Dean's Office Senior Administrative Assistant

Santa Clara University•Santa Clara, CA

18h•Hybrid

About The Position

This position reports to the Assistant Director of Administration. The purpose of this position is to support the administrative operations of the School of Engineering Dean’s Office and coordinate event logistics. The role involves providing administrative support to the Dean's office team and backup support to other School of Engineering units. It serves as a point of contact for faculty, staff, students, and external constituencies, responding to inquiries and providing information. The position also coordinates and maintains the Dean’s Office calendar of events, manages a repository of School policies and procedures, and assists with developing standardized workflows. Additionally, it involves maintaining office and event supplies, supporting website maintenance and communications, and providing financial and human resource support. The role may also involve supervising student employees.

Requirements

Ability to establish and maintain effective, cooperative working relationships within a diverse and multicultural environment.
Identifies routine administrative, event-related, or service-related issues, recommends appropriate solutions, and supports improvements to processes and services, as appropriate.
General understanding of administrative operations; experience in academia or higher education preferred.
Basic knowledge of financial administrative processes, such as purchasing, reimbursements, and budget tracking.
General familiarity with event planning and logistical coordination.
Strong organizational and time-management skills with attention to detail and accuracy.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
Familiarity with financial, HRIS, or other enterprise administrative systems; Workday experience preferred.
Strong customer service, problem-solving, collaboration, and cross-functional coordination skills.
Ability to manage multiple responsibilities and priorities with minimal supervision.
Ability to exercise sound judgment and adapt to changing priorities.
Ability to handle confidential information appropriately.
Commitment to understand and support Santa Clara University’s distinctive Jesuit educational vision and willingness to model institutional values of competence, conscience, and compassion, in pursuit of its mission and goals.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree preferred.
2–3 years of relevant administrative, event, customer service, or related experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative support to the Dean's office team and backup administrative support to other School of Engineering units, as needed.
Serve as a point of contact for faculty, staff, students, and external constituencies.
Respond to inquiries and provide accurate and timely verbal and/or written information, data, forms, and other administrative resources, as appropriate.
Coordinate and maintain Dean’s Office calendar of events, including workshops, speakers, symposiums, conferences, and other School events.
Maintain and update a centralized repository of School of Engineering policies, procedures, and administrative resources to ensure information is current and accessible.
Maintain and assist with developing standardized workflows, job aids, and administrative resources to support efficient, accurate, and consistent processes aligned with University policies and procedures.
Maintain general inventory of office and event supplies.
Support Marketing and Communications team in School of Engineering website maintenance and communications, as needed.
Provide backup administrative support to other School of Engineering departments, as needed, including general administrative operations, student and faculty support, and other departmental functions.
Provide administrative support to the Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration, Assistant Director of Administration, and Dean’s Office Department Manager, completing administrative tasks, record keeping, and other related assignments as needed.
Provide administrative and logistical coordination for School of Engineering events and programs, including meetings, workshops, conferences, advisory boards, and partnership activities.
Coordinate event logistics from planning through execution, including room reservations, catering, audiovisual and media services, event materials, signage, supplies, and other operational needs.
Manage event timelines and responsibilities, anticipate logistical needs and deadlines, coordinate with relevant stakeholders and service providers, follow up on outstanding items, and proactively communicate needs, updates, or potential issues.
Partner with Conference Services, Operations, University Marketing and Communications (UMC), and other University departments to understand and implement policies and procedures related to School of Engineering events and activities.
Develop and communicate School-level procedures and guidelines, ensuring faculty and staff understand University requirements and supporting consistent compliance across the School.
Provide administrative support to the Assistant Dean of Marketing and Communications, and Assistant Director of Administration, as needed.
Support the Dean’s Office Department Manager with monthly budget reporting and reconciliation of Dean’s Office financial transactions, including identifying discrepancies and submitting correction requests.
Assist with routine financial transactions, including supplier invoices, purchase requisitions, reimbursements, event-related purchases, and other financial processes.
Track and monitor event budgets in coordination with event stakeholders.
Provide financial and administrative support to the Director of Finance, Assistant Dean of Finance, and Assistant Director of Administration, completing financial tasks, reconciliations, reporting, and other related assignments as needed.
Provide administrative and logistical support for faculty and staff candidate visits, guest speakers, visiting lecturers, and other visitors, including travel, room reservations, catering, media services, and other logistical needs, as appropriate.
Provide administrative support for faculty and student employee hiring and job posting, as needed.
Provide administrative onboarding support for new faculty and staff, as needed, to facilitate their transition to the School of Engineering and SCU.
May hire, train, supervise, and evaluate departmental student assistant(s).
Perform other duties and special projects as assigned to support the operational needs of the School of Engineering Dean’s Office.