Administrative Associate, McDonald Observatory

The University of Texas at Austin • Austin, TX

39d • Onsite

About The Position

Provides administrative support for McDonald Observatory's West Texas operations, including procurement of goods and services, contracts, inventory management, accounting, reporting, and other administrative tasks. This position reports to the executive assistant and work in collaboration with the Austin Business Office.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED and a minimum of five years of clerical experience, or at least one year of experience at the Administrative Assistant level with a bachelor’s degree.
• Experience with the Microsoft Office suite, including intermediate skills in Excel and Word.
• Ability to adapt, work independently, and be an essential team member.
• Proven good judgment.
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with strong writing and proofreading skills.
• Ability to interact with and maintain productive working relationships with staff, visitors, and residents, while consistently maintaining a positive and professional demeanor.
• Ability to evaluate workload, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines to effectively manage multiple projects across different areas with accuracy.
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt flexibly.
• Experience in taking ownership of projects and guiding them to successful completion.
• Ability to undertake and complete tasks with minimal supervision and demonstrate individual initiative in fulfilling the responsibilities of the position.
• Competencies for the position include accuracy and attention to detail, decision-making, critical thinking, effective communication, initiative, interpersonal skills, problem-solving, and service excellence.
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
• This job requires a class "C" operator's driver's license. The applicant selected must provide a current three-year driving record from the current state of residence. If not currently a Texas resident, a Texas driver's license must be obtained within 30 days of becoming a Texas resident.

Nice To Haves

• One year experience in Procurement.
• Experience using UT mainframe, Workday, and UT web applications
• Knowledge of the UT policies and procedures
• Experience with planning, budgeting, and executing small to mid-sized events, including vendor coordination
• Advanced skills in the use of Microsoft Office applications

Responsibilities

• Administrative Support. Assist with the administrative and clerical operations for the Superintendent’s office and staff. Help with shipping and receiving packages and mail, ensuring the proper recipients are contacted. Maintain site calendars. Compose and proofread departmental correspondence. Prepare documentation for special events and assist with staffing as needed. Serve as a backup to the administrative staff and the Astronomers Lodge. Uphold confidentiality, maintain a professional manner, drive a UT vehicle, and perform other related tasks to meet business needs.
• Physical Plant Administrative Support. Assists the Physical Plant Manager and Technical Trades Supervisors with administrative tasks, including, but not limited to, purchasing research, fuel reports, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reports. Provides quarterly account reconciliation reports to the managers. Performs radio dispatch, sends faxes, copies, scans, and other job-related duties.
• Procurement. Serves as the primary contact for West Texas staff regarding procurement and ensures adherence to University purchasing policies and procedures in coordination with the Austin Business Office. Procures goods and services, assigns department transaction numbers, and sets up vendor IDs. Obtains quotes, posts and maintains the purchasing database, and processes purchase orders and ProCard purchases following University policies and procedures. Manages the department's ProCard and assists with the ProCard logs for the Superintendent's staff. Coordinates all communication and services with suppliers and vendors regarding purchase orders. Oversees and monitors all purchases made through contracts between UT and the West Texas site. Builds relationships with suppliers and vendors to improve access to resources that meet or surpass project requirements. Monitors all purchasing requests and escalates issues with internal customers and vendors to the appropriate managers.
• Inventory and Surplus. Assist with West Texas inventory, including issuing and maintaining inventory tags, entering data into the database, and preparing inventory reports. Coordinate West Texas surplus activities, track returns on spreadsheets, take photos, and arrange for vehicle and trailer use to deliver items to UT's Surplus site, in collaboration with the Austin Business Office.
• Accounting. Prepares payment vouchers, including interdepartmental transfer paperwork for various events and lodging charges. Enters weekly deposits for the Astronomers Lodge. Prepares and processes payment vouchers for goods and services received at the Observatory in West Texas. Reconciles Mt. Locke, West Texas accounts, and produces detailed monthly reports, including proper use of funds. Must be an authorized signer on the local bank account.

Benefits

• Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
• Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
• Paid vacation, sick time, and holidays
• Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan with employer-matching funds
• Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED