Administrative Coordinator

Stanford University School of Medicine; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford University Biology Department seeks an experienced Administrative Coordinator based at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, CA. The role handles expense tracking, PO processing, meeting coordination, calendar management, and visa document support for the Biology community.

The position involves complex grant budgeting, sponsor communications, and annual progress reports, with collaboration across Finance, HR, and Student Services.

Qualifications

• High school diploma and four years of administrative experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication; attention to detail.
• Experience with financial transactions and grant/proposal processes is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Act on behalf of supervisor to set priorities and resolve administrative problems.
• Schedule, organize, and manage complex conferences, events, and travel within budget.
• Draft documents and correspondence; edit and maintain content across units.
• Prepare calendars, calendars, and travel arrangements in compliance with policies.
• Create complex reports and spreadsheets using specialized software.
• Oversee financial transactions, monitor budgets, and reconcile statements.
• Coordinate office moves and minor renovation projects.

Skills

Advanced computer skills

Organizational skills

Verbal and written communication

Customer service

Prioritize multi-task

Initiative

Judgment and decision-making

Education

High school diploma + 4 years admin experience

Tools

Smartsheet

Google Suite

Job description

Job Description

This position has been deemed critical by the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Office and is exempt from the hiring freeze.

Job Description

This position has been deemed critical by the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Office and is exempt from the hiring freeze.

Work Arrangement: 3 days onsite at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, CA with occasional visits to the Stanford Main campus.

Budgeted Salary: The budgeted base salary range for this position is $40 to $45 per hour.

The School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) is the foundation of a liberal arts education at Stanford. The school encompasses 24 departments and 25 interdisciplinary programs. H&S is home to fundamental and applied research, where free, open, and critical inquiry is pursued across disciplines. As the university’s largest school, H&S serves as the foundation of a Stanford undergraduate education no matter which discipline students pursue as a major. Graduate students work alongside world-renowned faculty to pursue and shape foundational research that leads to breakthroughs and discoveries that shed new light on the past, influence the present, and shape the future. Together, faculty and students in H&S engage in inspirational teaching, learning, and research every day.

Department/Program Description

The Department of Biology at Stanford University is devoted to discovering fundamental knowledge of the living world: from the behavior of single molecules to dynamics of cells, organisms, populations, and interactions of biological systems with our planet. We are dedicated to developing innovative training experiences for the next generation of biologists and to building an inclusive learning environment that unites members from diverse disciplines and life experiences. Our reach extends beyond the Stanford main campus with research and teaching sites located in the Hopkins Marine Station (HMS) in Pacific Grove, CA. The Department is the largest in the School of Humanities and Sciences with over 100 active and emeritus faculty, lecturers and research staff, over 240 PhD and postdoc trainees and over 60 non-academic staff who advance the department’s research and teaching missions. The department serves over 220 undergraduate students who major in Biology and more than 3,600 enrollees in our courses each year. Learn more about the department at biology.stanford.edu.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Administrative Coordinator to join our team of administrators who support the research and teaching missions of the department. Based at Hopkins Marine Station (HMS) in Pacific Grove, CA this Administrative Coordinator serves as the primary administrative support for the Biology community, handling expense tracking, purchase orders, meeting/event coordination, calendar management, website/document administration and assists with submission of appointment and visa documents. The role also manages complex grant proposals and fellowship applications—including budgeting and sponsor communications—and assists faculty with annual progress reports. Additional duties include coordinating lab supply orders and preparing equipment procurement documents and business justifications. The Coordinator partners with the Biology Department staff in finance, HR, and Student Services teams, serving as a key advocate for the Biology community at HMS. This position also collaborates with other staff at the HMS from the Oceans Department and the Library.

To be successful, the Administrative Coordinator must be community-minded and able to exercise sound judgment and decision-making. The successful candidate will possess strong written and verbal communication skills, exceptional attention to detail, and the ability to build and maintain respectful working relationships. This position must be outcomes-oriented, with a strong desire to continuously learn new and unfamiliar business topics, policies, and procedures. The ability to translate this knowledge into operational success will be critical.

This is a 100% FTE, continuing, non-exempt position.

Preferred Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to operate with significant autonomy.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to partner effectively with faculty, staff, students located at HMS and on the Stanford Campus.
• Experience with financial transaction processing (PCard/TCard, reimbursements, purchase requisitions, budget reconciliation).
• Familiarity with grant/proposal submission processes and academic personnel processes (e.g., faculty search and promotion file compilation) is highly desirable, ideally in a higher education or research environment.
• Proficiency with web-based tools such as Smartsheet, Google suite, or similar platforms.
• Experience coordinating events, conferences, or seminars, and connecting with local vendors near HMS.
• Ability to interpret and apply university policies and procedures, and to exercise sound judgment on sensitive or confidential matters
  
  

Responsibilities

Core Duties:

• Act on behalf of the supervisor, department manager, or chair in regards to establishing priorities and identifying and resolving problems that are administrative in nature.
• Oversee and/or perform duties associated with scheduling, organizing, and operating complex conferences, seminars, and events, including arranging with vendors for services, overseeing the production and distribution of materials, administering logistics, and managing event within budget.
• Compose and draft documents and correspondence for presentations, course handouts, grants, conferences, seminars, and reports. Perform substantial editing and fact checking. Create, maintain, modify, and/or ensure accuracy of content in various unit documents, displays, reports, brochures, social media, and/or websites.
• Plan and schedule calendar(s) with limited consultation, resolve calendaring conflicts, and arrange travel in compliance with unit, university, and sponsor policies.
• Create complex reports and spreadsheets which may utilize specialized software and systems.
• Oversee and/or process a variety of complex financial transactions; produce, monitor, and reconcile budget statements; research, identify, and resolve discrepancies. May assist with capital or special equipment requests and/or vendor selection.
• Coordinate and monitor routine maintenance services completion. Plan and coordinate office moves and/or minor renovation projects.
• May lead staff or supervise day-to-day work of student and/or temporary workers, including scheduling, assigning, and prioritizing workloads, setting appropriate deadlines, reviewing work for quality and timeliness, and providing performance review input.
  
  

Minimum Education And Experience

High school diploma and four years of administrative experience, or combination of education and relevant experience.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Advanced computer skills and demonstrated experience with office software and email applications.
• Demonstrated success in following through and completing projects.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and assign work to others.
• Ability to take initiative and ownership of projects.
• Ability to routinely and independently exercise sound judgment in making decisions.