Senior Administrative Asst

Santa Clara University•Santa Clara, CA

About The Position

The Senior Administrative Asst manages the administrative operations of the Mechanical Engineering Department and reports to the Assistant Dean, with a dotted line to the department chair. The role provides broad administrative, financial, human resources, scheduling, event, and student-worker support for the department and its faculty, students, and staff. It also provides administrative support to the dean and associate dean, and backup support to other engineering departments when needed. The position coordinates departmental communications, records, calendars, events, course schedules, financial transactions, hiring processes, and accreditation documentation. It may oversee student assistants, including hiring, training, scheduling, task delegation, mentoring, and performance support. The role is based in a typical office environment and may involve travel around campus or to events and training sessions, as well as occasional activities outside normal business hours.

Requirements

At least three years of related administrative experience in higher education, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Advanced proficiency with common office software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software; Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are preferred.
Experience with Workday platforms.
Excellent planning, organizational, and time-management skills.
Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
Creative problem-solving skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide variety of students, faculty, and staff.
Team orientation, initiative, and willingness to get things done.
Strength of character, honesty, and integrity.
Ability to exercise judgment and maintain confidentiality across a wide range of topics and issues.
Ability to multitask and meet deadlines.
Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships in a diverse multicultural environment.
Commitment to understand and support Santa Clara University’s distinctive Jesuit educational vision and willingness to model institutional values of competence and conscience.
Bachelor’s degree, or relevant work experience substituted for a formal degree.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide administrative support to the Mechanical Engineering Department and serve as a first point of contact for faculty, staff, students, and external constituents.
Respond to departmental inquiries and provide information, forms, data, and other responses as needed.
Support the dean with calendaring, meeting minutes, travel coordination, expense reports, and other assigned tasks; provide administrative support to associate dean positions not tied to academic units.
Manage delegated inboxes, coordinate front desk schedules, route calls and mail, and assist students with questions, forms, and assignment to appropriate advisors.
Support departmental meetings, events, and guest speakers, including room reservations, catering, minutes, travel, reimbursements, honoraria, and related arrangements.
Assist with scheduling and maintaining department calendars and deadlines; maintain departmental supplies, records, and website.
Coordinate department updates for the annual SCU Bulletin and respond to internal and external requests for departmental data.
Proctor exams as needed and provide backup support to other engineering departments during vacation, illness, or emergencies.
Coordinate student advising and assist faculty with purchasing, book orders, and other tasks as directed by the chair.
Coordinate annual and quarterly undergraduate and graduate course schedules with the Department Chair, submit schedules to the appropriate university offices, update schedules, notify affected students, and manage information flow among involved parties.
Track and reconcile departmental financial transactions monthly, correct identified errors, and process payments, reimbursements, purchase requisitions, deposits, and Financial Transaction Adjustment Requests in a timely manner.
Support hiring of adjunct faculty and faculty searches, including posting positions, ensuring compliance with university procedures and Workday requirements, arranging candidate interviews, and uploading and submitting required data.
Welcome new faculty and help them acclimate; ensure student employees are hired and processed according to university policies; submit completed TA/RA forms to the appropriate department.
Oversee hiring and training of departmental student assistants, coordinate their schedules, delegate tasks, mentor them, and support their professional development.
Recommend and implement service and process improvements; identify problems and propose improvements to established processes and practices.
Maintain customer contact and solicit feedback to improve services; develop resources and workflows that support timely and efficient operations.
Support departmental events and undertake special projects and other duties as assigned.
May hire, train, supervise, and evaluate departmental student assistants.