Administrative Operations Specialist II

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Special Instructions to Applicant s: All interested applicants should attach a cover letter and a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application. We suggest the documents be in a PDF format to avoid formatting issues.

Position Summary

The Administrative Operations Specialist II provides overall administrative support for the Office of Information Technology (OIT) staff, which includes senior executives at Rice University located primarily in the Mudd Computer Science Building. The Administrative Assistant may support senior executives located in the Cambridge Office Building on campus from time to time.

The Administrative Operations Specialist II represents OIT and provides all administrative and business support functions for OIT senior leadership including facilities management, organizing and supporting the routine functions of the office, and ensuring high-level day-to-day operations. The Administrative Operations Specialist II also plays a central role in internal and external office communications.

Typical duties include calendar management, collecting data and producing periodic reports, data entry, coordinating events, arranging travel and business meetings, managing expense reports, and preparing/distributing communication as well as other office support tasks as needed. In addition, this position will be the point of contact for visitors and vendors to OIT in the Mudd Building on campus. This includes responding to general inquiries via phone calls and e-mails.

The ideal candidate for this position is highly organized and also capable of handling interruptions by those seeking assistance.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position and the salary depending on experience is $56,000 to $62,000 This is an on-campus position. A flexible work schedule will be available post-probationary period (6 months).

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
  • In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted
• 2 years of customer service support, administrative/executive support, or office manager experience
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted
• Skills Required
  • Ability to establish and manage priorities and handle numerous time-sensitive projects with conflicting and varied deadlines
  • Ability to accomplish goals working through formal and informal channels, with diplomacy and tact
  • Advanced computer skills and demonstrated experience with office software and email applications
  • Advanced verbal and written communication skills
  • Advanced customer service and interpersonal skills

Essential Functions

• Acts on behalf of the unit, functional area, or department head to establish priorities and identify and resolve administrative problems
• Researches and/or writes background information for meetings and extracts pertinent information for briefing purposes
• Assists in the preparation of documents for presentations, handouts, grants, conferences, seminars, and reports
• Creates complex reports/spreadsheets and utilizes those reports to make recommendations
• Oversees and processes a variety of complex financial transactions; produces, monitors, and reconciles budget statements; researches, identifies, and resolves discrepancies
• Assists with capital or special equipment requests and/or vendor selection
• Plans and coordinates routine remodeling, renovations, and office moves
• Performs human resources transactional support and/or faculty affairs support
• Performs other duties as assigned

Additional Functions

• Assists in the coordination of multiple administrative and business functions, such as facilities management and departmental communications
• Serves as the point of contact for general maintenance, health and safety, and other facility concerns within the unit(s); reports any incidents or potential safety and maintenance problems to appropriate representatives/departments
• Plans and schedules calendar(s), resolves calendar conflicts
• Monitors office supplies and notifies OIT's Inventory and Purchasing Specialist
• Assists in tracking facility, IT hardware, and office equipment, such as Mudd facility keys, loaner equipment, etc. via logs, and schedules repairs or replacements
• Work with OIT Purchasing Specialist and Rice Procurement as needed to obtain vendor quotes
• Coordinates meetings, conferences, seminars, and events, including recommending vendors for services, securing on-campus space, assembling and distributing materials, ordering meals, and serving as liaison with internal and external vendors
• Provides information and guidance to OIT temporary staff, interns, and student employees on routine matters
• Maintains OIT Senior Management and building residents apprised of all matters requiring their attention
• Serves as Expense Report delegate for OIT Senior Management and compiles expense reports for Senior Management's review
• Assists in maintaining hardware, software, and vendor contracts inventory and reporting system, as directed
• Assists in user acceptance testing and participates in pilot projects for new or updated technologies
• Guides and trains student workers including scheduling, assigning, and prioritizing workloads, setting appropriate deadlines, and reviewing work for quality and timeliness

Preferences

• 5 years of related administrative experience supporting a mid-level manager or above
• Current or former Rice University employee is preferred
• Higher education experience is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate positive working relationships and gain the trust and respect of all levels of internal and external constituencies
• Contextual understanding of the departmental and individual roles within the university framework
• Experience in project management concepts
• Experience writing, editing, and/or proofreading correspondence, reports, or presentations
• Experience in an event planning position, including conceptualization, advertising, and promoting and execution of those events
• Experience making complex travel and conference arrangements and executing those arrangements from start to finish
• Experience with Productivity applications, i.e. Google Suite, Microsoft 365/Office, Box, SharePoint, Outlook, etc.
• Experience with Collaboration Tools, i.e. Zoom, MS Teams, Slack, etc.
• Experience with other applications, i.e. Adobe Sign, Oracle Systems

Workplace Requirements

• Must be able to travel across campus to handle university business as needed
• Must be able to sit at a desk for eight hours
• Must be able to lift 10 to 20 pounds

Rice University HR | Benefits:

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to diversity at all levels and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

Faculty and staff are expected (but not required) to have completed a full vaccination series for COVID-19 (currently defined as a full course COVID-19 Vaccine (typically two shots of a WHO-approved COVID-19 Vaccine or one J&J) and a COVID-19 booster. Rice does not require documentation for COVID-19 vaccination at this time for faculty and staff. More information can be found here: .

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Rice University is ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.