ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - SR. SECRETARY - Chemical Engineering Dept

Southwest Research Institute; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX seeks an experienced administrative specialist to support seven Section Managers and staff with scheduling, travel, expense reports, and document preparation.

You will manage meetings, coordinate visitors, maintain files, review procedures, and proactively identify bottlenecks, proposing improvements while ensuring accuracy and compliance with ITAR requirements.

Qualifications

• Requires a high school diploma or equivalent.
• 10-15 years: Secretarial/administrative experience in technical or related field including personal and large group support.
• 10-15 years: Experience editing and formatting complex documents with figures, data tables, equations, and references; proficient in Word/Excel/PowerPoint.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for working with professional and technical staff and clients.
• Must prioritize tasks and manage multiple assignments with strong organizational skills.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.
• Must be a U.S. person due to ITAR work in section.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support for seven Section Managers and staff, including meeting scheduling and calendar management.
• Coordinate travel arrangements and prepare/submit expense reports.
• Prepare and edit technical documents and review for accuracy and consistency.
• Organize meetings and events; maintain databases and administrative files.
• Coordinate/track action items and deadlines; support other staff in a team environment.

Skills

Meeting scheduling

Calendar management

Travel coordination

Expense reporting

Document editing

Outlook

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Outlook

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Who We Are:

Using practical and dynamic approaches to advance fuels technology, we work with clients on every step of process development - from lab-scale to commercial design. With diverse backgrounds in biofuels, gas-to-fuels, petroleum processing, and electrochemical processes, our engineers and scientists strive to improve the use of fossil fuels through supporting petroleum and chemical process development for improving costs, efficiency, environmental impacts, and technology advancement. By joining our team, you will receive an additional $500 in your first paycheck, minus taxes.

Objectives of this Role:

Provide administrative support for (7) Section Managers and several professional and technical staff, including meeting scheduling, calendar management and coordination, travel arrangement and expense reports, and technical document preparation and administrative review. Support staff and clients through coordination of meetings and visitors, maintaining databases and administrative files, and coordinating/tracking various action items and deadlines. Assist other administrative staff as required in team working environment with limited supervision and a large amount of autonomy. Maintain awareness and understanding of Division, Department, and Section operating policies, procedures, and processes as a resource to section staff. Proactively identify bottlenecks/issues with the same and propose/develop improvements.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

Communicate responsively and professionally with a large number of multidisciplinary staff and clients utilizing excellent interpersonal skills. Use creativity and flexibility to respond to varying conditions, special circumstances, and challenging deadlines to get the job done. Perform document preparation and administrative review and editing of technical documents including memos, business letters, proposals, reports, conference/journal papers, presentations, etc. Prepare purchase requisitions, expense reports, travel authorizations, and project/proposal-related forms accurately and route for approvals. Organize small and large events and meetings, including meeting agenda/program preparation.

Requirements:

• Requires a high school diploma or equivalent.
• 10-15 years: Secretarial/administrative experience in technical or related field including personal and large group support. Experience in office management and coordinating other administrative staff efforts preferred.
• 10-15 years: Must have experience editing and formatting complex documents, including grammar/spelling, utilizing format/style templates, and incorporating figures, data tables, equations, and references. Must be proficient in Outlook, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• 10-15 years: Excellent verbal and written communication skills to communicate responsively and effectively with many professional and technical staff and clients, including professional interpersonal communication skills for meeting support.
• 10-15 years: Must be able to prioritize tasks and progress of multiple assignments utilizing strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.

Special Requirements:

Must be a U.S. person (i.e., U.S. citizen, non-U.S. citizen national, lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee) due to ITAR work in section.

Job Locations:

San Antonio, Texas

An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status.