Administrative Aide

Michigan Technological University•Houghton, MI

About The Position

The Administrative Aide provides comprehensive administrative and clerical support to the faculty, staff, and students of the School of Health, Human, and Biological Systems at Michigan Technological University. The position serves as the primary point of contact for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and internal and external visitors, providing professional, courteous, and responsive customer service. Success requires strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a diverse academic environment. The role supports program communications, office operations, student and faculty services, events, purchasing, scheduling, payroll, and recordkeeping. It also provides functional supervision to work-study students, supports continuous improvement initiatives, and applies safety-related knowledge and practices to daily work.

Requirements

High school diploma, or an equivalent combination of education and experience that provides comparable knowledge and abilities.
One year of experience in an administrative clerical support position, or an equivalent combination of education and experience that provides comparable knowledge and abilities.
Two years of experience using personal computers and basic software packages.
Excellent interpersonal, customer-service, and oral and written communication skills.
Knowledge of proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Ability to work accurately and with attention to detail.
Ability to organize and prioritize assignments independently and take initiative to solve problems.
Ability to work effectively with frequent interruptions and meet established deadlines.
Ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries and work harmoniously with diverse groups of students, faculty, and staff.
Commitment to contributing to a safe work environment.
Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos; write simple correspondence; and present information effectively in one-on-one and small-group situations.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Eligibility to work in the United States by the effective appointment date and maintain eligibility without employer sponsorship throughout the appointment.
Successful completion of the required background check.

Nice To Haves

Experience using BANNER, WebFOCUS, Perceptive Content databases, or Google Suite.
Experience using website content management systems (CMS) to create, edit, format, and maintain website content.
Experience developing written content such as articles, news stories, blog posts, announcements, and other promotional or informational materials.
Ability to apply common-sense understanding to written, oral, or diagrammed instructions, handle problems in standardized situations, and problem-solve when necessary.
Demonstrated success or potential future contributions in working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and viewpoints.

Responsibilities

Serve as the program’s first point of contact, greet and assist visitors, handle telephone calls, and respond to inquiries about established programs and services.
Answer routine correspondence and draft responses to non-routine correspondence.
Pick up and distribute campus mail and send packages through UPS and FedEx.
Manage School/Program communications, including websites, social media, newsletters, and publicity materials; create, publish, and update content using CMS and other software.
Purchase and maintain office-supply inventory and ensure copiers and printers are operational and stocked.
Coordinate and maintain school/program files, calendars, and email lists; take meeting minutes as needed.
Update signage and order business cards when personnel changes occur; assist with employee onboarding and offboarding.
Coordinate room assignments, equipment, and miscellaneous services; schedule appointments; process key requests and building access.
Coordinate prospective-student visits, student orientations, guest seminars, and student forums.
Work with IT and Facilities on office and building needs and improvements.
Coordinate the distribution and collection of academic materials, including book orders, class rosters, evaluations, and syllabi.
Use Banner to update student schedules and obtain transcripts for advisors.
Access and maintain confidential student information using Banner and Discoverer reports, and provide data as requested.
Assist coordinators with check requests, business-meal forms, travel vouchers and reimbursements, and program procurement cards.
Coordinate student-employee payroll, originate electronic payroll forms (EPAF) and reallocations, review and process new-hire employment forms, approve biweekly timesheets, and serve as program timekeeper.
Assist the graduate program assistant with current and incoming graduate students and correspondence with prospective graduate students, including defense announcements, emails, flyers, and room reservations.
Provide clerical support and assistance to faculty, staff, and students on policies and procedures; assist faculty, students, and guests with travel reimbursements.
Assist with School and program events, including teas and coffee chats, meetings, food orders, student and faculty activities, and preview day.
Provide functional supervision over work-study students.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Learn about continuous-improvement strategies, apply them to everyday work, and actively engage in University continuous-improvement initiatives.
Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work.