Administrative Assistant / Operations Support

Argonne National Laboratory•Lemont, IL

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Argonne National Laboratory is hiring an Administrative Assistant/Operations Support professional to join the Physical Sciences & Engineering (PSE) directorate. The role is part of an evolving administrative support team and provides administrative and high-volume operational support to scientific staff, helping advance Argonne’s scientific mission. The position supports two or more groups within a division and works with administrative colleagues and operational partners to address staff needs and improve workflows. The role currently follows a hybrid schedule, with flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week. Argonne lists two possible experience levels: SA2, requiring a high school education and 4+ years of experience or equivalent; and SA3, requiring a high school education and 8+ years of experience or equivalent. The expected hiring ranges are $20.78–$32.41 per hour for SA2 and $25.59–$39.92 per hour for SA3. The posting also gives a general expected hiring range of $20.78–$32.41 per hour and notes that the selected candidate’s pay depends on factors such as responsibilities, qualifications, business considerations, internal equity, and market pay. Comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package; specific benefits are not listed.

Requirements

Knowledge of administrative or operations support functions and office practices.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interact diplomatically and tactfully with people at all levels.
Ability to think quickly and respond effectively to challenging situations.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, including the ability to resolve issues independently when information is incomplete or conflicting.
Strong organizational and time-management skills, including the ability to prioritize and manage multiple assignments in a fast-paced environment while maintaining attention to detail.
Experience coordinating projects, using tracking systems, and preparing status reports.
Willingness and ability to learn new procedures and technologies.
Ability to work with minimal supervision and meet deadlines with accuracy and completeness.
Experience coordinating meetings, workshops, conferences, and onsite visits, as well as domestic and international staff travel.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email, and calendar tools, and Adobe Acrobat.
Ability to model Argonne’s core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity, and teamwork.
For the SA2 level: high school education and 4+ years of experience, or equivalent.
For the SA3 level: high school education and 8+ years of experience, or equivalent.

Nice To Haves

Experience incorporating AI tools into individual workflows is highly desirable but not required.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative and operational support to two or more groups within a division.
Research, compile, track, and analyze data and information from multiple sources.
Organize and coordinate meetings, workshops, and calendars.
Arrange travel, complete expense reports, and process effort corrections.
Prepare correspondence and reports, maintain files, purchase supplies, and coordinate procurement packages.
Use software tools to develop reports, spreadsheets, statistics, timelines, tables, graphs, correspondence, and presentations.
Partner with the Administrative and Operations Support Manager, administrative peers, and the AI Operations Engineer to recommend and implement workflow improvements.
Exercise independent judgment and discretion to address priorities, meet deadlines, and complete work accurately and thoroughly.
Collaborate with administrative and operations support colleagues and provide backup support to other administrative assistants across the directorate as needed.