Job Description

Position Summary

The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) is seeking an organized, experienced, and results-oriented professional to join its East Lansing-based team. The ideal candidate understands and appreciates working in Africa and supports the implementation of several international higher education partnerships and professional exchanges. In this role, the candidate will provide administrative and logistical support to the AAP in resource mobilization (fundraising), planning and carrying out special events, collecting and managing monitoring and evaluation data, planning exchange visits, organizing travel arrangements, and providing general office support. The successful candidate will have a passion for working at the nexus of higher education and international capacity strengthening.

AAP is currently operating on a hybrid schedule with staff typically working three days in-person and two days remote. The typical work schedule is Monday through Friday 8:00am through 5:00pm with occasional evening and weekend work needed as program events require.

About the Alliance for African Partnership (AAP)

AAP is a consortium of ten leading African universities, a regional think tank network and Michigan State University (MSU). It was established by MSU in May 2016 to address today’s global challenges in a way that is sustainable, effective, and equitable. Our vision is to transform lives through co-created, research-driven initiatives that address shared challenges, and the mission is to initiate and support innovative, sustainable and equitable partnerships among African institutions, MSU and other collaborators.

Position Responsibilities

Program Support

1.    Support the AAP Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team to produce reports for ISP, consortium members and other relevant stakeholders

• Contribute to data collection and entry from AAP-funded projects into smartsheet and other online tools, and support report development
• Contribute to generation of graphs and other information for specific reports to ISP, AAP consortium, including specific report on AAP research and outreach activities contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

2.    Coordinate the AAP Resource Mobilization Team (RMT)

• Manage the calendar of meetings and other activities of the RMT, and collaborate with the RMT leads to plan the meeting agenda and, contact team members to present on specific agenda items
• Take minutes, write reports and develop concept notes for specific RMT activities
• Conduct relevant research on donors and draft letters and other supporting documents for communication with them

3.    Provide administrative support to campus visitors and exchanges coordinated by AAP

• Collaborate with the program manager to plan the program of activities for the exchange visitors including arrange meetings with faculty at MSU as well as field visits in Michigan during their visit
• Book transportation and lodging for visitors
  Organize and be the point person scheduling community and other social events for professional exchange visitors to AAP

4.    Support the Perspectives occasional paper series editorial team with the call for papers and online processes at the MSU Press

• Share the call for papers and all updates on the AAP website and social media
• Communicate with guest editors, reviewers and MSU Press team during the online review process
• Plan and disseminate information about the virtual launch of new Perspective volumes 

Event Coordination

1.    Implement AAP events / meetings on MSU campus and in Africa in coordinate with the Administrative Assistant in the Africa office

• Arrange planning meetings for the team including booking and setting up rooms for the events
• Organize quarterly meetings of the AAP Advisory Board, Consortium, and ISP International Stakeholders and weekly management office meetings including consulting with the Co-Directors to create an agenda, send out meeting notifications, gather relevant documents and circulate them prior to meetings, manage technology for those remotely connecting to meetings, and take meeting minutes.
• Place catering orders and reconcile p-card transactions
• Liaise with staff from other departments on campus and outside of MSU

Administrative Support

1.    Schedule meetings for the Co?Directors in the MSU Office

2.    Coordinate travel, financial payments and reconciliation for AAP staff and guests

3.    Manage the AAP e?mail inbox including answering emails in a timely manner and channeling emails to the relevant AAP staff member to respond as necessary;

4.    Coordinate file storage and document sharing using Teams, Google Drive, Smartsheet, and other technologies as needed

Minimum Requirements

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired through the first two or three years of college, such as an Associate’s degree in International Business, one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience with program support and in office operations; experience in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint as well as Zoom, Teams, Smartsheet, Qualtrics, Constant Contact, and/or other virtual software environments

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field
• Strong writing and proof-reading skills, verbal and non-verbal communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with diverse audiences, particularly internationally
• At least one-year previous work experience with programming in East, West and/or Southern Africa
• Strong ability to organize, prioritize, and work independently, and collaboratively as a member of a team with offices and partners at MSU and in Africa, take initiative, be flexible, learn quickly, work effectively, and complete assigned tasks 
• Experience with MSU’s EBS systems including KFS and Concur travel system would be beneficial.
• Timeliness, dependability, attention to detail, ability to make effective decisions, ability to respond effectively to changes in priorities on projects and activities  
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and maintain specific deadlines in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Demonstrated experience with virtual environments, administrative and logistical support
• Experience communicating and working directly with people from a diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender backgrounds
• Possession of a valid driver’s license

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Application Materials

Resume and cover letter

Work Hours

STANDARD 8-5

Website

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

Bidding eligibility ends March 25, 2025 at 11:55 P.M.

About Michigan State University

Spartans work every day to advance the common good in uncommon ways.Together, we tackle some of the world?s toughest problems to find solutions that make life better?from alternative energy to better food safety to breakthrough medical and environmental applications achieved through rare isotope research.We teach. We explore and we discover. We collaborate and lead. We innovate, inspire, and empower. We achieve our potential and create circumstances that help our students and others achieve theirs.We're good at it, and we've been at it for more than 150 years.The nation?s pioneer land-grant university, MSU began as a bold experiment that democratized higher education and helped bring science and innovation into everyday life. The revolutionary concept became a model for the nation.Today, MSU is one of the top research universities in the world?on one of the biggest, greenest campuses in the nation. Home to nationally ranked and recognized academic, residential college, and service-learning programs, we?re a diverse community of dedicated students and scholars, athletes and artists, scientists and leaders.In ways both practical and profound, we work to create a stronger, more sustainable, and more hopeful future for all.

Connections working at Michigan State University

Job Tags

Temporary work, Work experience placement, Remote job, Flexible hours, Afternoon shift, Monday to Friday,

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