Administrative Specialist

University of Washington Medical Center•Seattle, WA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Administrative Specialist is responsible for developing a deep understanding of the academic and research programs of the AI & Machine Learning for Engineering Graduate Programs, the AI Center for Dynamics and Control, and the NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems and its affiliated faculty. Using this knowledge, and under the general direction of the Director, the individual in this position works independently to manage logistics for many activities of all these groups including scheduling and arranging meetings, arranging travel, and processing complex travel and expense reimbursements. The position also serves as the principal assistant to the Director, handling key communications and projects with accuracy and professionalism. The Administrative Specialist will use their independent judgment to manage and facilitate a multitude of complicated activities across three distinct programs. The Administrative Specialist supports the operational activities of a $36M industry-funded effort to develop and support education and research activities in the area of data-driven engineering and artificial intelligence, as well as a $19M federally-funded effort focused on AI. They will work closely with faculty and staff across the entire College of Engineering, and must maintain understanding of subject matter as well as knowledge of related departments and institutes in order to develop effective and tactful collaborative approaches. The graduate programs that the Administrative Specialist supports are based centrally at the College of Engineering, rather than in a single department, which requires much more complex coordination than a typical graduate program.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in administration, communications, or a related discipline. Equivalent experience can substitute for degree requirement.
Two years of experience in administration, communication, or higher education.
Strong attention to detail, excellent organization skills, and a demonstrated ability to prioritize work and manage complex workloads with frequent deadlines.
Ability to learn University travel and purchasing guidelines and procedures and the ability to reference them on the UW website when requested.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Suite.
Ability to gain proficiency in other software and web-based tools, as needed.
Strong written communication skills for workplace settings.
The ability to write clear and concise emails, focusing on what needs to be accomplished.
The ability to work well as a collaborative teammate, to give and receive feedback with thoughtfulness and consideration.
Experience tactfully and respectfully working with many different stakeholders, from students to faculty to staff to external partners.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in an academic program, at an academic institution, and/or with faculty across departments or in an interdisciplinary unit.
Familiarity with UW administrative policies and procedures
Web design and/or graphic design interest or ability

Responsibilities

Serve as principal assistant to the Director.
Maintain calendars and schedule meetings with keen attention to duration, transportation time, and advance preparation time required.
Keep Director apprised of meeting dates and appointments and provide necessary supporting materials in a timely manner.
Issue reminders and notifications of important commitments and ensure that all official obligations are met.
Coordinate travel arrangements for the Director, Institute/Center staff, visiting speakers, students, postdocs, and other visitors.
Process associated travel reimbursements in compliance with applicable guidelines.
Coordinate and organize ad hoc appointments and meetings as requested by the Director and Institute/Center staff.
Coordinate with other executive assistants on high-level meetings; ensure proper listing on calendars.
Reserve rooms, arrange food or catering, and coordinate equipment, A/V support, and materials.
Review and process expense reimbursement requests in accordance with institutional policies and procedures.
Utilize UW Connect Finance to liaison with and submit requests to the Engineering Shared Environment (ESE).
Provide conference room A/V support and develop documentation on use of A/V systems.
Develop agendas and draft invitations, reports, surveys, and other professional correspondence, which may contain confidential or sensitive information.
Serve as the liaison between incoming VISIT students and the College of Engineering to coordinate internship appointments and facilitate completion of required onboarding documentation.
Provide administrative support for occasional events, including coordination and on-site assistance as needed.
Serve on event teams to support large events, conferences and summer programs.
Provide executive level project management for the Director.
Manage special projects, provide statistics, track budget and perform background research for directors’ initiatives as assigned.
Such initiatives might include establishing or managing new funding programs; new education or industry collaborations; special graduate student projects, industry visits, and teams; regional seminars, conferences or meetings; constituent surveys; and special presentations.
Develop a network of contacts with departments and institutes to stay on top of news and announcements.
Post and edit news stories, announcements, and make updates to the Director’s website; format text, images, and hyperlinks following the specified communication plan and design standards.
Communicate on behalf of the Director with representatives from the office of the Vice Provost for Research, Deans’ offices, Capital Projects Office, Federal and State Relations, and the Office of Planning and Budgeting, as well as external partners.
Assist the Director in management of the Director’s YouTube channel featuring asynchronous teaching videos.
Participate in college/school meetings and contribute to committees.
Other duties as assigned.