Administrative Coordinator

SLAC; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford University’s Biology Department at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, CA seeks an Administrative Coordinator to support finance, HR, events, and researcher workflows. Based at HMS with occasional Stanford campus visits, you will manage expense tracking, PO processing, calendar management, and document administration for a large academic community.

The role requires strong communication, attention to detail, and ability to work independently with discretion on sensitive matters.

Qualifications

• Autonomy and independent decision-making in a busy academic setting.
• Strong interpersonal communication with faculty, staff, and students across HMS and Stanford Campus.
• Experience with financial transaction processing (reimbursements, requisitions, budgets).
• Familiarity with grant/proposal submission processes and academic personnel workflows.
• Proficiency with web-based tools such as Smartsheet, Google Suite, or similar platforms.
• Experience coordinating events, conferences, or seminars and liaising with local vendors.
• Ability to interpret and apply university policies and to handle confidential matters with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Handle expense tracking and purchase orders for the Biology community at HMS.
• Coordinate calendar management, meetings, and event logistics.
• Assist with submission of appointment and visa documents.
• Support budgeting, sponsor communications, and grant proposals.
• Coordinate lab supply orders and procurement documents.
• Partner with Finance, HR, and Student Services across HMS and Stanford Campus.
• Maintain documentation and web content as required by the department.

Skills

Autonomy

Interpersonal skills

Financial processing

Grant submissions

Event coordination

Policy interpretation

Team collaboration

Tools

Smartsheet

Google Suite

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