Department Manager

The University of Texas at Austin • Austin, UT

11d • Onsite

About The Position

The Department Manager oversees the administrative, financial, and human resources operations of the Department of Linguistics and the Linguistics Research Center, including budgeting, purchasing, travel, personnel matters, grant support, and supervision of office staff. The position is the chair’s primary administrative partner, supporting faculty reviews, recruitment, graduate student appointments, and departmental events while ensuring compliance with university, college, and state policies.

The role manages departmental accounting, budgets, purchasing and travel processes; supervises office staff; oversees records, facilities, inventory, and electronic access; and serves as the department’s human resources representative. It supports grant proposal preparation and grant-account administration, faculty reviews and recruitment, graduate student appointments and payments, and departmental events. The manager also advises department members on policies and procedures and provides administrative support to the chair and department.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and at least five years of experience performing advanced administrative functions; relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
• Supervisory experience and ability to foster and maintain a positive, collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage office or departmental finances, including creating and maintaining budgets and providing fiscal oversight.
• Experience with Workday.
• High attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and take initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, oral, and written communication skills.
• Professional demeanor and demonstrated ability to handle sensitive and confidential information.
• High proficiency with Microsoft Office programs, including Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in higher education or a related field.
• Experience beyond the required qualifications.
• Experience with UT systems, including DEFINE, FRMS, and UT-RMS.
• Familiarity with UT policies and procedures.
• Experience with Smartsheets, DocuSign, Adobe, Microsoft Office suite, Interfolio, Tableau, and other related external systems.
• Project management experience, including planning, creating, and monitoring budgets.

Responsibilities

• Manage accounting and financial services for the Department of Linguistics and the Linguistics Research Center, including reconciling accounts, tracking expenditures, processing transfers, submitting funding requests, maintaining budget documents, and monitoring commitments against available funds.
• Manage the department office, supervise and assign tasks to classified support staff, and arrange training for new and existing staff.
• Coordinate electronic office resources, system access, and document routing; maintain departmental records in accordance with retention policies.
• Manage facilities space allocation and oversee departmental inventory, including equipment tracking, asset tagging, annual reviews, surplus disposition, and inventory reports.
• Serve as the ITS contact for approval of services and payments made by LAITS/ITS, and manage electronic door access to department entrances and labs.
• Coordinate expenditures and authorizations with department staff and the College of Liberal Arts Central Business Services.
• Process travel authorizations, faculty travel grants, cash advances, and travel reimbursements; process consultant and professional service payments and contracts for non-employee and vendor payments.
• Ensure the administrative assistant processes entertainment payments and reimbursements and purchasing requests; advise faculty, staff, and students on travel, purchasing, and reimbursement procedures and coordinate communication with Central Business Services.
• Serve as the department’s human resources representative; provide HR information and referrals, coordinate visa requests with the international office, process Workday assignments, and handle timesheets and payroll documents for hourly employees.
• Maintain employee personnel files, prepare classified staff performance evaluations, and maintain records of faculty and staff salary and merit recommendations.
• Support grant-funded projects, assist with grant proposals, provide grant account support and guidance on relevant procedures, and assist faculty with effort reporting and project certification.
• Support faculty reviews and recruitment, including promotion dossiers and other reviews, candidate files, recruitment travel and scheduling, reimbursement requests, PARs for new faculty hires, and faculty files used for evaluations and reports.
• Provide documentation, policy information, and administrative support to the chair for meetings, reports, and decision-making.
• Support graduate students by processing tuition reimbursements, fellowship and grant-awarded stipend payments, and teaching assistant and assistant instructor assignments.
• Direct and oversee staff and graduate student support for departmental events, including assigning responsibilities, monitoring performance, and ensuring logistics, support functions, and cleanup are completed.
• Attend department manager and other college-level staff meetings; provide administrative support and guidance to the chair; research and disseminate policy and procedure information; and perform other assigned duties.

Benefits

• The university offers a benefits package; details are provided through the university’s benefits and total rewards websites.
• College staff professional development resources and a staff leadership academy are referenced.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager