Administrative Assistant Supervisor (Humanities)

Provost/Dean of Faculty Job Description

PRIMARY FUNCTION(S): Ensure quality administrative support for faculty, staff, and students in all team departments, responsibility for the efficient day-to-day operation of the team’s administrative offices, including supervision of other administrative support positions. Hold primary support responsibility for a department or departments.

Take appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Supervision & Training: (50%) Provide day-to-day direction for administrative assistants in the unit. Perform goal-setting and performance evaluations. Approve time sheets, time off, and manage office coverage. When required, participate in planning and organizing the hiring of new departmental assistants. Coordinate with the Office of the Provost/Dean of Faculty for prioritizing, facilitating, and improving upon the work of the team administrative support staff. Participate on the Academic Administrative Assistant Leadership Team on advancement of strategic priorities. Train members of the administrative team where needed with special attention to compliance with Smith policies and best practices. Build and maintain positive working relationships within the administrative assistant team who report to the supervisor, and with internal customers (faculty, staff, students), other administrative staff, and external visitors. Analyze workload and review assignments to ensure equity and appropriately deploy expertise. Plan and execute coverage plans in the event of vacancies within the team.

Academic Assistant Leadership Team: Collaborate with Human Resources and the Office of the Provost/Dean of Faculty to develop a leadership structure and effective processes and professional development programming for the AAA cohort. Develop flexible, professional competencies to continue to cultivate a collaborative and effective team – positioning team members to adapt to changing academic administrative processes across the institution. Attend monthly leadership team meetings and working meetings as necessary; set agenda and lead monthly cohort meetings. Facilitate enhanced hiring processes and comprehensive onboarding and training processes for the assistants group, including the creation and maintenance of reference materials for AAAs, incorporating technologically enabled standards. Build ongoing strategic initiatives in conjunction with provost’s office and other allied offices.

Student Administrative Support: Hire, train, schedule and supervise student workers who provide administrative support to the team. Maintain hiring budget and ensure adequate deployment of resources across the team.

Procurement and Budget Administration: Oversee and advise on budget reconciliation process for the team. Approve expenditures, reimbursements and expense reports for the staff. Manage building budgets covering office supplies, shared printers/copiers and student payroll. Make recommendations and plan future budgets as part of the annual budget call. Consult with controller and budget offices.

Administrative Support: (40%) Provide direct support for Department Chairs and faculty within assigned academic units. Maintain departmental records and databases. Manage departmental correspondence. Support departmental midterm and decennial reviews. Maintain and update departmental web page content and other online presence, as appropriate. Assist in orienting new faculty and staff.

Event and Program Coordination: For assigned academic units, coordinate and organize events, including room reservations, publicity, refreshments and meals, and processing requests for honoraria and reimbursements for field trips, invited speakers, colloquia, lunch bags, presentations of the major, conferences, etc.

Curricular support: For assigned academic units, assemble and update course offerings and schedules. Assist in the preparation of annual course catalog revisions. Order supplies and help prepare course materials. Secure copyright permissions, following college policy.

Departmental and Student Hiring Support: For assigned academic units, track faculty search applicants and application materials including related correspondence, search forms, and summaries. Coordinate candidate interviews including travel arrangements and accommodations. Assist faculty in hiring work-study students.

Procurement and Budget Administration: As administrative support person, administer departmental budgets for assigned academic units, including assisting with purchasing, order and expense tracking. Process requisitions, purchase order requests, invoices, reimbursement requests, and journal entries. Provide budget status reports on a regular basis. Reconcile budget expenses in the College’s financial system. Maintain financial files and paper audit trail for Smith financial policy compliance.

Facilities Management: (10%) As supervisor, o versee operations and management of academic buildings as assigned.. Coordinate work orders; manage central office equipment, including MFDs across buildings; update building directories. Coordinate arrangements for office moves for faculty and staff.

All employees are expected to participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education/Experience: Associate’s degree, and three to five years of relevant experience or the equivalent combination of education and/or experience. Supervisory experience needed.

Experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Skills: Ability to organize and prioritize work, take initiative, resolve problems, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously. Excellent communication skills - verbal, written and interpersonal with demonstrated ability to be discreet and maintain confidentiality; ability to communicate with all levels of the department and organization. Proven ability to track expenses and manage financial data accurately in spreadsheets and accounting systems. Proficient in the use of office technology, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Ability to update and maintain web pages.

Please attach BOTH a current resume and a cover letter in order for your application to be considered for this position . You may combine your resume and cover letter into a single file or attach multiple files to your application, but BE SURE you have provided all attachments BEFORE SUBMITTING your application. You will NOT be able to attach additional files after you have hit the Submit button.

Review of applications will begin

May 26, 2021

Compensation Grade:

Grade L Non-exempt

Position Type:

Regular

About Smith College

Located in Northampton, MA, Smith College is one of the largest women’s colleges in the country and is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research across the liberal arts. A faculty of outstanding scholars interact with students in small classes, as advisors, and through student-faculty research projects. The College is a member of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Hampshire and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students cross-enroll and faculty cross-teach across the Five Colleges.

Smith College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or veteran status in the recruitment and employment of faculty and staff, and the operation of any of its programs and activities, as specified by all applicable laws and regulations. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.