Administrative Associate

Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Worcester (MA); On-site; USD 29,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) seeks an Administrative Associate to support the Aerospace Engineering Department 60% and the School of Engineering 40%. The role includes confidential assistance to department leadership, meeting coordination, travel planning, and liaison with Facilities, IT, and vendors.

Responsibilities cover onboarding, event setup, marketing tasks for the School of Engineering, and ensuring smooth operations across multiple groups.

Qualifications

• Associate’s Degree required.
• 1–2 years of experience in a professional setting.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Zoom, and social media.
• Workday and Drupal helpful, but not required.
• Excellent time management and multitasking abilities.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Ability to collaborate with staff, faculty and students across multiple departments and divisions within WPI.
• Openness to learning new skills and programs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as confidential administrative assistant to AED head, AED associate head, and 14 faculty.
• Schedule and organize AED meetings and events; arrange room reservations, catering, and AV support.
• Assist AED faculty with teaching, project advising, and research tasks (printing, copying, scanning, room reservations).
• Coordinate travel and reimbursements for visiting speakers and candidates per policy.
• Act as AED liaison with Facilities, IT, custodial; manage work orders and safety/compliance issues.
• Coordinate renovation and equipment installation projects for AED with Facilities and vendors.
• Support onboarding for new AED staff and faculty; provide department info and workspace setup.
• Assist in AED marketing/communications: update Drupal site, create slides, distribute announcements.

Skills

Microsoft Office

Zoom

Social media

Education

Associate’s Degree

Tools

Workday

Drupal

Job description

Job Description Summary

WPI is seeking a shared Administrative Associate to provide administrative support to the Aerospace Engineering Department 3 days (60%) a week, including support for the department head, faculty, and staff, and additional support to the School of Engineering 2 days (40%) a week.

Job Title

Administrative Associate

Location

Worcester

Department Name

Aerospace Engineering

Division Name

Worcester Polytechnic Institute - WPI

Job Description

Administrative Assistant for (AED) Aerospace Engineering Department (60%)

• Serve as a confidential administrative assistant to the AED head, associate department head, and 14 faculty members.
• Assist with scheduling and organizing AED meetings and events, including those for departmental committees, search committees, seminars, and student groups. Arrange room reservations, distribute agendas and materials, and manage catering and AV support when necessary.
• Assist AED faculty with a range of needs related to teaching, project advising, and research, including printing, copying, scanning, and reserving conference rooms.
• Coordinate logistical and financial planning for AED visiting speakers, faculty candidates, and external collaborators, including travel and lodging arrangements. Manage all related reimbursements, expense reports, transportation expenses, and itinerary approvals in accordance with WPI Travel Policy.
• Act as the main point of contact of AED for Facilities, IT, and custodial teams regarding department operations. Communicate maintenance priorities, coordinate responses to urgent issues, and handle work orders for repairs, key access, autodials, and safety fixes. Manage requests via SchoolDude until completed, oversee AED building operations, and report safety or compliance issues to Facilities or EHS. Help schedule inspections, keep safety records up to date, coordinate vendor visits for repairs, deliveries, and lab changes, and ensure adherence to WPI's purchasing and safety policies.
• Coordinate renovation and equipment installation projects for AED by collaborating with Facilities, vendors, and WPI’s project managers.
• Support onboarding for new AED faculty, staff, and student employees. Provide departmental information, facilitate system access, and coordinate workspace setup.
• Assist in summer and special AED programs delivered by the department or in coordination; manage setup, student participation, and coordination with faculty leads and external partners.
• Support the AED's marketing and communications functions. Maintain department-wide distribution lists, contact directories, and committee memberships to ensure consistent communication and reporting. Use Drupal to update the department website, create slides, forward information to relevant groups, add event announcements, update directories, and produce flyers and one-page communications. Prepare and distribute announcements, reminders, and updates. Maintain a master event calendar and ensure events are publicized adequately across departmental platforms (digital screens, website, email).

Support the School of Engineering (40%)

• Administrative support for the school of engineering, including marketing and communications needs such as creating and gathering material, inputting and overseeing social media, websites, and newsletters for the School of Engineering.
• Work with Marketing and Communications Office and School of Engineering leadership, faculty, and staff to research, develop and post impactful activities and updates to social media, maintain School of Engineering websites, and contribute to newsletter for the School of Engineering
• Seek and gather information for social media (e.g., Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, etc.), websites, and newsletters promoting and/or highlighting students, faculty and events pertaining to the School of Engineering
• May be required to attend School events to take photos for social media, website, or newsletters
• Create and develop posts with gathered information and photos using appropriate computer tools
• Provide reception and customer service for School of Engineering by greeting students, visitors and faculty; handling routine contacts, answering questions using discretion and sensitivity; and assisting with events and other administrative tasks for the School of Engineering

Requirements

• Associate’s Degree required
• One to Two years of experience in a professional setting
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Zoom, and various forms of social media
• Knowledge of Workday and Drupal helpful, but not required
• Excellent time management skills, ability to multitask and prioritize work
• Solid attention to detail and problem-solving abilities
• Strong organizational and planning skills
• Ability to collaborate with staff, faculty, and students across multiple departments and divisions within WPI
• Openness to learning new skills and programs

Compensation

Hourly rate is $21.25 - $25.00 depending on related experience, expertise, and internal equity.

FLSA Status

United States of America (Non-Exempt)

Equal Opportunity Employer

WPI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability. It seeks individuals from all backgrounds and experiences who will contribute to a culture of creativity, collaboration, inclusion, problem solving, innovation, high performance, and change making. It is committed to maintaining a campus environment free of harassment and discrimination.