Academic Program Specialist

Jobtailor; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 37,119 - 45,368; Full time

Job summary

The University of Wisconsin in Madison is looking for an Academic Program Specialist for the Department of Medical Sciences. This role offers high-level administrative support and serves as a key liaison among faculty, students, and administrative leaders. The candidate should have organizational, technical, and multitasking skills, with responsibilities including program coordination and recruitment management. A Bachelor's degree is preferred, along with 1–2 years of relevant experience. The compensation starts at $41,244, negotiable based on experience.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years of experience in an administrative or operational support role.
• Strong organizational, technical, and leadership skills.
• Experience in a customer service-oriented role.

Responsibilities

• Supervise day-to-day activities of academic programs.
• Coordinates program components and evaluates program effectiveness.
• Manages faculty and staff recruitment.

Skills

Organizational skills

Technical skills

Leadership skills

Interpersonal skills

Customer service orientation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Project tracking tools

Job description

Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Academic Program Specialist

Job Summary:

The Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine is seeking a dynamic professional to serve as a central administrative and operational partner for the department. This role provides high-level administrative, programmatic, and business support while acting as a key liaison among the Department Chair, Administrator, faculty, staff, education and research leaders, students, and affiliated programs. The position requires synthesizing complex information from a variety of sources to help identify, advise on, and resolve issues. The successful candidate will engage daily with School of Veterinary Medicine staff, departmental faculty, and other stakeholders while managing multiple complex projects. As part of a fast‑paced clinical department that supports a wide range of educational and outreach programs, this role is ideal for someone with strong organizational, technical, and multitasking skills who thrives in a dynamic environment where priorities evolve regularly. This position operates with a high degree of independence and requires sound judgment, initiative, and adaptability.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• The role may supervise the day‑to‑day activities of one or more academic programs, resolve issues exercising discretion to meet unit goals. (20%)
• Coordinates program components, evaluates program effectiveness, and provides recommendations for improvement. (20%)
• Identifies program needs, contributes to developing unit workflows, schedules logistics, and secures resources for meetings, events, and interviews. (20%)
• Provides administrative support to faculty; handles travel arrangements, expense submissions, maintains academic files, manages trainings, updates CVs, bios, and biosketches, ensures credentialing is current, manages and tracks department finances, reconciles credit card, ensures university policies are followed, provides supervision of student hourlies, serves as point person for special visitors, visiting faculty, and other invited guests, ensuring arrangements and logistical expectations are met. (5%)
• Manages faculty and staff recruitment; coordinates recruitment efforts, requests reference letters, coordinates interview itineraries and travel plans, and onboarding. (5%)
• Manages Department Promotion Packets and Faculty Annual Activity Summary (FAAS) preparation; facilitates promotion documents, oversees course evaluations, compiles teaching evaluations for FAAS. (5%)
• Administers the Ambulatory Program and Early Clinical Education (ECE) Program; coordinates practice participation, liaises with clinic leaders, revises MOUs and student assignments annually, secures student housing, maintains courses in Canvas, summarizes ambulatory statistics, tracks student assignments and grading, serves as resource and point of contact, and conducts site visits. (5%)
• Utilizes independent judgement regarding development, implementation, promotion, and evaluation for one or more academic programs, initiatives, or events. (20%)

Department:

Department of Medical Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine

Compensation:

Minimum $41,244, negotiable based on experience and qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• At least 1–2 years of experience in an administrative or operational support role; experience in an academic and/or medical setting preferred.
• Demonstrated strong organizational, technical, and leadership skills.
• Ability to actively listen, ask thoughtful questions, and analyze stakeholder input to identify both stated and underlying needs, and recommend appropriate solutions and resources.
• Experience in a customer service‑oriented role, with a proven ability to address concerns and resolve issues effectively.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and maintain positive working relationships with diverse groups, including students, faculty, staff, administrators, and the public.
• Working knowledge of project coordination and management principles, including experience using project tracking tools or systems.
• Familiarity with operational, personnel, financial, and procurement policies and processes.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in program development and space or facilities management.
• Ability to develop detailed plans and reports, evaluate existing processes, and improve operations through organizational design, policy development, and implementation of new procedures.

The ideal candidate is a self‑starter who demonstrates initiative and the ability to work effectively with minimal supervision.

Education:

Bachelor's degree is preferred.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW‑Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin‑Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin‑Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy‑related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre‑employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on‑campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW‑Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.