Assistant to the Director, Utilities Production

About Cornell Utilities Production

Cornell Utilities Production, within Energy and Sustainability, operate the University energy infrastructure system on a 24-hour, 365-days-per-year basis. Production facilities include a combined heat and power facility which provides both the steam for heat and electricity for campus. All the water for campus is provided by a university-owned potable water filtration plant. Electricity from the local utility is fed through a university-owned electric substation. Central Utilities serves over 150 major buildings and nearly 14 million square feet on central campus.

The Opportunity

Are you a highly organized professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys solving complex problems, and takes pride in supporting teams that keep critical operations running? We're seeking an Assistant to the Director to serve as a trusted partner to senior leadership within Utilities Production, helping coordinate administrative operations, regulatory reporting, safety training programs, purchasing activities, and special projects that support essential campus infrastructure.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys balancing strategic coordination with hands-on execution, building relationships across diverse teams, and making a meaningful impact behind the scenes.

About the Role

As the Assistant to the Director, you will play a central role in supporting the Director, Plant Managers, Supervisors, and a broad team of union and non-union staff. You'll oversee office operations, coordinate complex schedules, coordinate budgets and contracts, organize training programs, support regulatory reporting, and serve as a key liaison across departments and external partners.

Success in this role requires exceptional organizational skills, sound judgment, attention to detail, discretion with confidential information, and the ability to balance multiple priorities in a dynamic operational environment.

What You'll Do

Lead Administrative Operations

• •Serve as a trusted administrative partner to the Director and leadership team.
• •Coordinate complex calendars and help resolve competing scheduling priorities.
• •Coordinate meetings, events, tours, travel arrangements, and training activities.
• •Prepare agendas, presentations, reports, meeting materials, and minutes.
• •Respond independently to a wide range of inquiries and requests with professionalism and discretion.
• •Support daily office operations and help create efficient processes and procedures.
• •Collaborate with colleagues across the organization to ensure seamless administrative support.

Support Budget and Business Operations

• •Partner with Finance and departmental leadership on budget planning and monitoring.
• •Track expenditures and assist with annual budget development.
• •Coordinate contract services and monitor associated expenses.
• •Prepare spreadsheets, reports, dashboards, and other business documents.
• •Support purchasing, inventory management, and procurement activities.

Coordinate Training and Safety Programs

• •Help administer the Utilities Production safety training program.
• •Coordinate required OSHA-related training and professional development opportunities.
• •Schedule instructor-led and online training sessions.
• •Monitor completion rates and maintain training records and metrics.
• •Assist with conference registrations, travel planning, and training-related logistics.

Data and Regulatory Reporting

• •Collect, organize, analyze, and maintain operational and regulatory data.
• •Prepare reports required by state and federal regulatory agencies.
• •Maintain documentation and records in support of compliance requirements.
• •Assist with utility production reporting, fuel tracking, emissions reporting, and budget-related reporting.
• •Ensure accuracy, consistency, and timely submission of critical information.

Coordinate Purchasing and Order Tracking

• •Serve as a resource for purchasing and receiving activities.
• •Source and order supplies, equipment, tools, and materials.
• •Track orders and monitor delivery timelines.
• •Coordinate service requests and work orders using established systems and processes.
• •Maintain inventory records and support operational readiness.

This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the operations that power and sustain a world-class institution. You'll work alongside dedicated professionals in engineering, operations, sustainability, facilities management, and administration while helping support critical infrastructure and environmental stewardship initiatives.

We value collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement, and respect for every member of our community. Your ideas, expertise, and perspective will help strengthen our team and contribute to our collective success. If you're a highly organized professional who enjoys supporting leaders, improving processes, and making a meaningful impact every day, we'd love to hear from you. Apply with your resume and cover letter today!

What We Need

A cover letter and resume outlining your interest and how your experience and goals align with the potential for mutual success in the role are required for consideration.

• •Associate degree and 4 years administrative office experience or equivalent combination.
• •Excellent communication and organizational skills, detail oriented and the ability to manage multiple priorities and tasks.
• •Excellent knowledge of Adobe, MS Word, Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint and Filemaker Pro in order to create original reports, documents and data bases.
• •Must possess strong grammar and written skills to respond to and create original difficult and/or sensitive correspondences for the Plant.
• •The desire to work in and learn about electric, steam, and chilled water production.
• •Ability to multi-task, work independently, display sound judgment for setting priorities and handling sensitive/confidential conversations and correspondence.
• •Ability to coordinate a variety of events with large groups both within and outside of the Energy & Sustainability department.
• •Flexible, creative in finding solutions, able to follow directions and anticipate the needs of the Central Energy Plant management team.
• •Experience working directly with people from various socioeconomic backgrounds.

It Would Be a Bonus if You Have Any of the Following

• •Knowledge of Cornell administrative systems.
• •College level courses in business, project management and/or environmental sciences.
• •Experience using Maximo and web content management.
• •Working knowledge and understanding of technology and utilities systems in a campus environment.
• •Project/program management experience a plus.
• •Experience using AI tools.

Important Notes About Applying

• •A cover letter and resume outlining your interest and how your experience and goals align with the potential for mutual success in the role are required for consideration.
• •This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement. For the first 30 days, the successful candidate will be expected to work fully on-site for onboarding and initial training. After that, employees typically perform this role on-campus 4 days per week and remotely 1 day per week.
• •There is no relocation assistance available for this position.
• •There is no visa sponsorship available for this position.

Rewards and Benefits

• •This position is based in Ithaca, New York, on Cornell’s main campus, and is fully onsite.
• •Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability.
• •Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: Understand Your Benefits | Working at Cornell .
• •Our leave provisions include health and personal leave, three weeks of vacation and 13