Maria Rodriguez Email & Phone Number

Greater Chicago Area

Administered complex electronic calendars for VPs and directors; scheduled appointments; arranged business meetings and conferences; organized travel, flights, hotels, and rental car services; and prepared itineraries, including venue catering and event outings. Coordinated all related conference rooms, catering, and audio/video conference setup. Coordinated quarterly Global All-Hands-On meetings, company socials and holiday party.Oversaw all office issues as direct contact with building management for repairs and service issues, visitor authorizations, and key card assignments. On-call 24/7 for IT Server Room matters. Assisted with Certificate of Insurance process for all contractors and maintained subsequent updates. Worked with vendors on supplies and maintenance issues. Managed office equipment contracts, business license, leases, and negotiations; troubleshot equipment errors. Organized hiring requisitions; assisted with new hire onboarding and employee terminations. Processed I-9 employment verifications, ordered computer equipment and mobile devices, setup workspaces, and acquainted new hires with office procedures. Scheduled candidate interviews and travel arrangements. Maintained HR compliance of federal and state regulations concerning employment. Headed Accounts Payable (A/P), Accounts Receivable (A/R), and expense control procedures, including creation of purchase orders, coding, and obtaining authorization for approval. Assisted Accounting department with invoice inquiries and resolved vendor payment issues. Prepared and adhered to departmental budgets.- Championed an employee-friendly work environment favorable of productivity, retention, and morale.- Liaised between global offices and local employees to ensure seamless communications in resolving critical matters.- Key contact for Monster Philanthropy; vetted local non-profits and organized team building outings / sponsorships.

Greater Chicago Area

Assisted SVP/CTO of Tribune Company/Tribune Publishing Group with Outlook calendaring, conference call scheduling, event planning, domestic and international travel, and meeting coordination across multiple departments, business units, and vendors throughout the U.S. and international.Procured and maintained office supplies and equipment, processed A/P and A/R invoices, generated purchase orders, reconciled credit card expenses, produced expense reports, and regulated budgets. Secured confidential personnel files, managed payroll distribution, tracked office moves and staff relocations, and coordinated installation of desktop systems and tools for new hires. Functioned as department HR liaison, initiating paperwork for new hires/terminations/transfers, processing employee updates and corrections, tracking PTO, and resolving payroll discrepancies.Created Office Assistant training handbook and mentored other executive assistants and coordinators.Designed and implemented office policies and procedures for invoicing, budgeting, and staff management.Directed the automation of hardcopy office files’ (contracts, employee records, etc.) conversion to PDF for electronic filing into DocuShare and Oracle File Share Suite.Assembled Excel spreadsheets and database files to track invoices, employee training, and equipment deployment.Owned and tracked monthly budget spending for department cost centers; assisted with annual budget process; and managed budget variance reporting.Awarded “Director’s – Individual Achievement Award” and “Attitude Award” for outstanding customer focus, results-oriented with a can-do attitude.

Greater Chicago Area

Executive Assistant - Department of Operations, Planning and AdministrationSecretary - Department of Circulation

Greater Chicago Area

Greater Chicago Area