Administrative Assistant Senior

Administrative Professional

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) Administrative Core, supporting the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Population Studies Center (PSC), and Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD), is seeking a highly organized, customer-focused administrative professional to provide comprehensive administrative support.

This position supports a wide variety of center operations, including seminars, conferences, meetings, training programs, procurement, travel, financial transactions, and general office administration. The successful candidate will thrive in a collaborative environment, manage multiple priorities, and deliver exceptional customer service to faculty, staff, students, postdoctoral fellows, and visitors.

This position is part of the Administrative Core and will also provide dedicated support to the Research Center for Group Dynamics and the PSC Training Program.

Responsibilities*

Administrative & Office Operations

• Serve as the primary reception and administrative contact for assigned centers by answering phones, greeting visitors, maintaining office supplies, and coordinating center communications.
• Manage center email distribution lists, mailing lists, and other communication tools.
• Provide general administrative support to faculty, staff, students, trainees, and visitors.

Procurement & Financial Administration

• Coordinate procurement activities for faculty, staff, students, and research teams while ensuring compliance with University policies, sponsor requirements, and procurement best practices as required within a sponsored research environment.
• Initiate and prepare purchasing documentation and requests, obtain competitive bids when required, coordinate use of strategic suppliers, and complete sole source justifications as appropriate.
• Process travel and business expense reimbursements and maintain accurate financial records and tracking.

Meetings, Events & Travel

• Plan and coordinate seminars, conferences, workshops, retreats, committee meetings, training activities, and other center events.
• Arrange travel for faculty, staff, students, trainees, and visitors, including itineraries and complex meeting schedules.
• Coordinate meeting logistics, agendas, registrations, catering, and event communications.

Additional Senior-Level Responsibilities

Senior-level staff may also:

• Process facilities requests, building access, key requests, office moves, and space-related activities.
• Support financial reconciliation, project/grant administration, fund corrections, and financial data tracking.
• Provide backup support for temporary employee timekeeping and payroll processes.
• Assist with administrative support for research projects, faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows as workload permits.

Additional duties may include mail distribution, shipping and receiving, hosting visitors, and other administrative support as assigned.

Required Qualifications*

Intermediate Administrative Assistant

• High school diploma or equivalent and 2+ years of administrative support experience.
• Experience scheduling meetings, coordinating events, arranging travel, or supporting office operations.
• Experience with purchasing, expense reimbursements, or other administrative processes.
• Strong customer service, communication, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Google Workspace (Calendar, Docs, Forms).
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines with attention to detail.

Senior Administrative Assistant

• High school diploma or equivalent and 4+ years of progressively responsible administrative experience.
• Experience independently coordinating meetings, events, travel, purchasing, and expense reimbursements.
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and customer service skills.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and provide excellent support to faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
• Experience maintaining accurate records, tracking expenses, and following established policies and procedures with particular expertise in a sponsored research environment and its heightened focus on regulatory requirements.

Desired Qualifications*

Intermediate

• Experience in a university sponsored research-intentive office environment, with familiarity to research compliance and regulatory requirements
• Familiarity with travel and expense reimbursement processes.
• Experience supporting faculty, students, and/or sponsored project teams.

Senior

• Experience in higher education, research administration, or a sponsored research environment.
• Familiarity with University procurement, travel, and financial systems.
• Experience with budget tracking, account reconciliation, or financial reporting.
• Experience supporting facilities, office operations, or timekeeping processes.

Why Work at Michigan?

In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, the University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well, protect yourself and any eligible family members, and plan for a secure future. Benefits include:

• Generous time off
• A retirement plan that provides two-for-one matching contributions with immediate vesting upon meeting eligibility requirements
• Many choices for comprehensive health insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses

Learn more about U-M benefits.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Work Locations

This position is on-site at the University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, in Ann Arbor. We offer flexibility for hybrid work within our overall Center guidelines which will require occasional adjustments based on center-held activities and events or strategic needs.

Underfill Statement

This position may be filled at either the Senior or Intermediate level based on the selected candidate's experience and qualifications.

• The Senior level will be filled at the $55,000- $65,000 salary range.
• The Intermediate level will be filled at the $47,000-$55,000 salary range.

Additional Information

The statements included in this description are intended to reflect the general nature and level of work assigned to this classification and should not be interpreted as all-inclusive.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan seeks to create a community of respect and authentic collaboration by recruiting and retaining individuals that represent a variety of voices as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of Michigan, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to ground our research in varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third-party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

Institute for Social Research Job openings are posted for a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.