Office Support Specialist – Office of the Dean of Students

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign•Urbana, IL

13h•Onsite

About The Position

The Office Support Specialist provides administrative, reception, scheduling, records, financial, and operational support across the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS). The position serves as the receptionist and primary administrative support contact for Ombuds Assistance and Resources for Students (OARS), handling routine scheduling and logistical communications in accordance with established confidentiality and privacy protocols. The specialist directs visitors to appropriate ODOS units or university offices, coordinates reception at the main entrance of Turner Student Services Building, and supervises the student employees who staff the front desk. The position supports OARS appointments, communications, records, outreach, and routine administrative and financial processes. It also provides clerical and administrative assistance across ODOS, supports building operations and service coordination, and helps maintain a welcoming, accessible, and professional reception environment. Work is performed primarily in a busy, public-facing office, with frequent interaction with students, visitors, and university employees and movement between the OARS work area and the building front desk.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
A total of two years (24 months) from qualifying college coursework, office/clerical work experience using computer systems, or a combination of these categories. Coursework equivalencies include 30 semester hours for one year, an associate degree for 18 months, 90 semester hours for two years, and a bachelor’s degree for three years.
One year (12 months) of work experience comparable to the second level of this series.
Excellent customer service, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Ability to communicate with empathy, neutrality, patience, and professionalism while maintaining appropriate role boundaries.
Ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion, particularly when handling sensitive or confidential information.
Ability to organize competing priorities, track details, meet deadlines, and follow through reliably with limited supervision.
Ability to supervise and support student employees, communicate expectations clearly, and provide constructive coaching.
Ability to learn and accurately explain office services, building resources, and university processes without providing advice beyond the position’s assigned role.
Ability to work effectively with people from varied backgrounds and experiences and contribute to an inclusive, respectful environment.
Proficiency with standard office technology and ability to learn university administrative systems.
Ability to remain composed during high-volume periods or difficult interactions and recognize when immediate referral or escalation is appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Experience providing administrative, reception, or student-facing support in a college, university, public service, human services, or similarly complex environment.
Experience supervising, training, scheduling, or coordinating student or part-time employees.
Experience responding calmly and professionally to distressed or frustrated individuals and promptly referring them to appropriate staff.
Experience coordinating appointments, maintaining administrative records, and working with shared email and telephone workflows where discretion and careful handling of sensitive information are required.
Experience performing routine website updates using content-management tools and preparing social media content about office services, resources, or events under established guidance and approval processes.
Experience with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, Zoom, and electronic records or scheduling systems.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary receptionist and administrative support contact for OARS, responding to routine logistical inquiries in person, by telephone, and through a shared email account.
Welcome people seeking OARS assistance, collect limited contact and scheduling information, and promptly refer substantive concerns to the student ombudsperson.
Manage the OARS appointment calendar, including scheduling, confirming, and adjusting appointments; communicating logistical information; and supporting follow-up as directed.
Prepare and proofread routine correspondence, resource materials, and meeting or outreach materials for accuracy, clarity, grammar, and formatting.
Maintain OARS administrative and scheduling records in accordance with university requirements and protocols for privacy, records retention, and information security.
Make purchases using a p-card, t-card, Banner requisitions, iBuy, or other preferred vendor websites; submit purchase contracts as necessary; and reconcile card transactions and employee reimbursements in Emburse.
Monitor the OARS shared email account and telephone line for administrative and scheduling matters, identify messages requiring prompt attention, and refer substantive, urgent, or sensitive concerns to the student ombudsperson.
Provide logistical support for OARS outreach, presentations, and resource distribution, including room arrangements, registration, materials, and participant communications.
Coordinate reception coverage for the Turner Student Services Building main entrance and front desk, maintaining a welcoming, accessible, and professional entry point.
Greet visitors, identify the office or service they need, provide building and campus information, and connect them with the appropriate unit, staff member, or campus resource.
Coordinate hiring and selection of front desk student employees with the Administrative Assistant; train, supervise, schedule, assign work, establish procedures and expectations, review work, and provide coaching and feedback.
Monitor front desk coverage, arrange substitutions when feasible, maintain daily work instructions, communicate operational updates, and cover the front desk when student employees are unavailable.
Review and approve student employee time records for completeness and accuracy.
Guide student employees in answering routine questions, connecting visitors with resources, protecting confidential information, managing difficult interactions, and referring concerns to professional staff.
Under the direction of the Administrative Assistant, provide clerical and administrative support across ODOS, including meeting coordination, agendas, minutes, document preparation, filing, copying, scanning, and mail distribution.
Respond to general inquiries on the ODOS main telephone line and route callers to the appropriate unit, staff member, or university office.
Assist ODOS units with purchasing, expense documentation, supply ordering, event arrangements, and audit-ready administrative and financial records in accordance with university procedures.
Process routine departmental financial transactions; create and maintain Excel expense records; verify supporting documentation; reconcile recorded transactions with periodic financial statements; and report discrepancies for correction.
Maintain shared office and front desk supplies, resource displays, forms, equipment inventories, and work areas.
Compile routine activity information and prepare basic spreadsheets, summaries, and reports for OARS and other ODOS units as requested.
Perform routine updates to ODOS office websites using established content-management tools.
Under designated staff direction, draft, prepare, and schedule social media content about office services, resources, and events in accordance with approval, accessibility, branding, and privacy requirements.
Serve as a point of contact for routine Turner Student Services Building concerns, including key access, signage, equipment, and maintenance and service requests, and route issues to the responsible unit.
Maintain current building directories, front desk reference materials, emergency contacts, and opening and closing procedures.
Participate in staff meetings, training, committees, and special projects as requested, and perform other related duties as assigned.