Description
Administrative Associate 

 

 

College of Architecture and Design

Regular Full-time, Market Range 06

The University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design is looking for an Administrative Associate that will provide support to the School of Design. Launched in the fall of 2019, the School of Design is a growing unit in which this position is key to its evolution and success through collaboration with the director to ensure that the school operates effectively for its faculty, students, and alumni.

Successful candidates will possess a high level of organizational ability, be creative and self-directed in their approach to projects and tasks, and be willing to learn new skills, software, and systems as the college and schools evolve. An Administrative Associate must be able to manage multiple simultaneous tasks/projects requiring follow-through, make critical judgements and timely decisions about their workload, and meet deadlines once established. The role also requires effective communication with multiple audiences including students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Additional duties and qualifications are listed below.

This search process is part of a re-visioning of the administrative office of the College of Architecture and Design as the college is entering a new era of leadership and aims to further establish a professional, well-functioning, and strategic administrative team; one whose members are given professional development and career support while they are encouraged to take ownership of their responsibilities. Team members look for ways to improve the administrative approach as they become subject matter experts and effective project managers for their school directors. College leadership is interested in building an environment around the college’s goal of making design education for our students as vivid as possible.

Qualifications
School of Design Administrative Associate Duties

Provides executive level administrative support to the school director through assisting with the following:

 

Managing and implementing complex, multi-phase projects, and strategic initiatives within the schoolMaintaining records, schedule of retention, promotion and annual reviewsArranging school events such as faculty and student luncheons, guest lecturers and/or critic visits, awards ceremonies, etc.Planning and management of Director calendar with emphasis on college and university level commitments, and departmental faculty and committee meetings required by the schoolCoordinating travel arrangements for the director, while assisting faculty and students with travel as necessaryAids in the development of needed reports, correspondence, and meeting minutesSupports faculty search processes, Non-Tenure Track & Tenure Track appointment, promotion, and tenure processesSupports student recruiting, admissions and retention; processes required for graduation; updating and creating courses in student information systems, managing enrollment and waitlists; coordinating prospect visitsSupervises and provides direction to departmental student employees as neededProvides school customer service, greets visitors, answers phone, responds to email inquiries, and distributes mailHandles departmental purchasing and preparation of payments, setting up of vendors, coordinates with college finance team to manage contracts and payment processingTracks and reports on departmental/programmatic/budgets to department head and PIs as necessary. Assists PIs in preparing pre-award budgets and post-award management paperworkActively participates in college onboarding/ offboarding and training practices. Develops institutional knowledge and leadership at times by leading functional and cross-functional teams in process developmentServing as a back-up to others on the college’s administrative teamActively develops knowledge of faculty affairs policy, college-level expectations, and departmental practices

 

The candidate addresses the above duties by:

 

Using judgment and critical thinking to complete tasks in a timely mannerMaking good and timely decisions based on the information availableApplying creativity and taking initiative to find information needed to complete projects/tasksEffectively managing time on a daily basis and communicating clearly to supervisor and team members on progress of projectsUnderstanding the necessity of confidential and time-sensitive materials

 

In addition to assisting the Director of the School of Design, the Administrative Associate will be tasked with an additional workflow that impacts all administrative work of the college. This workflow will be assigned based on the candidate’s individual experience and background. Examples may include:

 

Managing and implementing the college timetable of courses for each academic session with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs & Research.Oversight of the room reservation system in conjunction with academic course planning.Serving as subject matter expert for research and development processes and best practices.Providing recruiting and Student Development Center assistance, including maintaining prospective student information for undergraduate program recruiting, managing college /school recruiting calendars, coordinating prospect campus visits and maintaining these interactions via SLATE.Management of undergraduate admissions processes while advising other school-level admin associates with admissions in their degree programs. This includes liaising with university admissions, oversight of all admissions-related processes via SLATE, and managing college approach to corresponding with applicants/admitted students. Other duties assigned by the Dean, School Director and/or Director of Finance and Administration

 

Required Qualifications

Requires an associate degree and two years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experienceAdept in working on complex projects, solving problems, and thinking critically about projects and tasks while proactively suggesting and developing ways of improving how we workAbility to think and act as a member of a team working to advance the school; work collaboratively in an energetic environment with a variety of students, staff, faculty, and the general publicPossess computer skills, including MS Office 365, especially MS Word, Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint, Teams and/or Planner; and familiarity with sharing documents and working collaboratively using cloud storage such as Google Drive and OneDriveHave the desire and ability to learn new processes and software as necessary to ensure the effective administration of the schoolBring strong, well developed interpersonal and communication skills to the workflow of the officeOrganized, responsible and efficient in tasks involved with gathering data, compiling information, and preparing reportsAbility to use tact and discretion when dealing with a variety of confidentiality issues

 

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree and 2-4 years of professional administrative or customer service experience in a complex organization including participation in or management/oversight of diverse projectsExperience collaborating in teams with various levels of engagementExperience working in Higher Education

 

Screening of applicants will begin immediately and will continue until the position has been filled. For full consideration, interested individuals should provide a cover letter addressing professional experience relevant to the required minimum qualifications, a resume, and complete contact information for three professional references.

The salary for this position will be commensurate with experience. The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including reduced tuition for employee’s dependents that attend college in the University of Tennessee system.

 

The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status.

Job: Other Admin Asst/Secr/Clerical
Primary Location: US-Tennessee-knoxville
Organization: Architecture & Design-Administration
Schedule: Full-time
Job Posting: Sep 12, 2022, 6:00:40 PM