Administrative Assistant

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

22h•Onsite

About The Position

The College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) at Northeastern University combines experiential learning with liberal arts education, interdisciplinary research, and community engagement. The College comprises 20 academic units and 15 research centers and institutes. CSSH promotes inquiry across interdisciplinary clusters including Artificial Intelligence, Resilience, Sustainability, Health, and Equity; Cultural studies, Governance, and Globalization; and Network Science, Computational Social Science, Digital Humanities, and Data Ethics. The College fosters a culture of belonging where every member feels empowered, respected, and connected. This Administrative Assistant role reports to the College Executive Assistant and will provide administrative support to one or more units, primarily the Office of Student Academic Affairs. This position serves as the front-line contact for undergraduate inquiries, requests for information, and appointments with advisors. The Administrative Assistant acts as a liaison between students and University offices, providing accurate information and excellent customer service to help students navigate processes and procedures. The role involves interacting with students and parents via phone, email, and in person. Duties include maintaining a welcoming office atmosphere, responding to student needs, managing work-study students, ensuring front desk coverage, organizing appointments and meetings, answering phones, handling email communications, maintaining office operations, ensuring accurate and confidential record keeping, inputting data into central systems, and troubleshooting meeting technology. The Administrative Assistant will also assist with events and programming. This role requires being on campus five days per week.

Requirements

Skills and knowledge typically acquired through the completion of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and 1-3 years’ relevant experience, preferably in a higher education setting.
Knowledge of office administration practices and processes.
Basic level of proficiency with MS Office products, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Excellent computer skills with flexibility to adapt to new technology and various computer/software applications are essential.
Ability to plan, organize, and set priorities; time management; attention to detail; conflict resolution.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to provide the highest level of customer service.
Ability to navigate high volume periods and challenging student situations while maintaining a calm, patient, and professional demeanor.
Ability to carry out special assignments by completing activities, monitoring progress, and ensuring work is completed accurately and on time.

Responsibilities

Serves as a key point of contact for inquiries about programs, policies, and processes in one or more department/program.
Acquires and applies department knowledge to provide information for routine matters and escalate more serious matters.
Provides front desk coverage and coordinates work study student schedules to ensure appropriate coverage, customer service, and support are always available during needed hours (typically Monday-Friday, 9am – 5pm).
Organizes and schedules meetings.
Tracks and maintains unit budgets.
Maintains office equipment, generates purchase orders, reconciles corporate credit cards, files documents, sorts mail, answers department telephones and e-mail, and orders office supplies.
Gathers, organizes, and reviews data from a variety of sources for recordkeeping, reporting, and program management.
Assists with the planning of events and coordination of activities needed to hold workshops, conferences, and seminars.