Office Administrator

Position Summary

The primary function of this position is to support the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education ( KNPE ) within the College of Education. This position includes a variety of interpersonal, organizational and technology-based skills whereby the employee needs to be self-motivated and take initiative that enables functioning with broad guidelines rather than specific directions. The individual must be skilled in assessing priorities, identifying and responding to time demands, and scheduling various assignments for timely completion. This position reports directly to the Chair of the KNPE Department.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Department Operations and Administration

• Function as department manager, disseminating information and responding to inquiries about departmental programs and activities (schedules, courses, degree programs, certificates, tuition waivers, certifications). Assist office support staff with daily routine tasks including: sending communications to faculty, staff, and students as needed, routing incoming phone calls and answering questions that arise on a daily basis.
• Ensure the proper execution of routine operational requirements. Contact Building Services for routine and emergency janitorial services; Building Maintenance for repair, maintenance and remodeling; Grounds for landscape maintenance services including snow and ice removal; Heating Plant for central ventilation, heating, and central air; Materials Distribution Center for inventory and movers; Environmental Health and Safety for problems ranging from chemical spills to contaminated drinking water; Key Control for building keys and door locks.
• Assist the centralized administrative position with personnel actions & maintain employee personnel files.
• Oversee the processing of timesheets and benefit usage forms along with keeping accurate records of the hours reported.
• Assist Department Chair with other projects as needed, often dealing with sensitive/ confidential matters.
• Attend department and program area meetings, take minutes, prepare and disseminate minutes to faculty, and keep an official record of meeting minutes.
• Be available during work hours for student support, needs of Chair and faculty.

Financial Operations

• Maintain data entry into the college standard electronic records and financial spreadsheets of the KNPE department accounts.
• Aid with data entry into the department budget tracker for the Administrative Aide.
• Process other routine forms such as check requests, purchase requisitions (P2PO), independent contractor, student non-employee travel, review travel vouchers, etc.
• Accounting Invoice Retrieval System ( AIR ). Monitor and approve invoices in AIR OnBase environment. Ensure payment authorizations are filled out correctly and that the KNPE department invoices are approved in a timely manner.
• Act as the KNPE main department Procurement Card (P-Card) holder. Retain original detailed receipts, upload them into the web portal each month, complete a p-card transaction log in line with the COE P-Card policy, verify monthly charges for accuracy against receipts, allocate and sign-off on transactions within two days of end of billing cycle, provide NIU business purpose for each transaction, submit PDF version of statements each month to the college business manager.
• Query in PeopleSoft to track purchase orders, journals, check requests, invoices, etc.
• Advise faculty and staff regarding procurement procedures, for example explaining purchasing policies & procedures.
• Update and maintain travel tracker for faculty traveling for each academic year.

Academic Program Support

• Organize and maintain digital copies of all official course outlines and course syllabi for the department for easy access and reference by department chair, faculty, and instructors. Work with department and college curriculum committees in regular updates to course outlines. Coordinate the collection and distribution of all course related materials, such as course syllabi, outline updates, grade roster information, and enrollment report request.
• Work with department chair to create and maintain schedule of classes for each academic semester. This requires obtaining information from program coordinators, adjunct instructors, Registration and Records, External and Global Programs. Once schedule is set, provide that to the local administrator for MyNIU input.
• Make local level scheduling adjustments as needed in MyNIU.

Academic Process Support

• Process academic Plans of Study and Courses of Study for graduate programs, including both initial plans and subsequent changes. Prepare, distribute, collect, and process materials related to student academic processes (e.g., comprehensive examinations, portfolio projects, and doctoral candidacy examinations).
• Maintain, coordinate, and track correspondence with students and faculty (and field mentors or supervisors, as appropriate) independent studies, directed projects and other non-traditional course experiences, including the necessary forms, waivers, and permits. Prepare reports on the numbers of students pursuing degrees and certification through the department, and their status towards completion each semester or as requested by chair.
• Work with program advisors to track number of students in each program and endorsement cohorts to identify need for course scheduling and collect requested courses from program coordinators for approval by Chair.

Advising Support

• Maintain enrollment management systems for seven major program areas with four certificates of study areas within the CI department

Miscellaneous Clerical Support and Other Related Duties

• Maintain inventory of department physical assets and all hardware/equipment.
• Provide clerical support to department chair as needed in conjunction with the office support staff.
• Assist with special events and initiatives in the department.
• Liaise with communications office to update department website.
• Support any local scholarship review processes.
• Assist students, faculty and interested parties with various needs and provide them with appropriate information and other duties as assigned by Department chair.

Minimum Required Qualifications (Civil Service)

1. High school diploma or equivalent.
2. Any one of the following from the categories below:
   • Four (4) years (48 months) of work experience comparable to the Office Support Specialist level of this series.
   • Two (2) years (24 months) of work experience comparable to the Office Manager level of this series.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) (Civil Service)

1. Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
2. Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, leadership technique, and coordination of people and resources.
3. Knowledge of administrative and administrative procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, and other office procedures and terminology.
4. Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
5. Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
6. Knowledge of computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to enter data, or process information.
7. Skill in material resources management through obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
8. Skill in communicating effectively, both verbally and in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
9. Skill in decision making by considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions and choosing the most appropriate one.
10. Ability to understand written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
11. Ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
12. Ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
13. Ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
14. Ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
15. Ability to provide guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Specialty Factors (Civil Service)

N/A

Preferred Qualifications (Civil Service)

• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite, MyNIU, as well as multiple university forms and procedures.
• Experience working in an office setting within higher education.

