Administrative Support Assistant I

San Diego State University Research Foundation•San Diego, CA

70d•$19•Hybrid

About The Position

This position is open until filled with an initial application review to take place after 4:30 pm on November 4, 2025. The salary for this position is $19.00 per hour, 30 hours per week, and is non-negotiable. FUNCTION OF THE UNITIBACH is a non-profit research institute under the auspices of San Diego State University Research Foundation in San Diego, California. It is home to an active group of researchers, research professionals and trainees working alongside organizational partners to improve the quality of life of all residents. Our mission is to build the evidence-base of modifiable determinants of health disparities, and in collaboration with our partners, develop evidence-based interventions to address these determinants to reduce health disparities through community-engaged research projects aimed to prevent chronic diseases and other health and quality-of-life behaviors and outcomes. We use these opportunities to train the next generation of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Our projects are grant funded through the National Institutes of Health and operated under the direction of SDSU faculty in partnership with research staff and students. We aim to hire an administrative assistant who can advance the health of diverse communities by supporting us in day-to-day operations of multiple ongoing projects. PURPOSE OF THE POSITIONThe Administrative Assistant will be part of the administrative team for two NIH-grant-funded projects housed in the Research for Health and Community Health (REACH) lab: Fe en Accion and Conmigo. Under immediate supervision, this individual will perform general office support work of average difficulty for multiple research projects at the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health (IBACH). The admin assistant will support faculty and staff with administrative tasks, follow up on tasks to ensure deadlines are met, coordinate intake and reporting requirements of personnel and volunteers, organize work and documents to ensure consistent performance, and conduct all activities in accordance with SDSU Research Foundation policies and procedures. Faith in Action /Fe en Acción is a promotora-led health and exercise intervention for Latina women implemented in collaboration with 32 churches throughout San Diego County. The current study is testing the effectiveness, implementation, and sustainment of enhanced versions of the intervention in comparison with a standard version. Conmigo is a mother-daughter intervention that promotes physical activity among mothers and their pre-adolescent daughters. The study is testing the effectiveness of a 10-week intervention in schools in partnership with YMCA’s. This is a hybrid position with 80% of weekly activities in-person at our offices in Kearney Mesa and additional in-personexpectations to support special events.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent
Previous experience in an office or administrative environment
Candidate must reside in California and live within a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.
Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results (including a criminal record check).

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in an administrative role
Prior experience at an academic research institution
Bilingual Spanish & English (written and spoken) preferred

Responsibilities

Schedule and set up meetings and conferences
Solicit attendees for availability
Reserve conference or meeting rooms at IBACH or off site
Send meeting confirmations (date, time, location) to attendees
Send meeting reminders to attendees—7 days and 2 days before
Attend team and investigator meetings as requested to record minutes; compile, transcribe, and distribute minutes of meetings
Make travel arrangements for faculty and staff
Reserve hotel, flight, and other transportation (e.g. to/from airport)
Arrange payment for travel, lodging, and conference registration/fees
Reconcile expenditures (advance closeout or reimbursement) following travel
Assist in institute wide special events
Prepare and maintain checklists and protocols to ensure smooth implementation of events
Coordinate room reservation, catering ordering, communication with speakers and vendors, travel arrangements for outside guests, etc.
Maintain good rapport with diverse teams and partners (investigators, staff/faculty, community stakeholders, Advisory Board, etc.) during communication and coordination of meetings
Coordinate intake and reporting requirements for personnel and volunteers (complete onboarding paperwork and get relevant signatures, ensure eRA Commons IDs are set up,
Provide incoming staff and interns with an orientation to the project including the location of equipment (printers, fax, copier, etc.), suite layout, faculty and staff introductions, general office policies/procedures, and project-specific workflows and expectations.
Coordinate and maintain records for staff/students, office space, telephones, and office keys
Update email/phone directories and provide updated directories to faculty, staff, interns
Maintain database with records of volunteers and personnel
Arrange for the repair and maintenance of office and computer equipment (e.g. facilities requests, IT requests)
Arrange for new phone numbers, keys/access cards, etc. for new personnel
Assist students in
Connect staff and students with appropriate parties as needed for IT support, payroll questions
The administrative assistant is often the first face that students interact with when working on our projects and helps to provide a welcoming environment for new team members to feel comfortable asking questions
Maintain inventory of equipment and supplies (office supplies, participant incentives, project materials) and make purchases as needed
Research prices and purchase office furniture and supplies
Create and modify documents and forms (e.g. journal vouchers, reimbursements, reports, memos, letters) using software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and/or Adobe
Complete paperwork
Draft justifications for expenditures
Obtain necessary signatures and approvals
Perform general clerical duties to include but not limited to copying, faxing, mailing, and filing
File and retried organizational documents, records, and reports
Assist with all aspects of general office support coordination
Maintain calendar to coordinate work flow and meetings
Interact with faculty, staff, students, vendors, and visitors
Sign for and distribute delivered packages
Answer telephones and transfer to appropriate staff member
Receive visitors and screen to control interruptions
Support staff in assigned project-based work
Correspondence with staff and community partners, including reserving rooms on site
Translation of documents and/or content for dissemination to Spanish speaking community
Maintain group email account and respond to or forward inquiries as relevant