Department Manager

Department Academic Administration Sr

Lead the operations that keep Plant & Soil Sciences moving forward. The University of Kentucky is seeking a Department Academic Administration Sr to join the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Department of Plant & Soil Sciences. This position manages daily administrative operations and provides high-level support to departmental leadership across teaching, research, extension, and academic programming.

What You'll Do

• Manage daily departmental workflow and administrative operations, streamline processes, and provide high-level support to the Department Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of Undergraduate Studies.
• Coordinate approval and administrative processes involving Concur expenditures and travel, purchases, Personal Vehicle Authorizations, e-IAFs, time requests, departmental reporting, mail, supplies, the department website, and listservs.
• Maintain departmental data and support reporting using Tableau, Excel, SAP, myUK, the Effort Planning System, eBARS, and related University systems.
• Facilitate workflow with College and University partners, including the Dean's Office, Business Center, Communications, Facilities Management, Philanthropy, International Center, and other centralized units.
• Coordinate faculty processes, including assembling tenure and promotion materials, supporting faculty appointments, completing and monitoring distribution of effort calculations, and managing required adjustments.
• Oversee Teaching Assistant scheduling and compliance, including orientations, evaluations, course coverage, Graduate School requirements, and resolution of system warnings.
• Coordinate the department's annual capital inventory process across campus and off-site research and extension locations throughout Kentucky, while providing ongoing oversight of equipment inventory information.
• Serve as the primary departmental contact for international visa processes for visiting students, scholars, and faculty, coordinating documentation and offer letters with faculty and University partners.
• Manage Plant Science Building operational needs, including maintenance, room usage, keys, event space, facilities billing assessments, and protocols and documentation related to workplace incidents and property claims.
• Collaborate with College philanthropy, advancement, and alumni relations staff and the Department Chair to support donor and alumni engagement aligned with departmental priorities.
• Oversee departmental events, space reservations, the annual faculty retreat, alumni activities, graduate seminar support, special projects, and related communications.
• Supervise administrative support personnel through work assignments, coaching, performance feedback, annual evaluations, regular staff meetings, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Interpret and apply University policies and departmental procedures while promoting strong customer service, effective communication, and consistent, accurate work.

What You'll Bring

• Strong organizational, time management, and attention-to-detail skills, with an emphasis on accuracy and timely completion of work.
• Excellent written, oral, interpersonal, and customer service communication skills.
• Leadership, decision-making, coaching, performance management, and team-building abilities.
• Ability to coordinate complex administrative workflows and collaborate effectively with faculty, staff, students, College and University partners, visitors, alumni, and donors.
• Experience working with administrative and reporting systems; knowledge of University reporting systems, SAP, and the UK portal is essential for the role.
• Ability to interpret procedures and policies, manage competing priorities, identify opportunities for improvement, and maintain consistent standards of service and quality.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• 3 years of related experience

What's In It for You

• Hybrid work eligibility with approval.
• Opportunities for professional development through training, classes, seminars, the College's formal mentoring program, and staff professional development fund.
• The opportunity to support a department whose work spans teaching, research, extension, crop science, environmental science, plant molecular biology, and soil science.
• UK's exceptional benefits.

Why Now?

Plant & Soil Sciences supports complex teaching, research, extension, academic, facilities, and administrative activities across campus and locations throughout Kentucky. Effective coordination of these functions is critical to keeping departmental operations responsive, accurate, compliant, and well organized. The Department Academic Administration Sr brings these interconnected responsibilities together, helping departmental leadership and administrative staff manage faculty processes, academic support, reporting, facilities, events, inventory, and University requirements while maintaining a high level of service to the department's many constituents.