Minimum Required Qualifications (SPS)

N/A

Additional Requirements (SPS)

N/A

Preferred Qualifications (SPS)

N/A

Physical demands/requirements

• Sitting / Standing

Appointment and Compensation Details

Appointment and Compensation Details

Anticipated Appointment Start Date

04/16/2023

Anticipated Appointment End Date

Percent of Staff Year

1.00

Standard Hours Per Week

37.50

Salary

$27,807.00 - $34,125.00 / year

Hourly or Semi-monthly Pay Rate/Range

$14.26 - $17.50 / hourly

Earn Type

Hourly

Application Procedure

Application Procedure

Application Procedure

Additional Position Details:

• Click on Office Administrator for more information including salary ranges, typical duties, minimum acceptable qualifications, and testing requirements.
• Please click on Human Resource Services – Benefits for detailed information about Northern Illinois University’s benefits package.
• Applicants must be a current citizen or resident of the State of Illinois to move forward in the hiring process.
• Employment is contingent upon your passing a criminal background investigation. You may not begin work until the criminal background investigation results have been received and cleared by Human Resources.

Application Review Details:

• Fully complete the Education and Work History sections of the application. Be specific on your entire work history, including employment dates and duties for all positions held. Applicable part-time work experience will be considered toward qualifying for this position; however, it will be converted to a full-time equivalency to determine combined length of experience.
• If you have education and/or training in excess of what is required, we encourage you to upload your unofficial transcripts.
• After the posting has closed, your submission will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the classification, including any specialty factors associated with this position. If you meet the minimum required qualifications for this position, you will receive a score based on your education and experience, and your name will be placed on the active employment register.
• Please monitor your e-mail for further information regarding your application. Emails will be generated from jobs@niu.edu and CivilServiceTesting@niu.edu. Please add these emails to your address book to ensure timely delivery of any future communication.
• We STRONGLY recommend that contact information used in your online profile be personal use, not professional/work information: personal email address, home address and phone numbers. The information that you provide is used to make contact on search updates, department referrals and interviews, etc. We must be able to relay sensitive and important information in a way that protects your privacy concerning job search activity, now and in the future.

Exam Details:

• The Civil Service examination for this classification is a Credentials Assessment and is based on your application materials as submitted for this posting. A Credential Assessment is a rating by the Human Resources Office of an applicant’s/employee’s education, experience, and special credentials/qualifications (licenses, etc.). In order to determine an appropriate rating for each examination, a review of a résumé, cover letter, university/agency official employment application, college transcript, copies of license/certification and any other relevant material may be required.
• Required documentation noted in the posting, such as a driver’s license, licensures, or certifications MUST be uploaded with your application materials.
• If eligible for Veteran’s Preference Points, DD214/DD215/NGB22/DD256 paperwork reflecting an Honorable Discharge MUST be uploaded to this application to receive the maximum eligible points on the Civil Service examination.
• After assessment of all qualified applicants has been completed for this position, the names with the top three (3) scores will be referred to the hiring department for interview.

Special Instructions

N/A

Quick Link to Applicant

https://employment.niu.edu/postings/70180

Is Background Check Required?

Yes

EEO Statement Summary

In accordance with applicable statutes and regulations, NIU is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, political affiliation, or any other factor unrelated to professional qualifications, and will comply with all applicable federal and state statutes, regulations and orders pertaining to nondiscrimination, equal opportunity and affirmative action.

The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies:

Ethics and Compliance Officer, Title IX Coordinator
Health Services 230
TitleIXCoordinator@niu.edu
815-753-5560

Visa Policy

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

ADA Accommodation

NIU remains committed to ensuring that its recruitment and application procedures include full opportunities for applicants with disabilities. Employment opportunities will not be denied to anyone because of the need to make accommodations for a person’s disability during either the application or interview process. An applicant who believes they require an accommodation to participate in the employment process due to a disability may request that accommodation through the Accommodation Request Form . For further assistance, please contact the office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity ( AAEO ) at ada@niu.edu .

Safety Information

NIU provides annual reports on campus security and fire safety.

Read the Annual Safety and Security Report. Contact the Ethics and Compliance Office at 815-753-1649 for a hard copy.

Read the Fire Safety Report . Contact the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at 815-753-0404 for a hard copy.
Applicant Documents
Required Documents

1. Cover Letter
2. Resume/Curriculum Vitae
3. List of References

Optional Documents

1. Transcripts (unofficial with official required at hire)
2. Military Discharge Documents ONLY (DD214/DD215/NGB22/DD256)

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

1. Please mark all the completed degrees which you hold. Please remember to upload your unofficial transcript for all that have been marked.
   • Associate's Degree
   • Bachelor's Degree
   • Master's Degree or higher
2. * How many years of experience do you have in this type of position?
   • 0-1
   • 1-3
   • 3-5
   • 5-7
   • 7+
3. * Are you currently a citizen or resident of the State of Illinois?
   • Yes
   • No
4. * If applicable, have you attached a copy of your DD214, DD215, NGB22, or DD256 for consideration of Veterans Preference Points? The copy submitted should reflect the status of discharge in order to be considered.
   • Yes
   • No
   • Not Applicable