Administrative Associate

Center for Public Partnerships & Research; Topeka (KS); On-site; USD 36,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Kansas seeks an Administrative Associate to support the Mechanical Engineering Department’s day-to-day activities, including front desk duties, scheduling, and clerical tasks. The role covers coordination for candidate interviews, events, and essential communications.

The position primarily operates on-site with limited remote work by mutual agreement, and requires strong written communication and office software skills. Salary starts around $40k and grows with experience.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED plus two years of office experience.
• Experience with MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
• Strong written communication skills as demonstrated in application materials.

Responsibilities

• Provide front desk reception and support for faculty, staff, and students.
• Coordinate schedules, room logistics, and event-related tasks.
• Assist the Department Chair with correspondence and records.
• Process travel requests and procurement in KU purchasing system.
• Supervise student hourly workers and approve timesheets.
• Make arrangements for the Mechanical Engineering Spring Banquet.
• Assist in sharing calendars, minutes, and notices for the department.

Skills

Strong written communication

Education

High School diploma or GED equivalency

Two years of post-secondary education

Tools

MS Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Position Overview

The Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Kansas is searching for an Administrative Associate to provide general assistance with the day-to-day needs and functioning of the Mechanical Engineering Department for faculty, staff, and students. Special projects (e.g., organizing the ME banquet and candidate interviews) and some financial transactions are also included. This position works primarily on-site, but occasional limited remote work may be considered per mutual agreement between the department chair and the selected candidate.

Job Description

50% - Mechanical Engineering Department Support

• Perform departmental front desk reception duties as well as managing student office helpers who can assist. Front desk reception duties include: answer telephone; relay messages; answer email; provide assistance and information to students; check in vendor (e.g., UPS/FEDX) deliveries/pickups and notify recipients; post, receive, sort, and disperse departmental mail; maintain appointment calendar and coordinate meeting room schedules; ensure that common office areas (main reception areas, conference room supplies storage areas, ME study lounge, and kitchen area) are organized and clean; and maintain office supplies and inventory
• Direct each semester's collection and tabulation of course evaluations and senior exit interviews as needed Keep copy machine operational and contact contractor when maintenance is needed
• Prepare and update departmental telephone/email directory and calendar of events
• Distribution of and maintain records of departmental room keys
• Schedule faculty and staff candidate interviews and guide faculty candidates through their interview schedule.

20% - Assistant to the Mechanical Engineering Department Chair

• Assist the Chair of the department with archiving letters and other documents
• Edit correspondence as requested
• Direct the sending, tracking, and archiving of donor thank you letters
• Maintain and update department display and notice boards
• Maintain and updating department GTA spaces as directed
• Maintain a social media presence and website for the Department
• Assist in the scheduling and management of Department Chair calendar and appointments
• Send out blanket emails to faculty, staff, students, and alumni as directed
• Take minutes at department faculty meetings
• Track Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board communications, meetings, as well as managing minutes for those meetings.
• Make all arrangements for the Mechanical Engineering Spring Banquet including but not limited to handling invitations and RSVPs, program, venue/food, etc.

10% - Financial Transactions Support

• Assist the faculty, staff, student groups, and students in submitting and managing travel requests.
• Place food orders for student groups, departmental meetings, and interviews.
• Assist student groups to purchase supplies for events.
• Order office, student project, and research supplies from vendors within the KU purchasing software.

10% - Supervision and Timesheet Approval for Student Hourly Employees

• Monitor, correct, and approve student hourly time sheets as a delegate.
• Provide direct leadership/supervision of one or more student hourly or work study employees in the Department duty.

5% - Mechanical Engineering Associate Chair and Faculty Support

• Assist the Associate Chair with general correspondence with prospective students
• Assist with preparation and maintenance of student handbooks and recruiting handouts
• Other tasks as requested by Associate Chair and Faculty as approved by the Chair.

5% - Other Duties as Assigned

• Other Departmental tasks which are assigned by the Chair.

Position Requirements

• This position works primarily on-site, but limited remote work may be considered per mutual agreement between the department and the selected candidate.

Required Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED equivalency and two years of office experience (such as skilled clerical, accounting, auditing, and/or administrative support work) OR two years of post-secondary education.
• Experience with basic office computer systems including MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel as demonstrated in application materials.
• Strong written communication skills as evidenced by application materials.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• Higher education administrative support experience
• Experience working and communicating with different groups and levels of employees effectively as evidenced in application materials.
• Experience with university online student records system and knowledge of university academic policies and procedures
• Experience with multiple forms of online purchasing transactions as evidenced in application materials.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud, Drupal, website software, and database applications (e.g., Access) as demonstrated in application materials.
• Experience managing and prioritizing multiple projects with time sensitive deadlines as demonstrated by application materials.

Additional Candidate Instructions

• resume
• cover letter describing how the required and preferred qualifications are met
• three professional references and their contact information

Contact Information to Applicants

Dr. Lisa Friis

[e-mail]

Advertised Salary Range

$40,000; commensurate with experience

Anticipated Start Date

Monday October 19, 2026