Project Specialist

University of Southern California•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

The Office of the Provost provides academic leadership to the University of Southern California. Its fundamental task is to ensure excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. Andrew Guzman, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, is USC’s second-ranking official and the chief academic officer. He oversees the University’s 23 professional schools and academic units, in addition to USC’s museums, and the divisions of Student Life, Libraries, Research, Student Religious Life, and Enrollment Services. The Office of the Provost – Shared Services of the Office of Planning and Design is seeking a Project Specialist –to provide administrative, communication, and project management support for facilities management related projects and tasks. In addition to related facilities project support, the Project Specialist –will conduct research and compile reports, draft briefing materials and correspondence for the provost and other administrators within the Office of the Provost, and communicate with collaborators inside the Office and within the wider university community. Attention to detail, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to preserve confidentiality are required.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree
Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
2 years Minimum Skills: Directly related project or administrative experience

Nice To Haves

Excellent written and oral communication and organizational skills
Proficient with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), Zoom, Adobe Acrobat, and Dropbox
Maintains confidentiality and discretion in all communications; conducts daily activities with utmost professionalism
Must be able to multitask and prioritize responsibilities
Demonstrates attention to detail with precision required in all written communications
Able to quickly find accurate information from university and outside sources
Working knowledge of Concur, Workday, SharePoint, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and other university systems is ideal
Minimum four years of experience required; with experience in writing, editing, research, and/or project support preferred
Three+ years of experience in higher education is ideal

Responsibilities

Assists in the administration and coordination of a variety of research and/or administrative projects as well as capital and non-capital facilities related projects and provides quality control.
Assists in developing and implementing project goals and strategies.
Assists with short- and long-term planning and design of project direction and objectives.
Provides assistance to management with administrative functions such as planning, organizing, coordinating, scheduling, and implementing project activities to meet objectives.
Participates in writing reports or other documentation of project status and/or administrative activities or project results.
Conducts routine maintenance inspections of facilities for deficiencies, safety hazards and/or code violations, such as field inspections of lighting, temperatures, signage, housekeeping and phone systems.
Conducts inspections of facility equipment, and coordinates required repairs and/or purchases.
Manages building access schedules and populations.
Conducts key issuance and record maintenance.
Interacts with University departments and/or outside contractors and vendors for facilities operations maintenance, construction and renovation projects.
Supervises student staff employees, regarding scheduling, assigning, and prioritizing workload.
Monitors and analyzes facilities expenses.
Assists with developing facilities cost projections, as required.
Reconciles facilities expenses to university financial records and initiates correcting entries.
Assists with coordination of facilities year end closing activity.
Provides management with information for budget reports, as assigned.
Interfaces with faculty and/or staff and external contacts necessary to complete project assignments or for information exchange.
Resolves problems or questions referred to by project staff or administrators.
Compiles and drafts briefing materials and correspondence for the provost
Researches, gathers, organizes and summarizes data for project and/or administrative reports and/or activities.
Analyzes data, presents results and makes recommendations on presentations of project and/or administrative reports.
Promotes an environment that fosters inclusive relationships and creates unbiased opportunities for contributions through ideas, words, and actions that uphold principles of the USC Code of Ethics
Assists with administrative items such as scheduling, calendars, and other administrative items for other Shared Services units as necessary.
Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The University reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.