Grassland loss is the single greatest conservation issue currently facing eastern North American biodiversity. Our precious Southern grasslands are nearly extinct and the species that depend on them are fading fast. Many of our Southern grasslands that managed to persist through the past 200 years have disappeared in the past quarter-century. What will the next 25 years bring? As a conservation community we are only now realizing how extensive our grasslands used to be. If we want to reverse the tide of grassland biodiversity loss, our response must be rapid as well as unparalleled in its magnitude. This is an immensely complex and ambitious challenge that will take some of the brightest and most creative minds in American conservation and philanthropy to solve. Are you ready to join the Southeastern Grasslands Institutes’s team?

Austin Peay State University’s (APSU) Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI) invites applications for a full-time ADministrative Assistant 3 position. This position will provide high-level administrative support and assistance to SGI’s Executive Director and Executive Leadership Team (Director of Operations & Chief Conservation Officer). This position will report directly to SGI’s Executive Director.

SGI, affiliated with the Center of Excellence for Field Biology at Austin Peay State University, is a young and dynamic organization where we celebrate, support and strive to promote diversity, equality and inclusion, and are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

● Manage the calendar of the Executive Director; scheduling a high volume of phone

calls, virtual and in-person meetings, and trips using Microsoft Outlook, Google Suite, and other software.

● Assist with managing and prioritizing the task lists of the Executive Director.

● Perform clerical and administrative tasks including drafting emails, letters, memos, invoices, reports, and other documents for the Executive Director.

● Receive incoming communication or memos on behalf of the Executive Director, reviews contents, determines importance, and summarizes and/or distributes contents to appropriate staff.

● Answer and respond to phone calls, check voicemail, and manage multiple email inboxes and communicate messages, information, tasks, and priorities to the Executive Director.

● Schedule and attend meetings on behalf of the Executive Director, preparing and sending agendas, taking notes and recording minutes.

● Prepare frequent (e.g. weekly) briefings on behalf of the Executive Director to send out via email to keep various groups informed of senior leadership activities, schedules, important events or other SGI happenings.

● Arrange travel and accommodations for the Executive Director’s frequent out-of-town trips. This includes ensuring that receipts and all necessary documents are submitted in a timely manner to APSU for travel claim reimbursements and credit card reconciliations.

● Perform a variety of other duties that may arise, some of which may include local travel in and around Clarksville-Nashville, Tennessee area for various needed errands, purchasing supplies and materials, handling mail, etc.

● Assist as needed with scheduling and managing/prioritizing tasks for other members of the SGI executive team, including the Chief Operating and Conservation Officers.

● Ability to communicate effectively and intelligently with a wide range of people,

including students, other staff members, members of the philanthropic community, and

conservation scientists.

● Ability to take initiative, solve problems, think outside the box, stay cool under pressure and work flexibly.

● Ability to efficiently prioritize and manage a large task load on a daily basis.

● Ability to effectively operate a personal computer and software such as Outlook, Word,

Excel, Powerpoint, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and the Google Suite

● Ability to detect and correct grammatical and spelling errors in written correspondence,

grant applications and other documents.

● Ability to maintain files (digital and hard-copy as needed) and records accurately.

● Ability to drive and travel as needed.

● Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible

amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move

objects.