Job Title: Academic Department Coordinator – Political Science
Classification: C3
Department: Political Science
Updated: October 2022

Job Summary

The Department of Political Science seeks an Academic Department Coordinator to join our collegial staff and to contribute to our positive office environment and departmental mission with a start date in early January 2023. The Academic Department Coordinator is responsible for the coordination and quality of the administrative work for the department. This position requires discretion, a commitment to diversity and inclusion, as well as a student-centered and customer-service focus. The successful candidate will work closely with the Unit Head to manage departmental operations. Principal duties include assistance with course scheduling, faculty requests and inquiries, student requests and inquiries, budget management, event planning, general office management, supervision of student workers, and promotion of department curricular programs. We are looking for individuals that can provide an inclusive, accessible and welcoming environment that encourages people to thrive. Candidates should have strong communication and interpersonal skills, such as the ability to interact with others with respect, empathy, and cultural humility. The successful office coordinator should have the ability to perform the essential functions listed; the ability to perform non-essential functions are desired but not required.

Essential Functions

Unit Head and Faculty Support:

• Assist with scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and preparing spreadsheets, graphics, brochures and other materials as requested. Compiles and logically formats statistical data and reports.
• Provide support to 1^st and 2nd-year tenure track faculty, affiliate faculty, visitors and adjuncts including office space, keys, nameplates and computer access. 
• Assist with information regarding syllabi, textbooks, access to the Copy Center, and door schedules. Assist with questions on Banner, Digital Measures, and University policies.
• Manage/maintain Unit Head schedule.

Student Support:

• Provide excellent administrative service to visitors and callers by providing answers to questions, solutions to problems, or directions to resources and university policies ensuring the person connects with the resources or office.
• Provide support with bulk mailings, answer phones, and maintain filing and recordkeeping systems. Receive information in various forms and determine the appropriate method of processing.
• Serve as student employee supervisor. Responsible for hiring student employees, coordinating hiring paperwork, developing work schedules, approval of student employee payroll and maintaining student employee records. Monitor funds allocated to student wages and adjust accordingly.

Process Support:

• Coordinate with the unit head to develop and enter information for the academic schedule using course scheduling software, maintain department and faculty preferences, track and submit course changes authorized by the unit head, generate reports, and assist in resolving conflicts.
• Monitor the department budgets and provide timely reports to the unit head. Responsible for reconciling budgets, maintaining accurate records, tracking expenses and assisting with fiscal year end activities. This may include managing department purchasing card(s), assisting with and submitting reimbursements through Concur, tracking CSCE and FTLC funding and reimbursements, initiating budget transfers, processing invoices and entering requisitions, and ensuring all transactions are completed and documented.
• Perform and coordinate scheduling tasks and support services associated with preparing and making arrangements for major meetings, events, conferences, exhibits, travel, or other related duties for both internal and external contacts.
• Provide administrative support for personnel processes by organizing salary review data at the department level, faculty evaluations, and any additional departmental reporting in consultation and collaboration with the unit head.
• Coordinate/monitor grade processing. This includes mid-term grades, final grades, incomplete grades and grade changes.
• Process major declarations and assign faculty advisors.
• Disseminate information that may require explanation and interpretation of established university and College policies and procedures, and directs individuals to sources of additional information.
• Maintain syllabi records for the department.
• Maintain and order supplies for the department.
• At times, act as a liaison between the unit head, Dean’s Office, faculty, staff, students and outside organizations.
• Collaborate across and provide backup support to other CLAS units as needed.
• Other related duties or special projects as assigned including: 
  • access, use, organize, and store data related to functioning of department.
  • maintain department files, including confidential files, department statistics, and equipment and computer inventory.
  • maintain the [email protected] email account and answer questions as appropriate or forward to appropriate faculty member.
  • provide clerical support for selected committees, as needed.
  • assist with technology orders.

Non-Essential Functions:

• Textbook orders for faculty.
• Monitor make-up exams.
• Perform routine web-site maintenance.

Required Qualifications

• High school graduate or equivalent.
• Minimum of three years of relevant work experience. 
• Experience with various computer software applications such as Microsoft Office and/or equivalent. 
• Demonstrated experience to successfully operate office equipment. 
• Data entry experience.
• Typing and spelling competency with grammar and proofreading skills.
• Possess strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience to successfully provide quality customer service.
• Demonstrated experience to successfully work independently, organize own work and coordinate work activities of others. 
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience to successfully maintain satisfactory work performance and attendance records.
• Ability to successfully maintain positive intercultural and interpersonal relationships.

Preferred Qualifications

• Some college coursework.
• Supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated ability to access, use, organize, and store data.

Supervision Received

Receives general instruction from a designated supervisor but is generally expected to work independently.

Supervision Exercised

Hire, train, schedule and coordinate the work of student employees and may act as lead worker to PSS staff members within the department/unit/division.

Physical Demands

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. Must have the physical stamina to work long hours and/or more than 5 days per week. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.

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