of mercy
Develop vocational and mission awareness at all levels through discernment, formation and empowerment
Care of the poorest and most vulnerable - within and beyond our faith communities - at every stage of life, from conception to natural death