Administrative Specialist – SSSP/Advantage Program

Reading Area Community College; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 31,500 - 42,500; Full time

Job summary

Reading Area Community College (RACC) is seeking an Administrative Specialist for the SSSP/Advantage Program to support office operations and data entry. You will assist with student records, events, communications, and program activities.

Key duties include typing, meetings minutes, scheduling, filing, and coordinating with staff. Strong organization and MS Office skills are essential, along with a customer‑service mindset and ability to learn the Colleague system.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma is required.
• Two years of full‑time secretarial experience in a business office.
• Associate’s Degree preferred.
• Experience helping low-income, first‑generation students is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide secretarial support for the Advantage Program team.
• Greet visitors and respond to inquiries.
• Create and maintain program files for Advantage Program students.
• Schedule staff calendars and manage meetings and events.
• Utilize the college's information systems and software.

Skills

Secretarial experience

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Microsoft Office

Education

High School Diploma

Associate degree

Tools

Colleague

Student Access

Job description

RACC is an equal opportunity employer. In compliance with government regulations we are required to record numbers of job applicants by sex and ethnic category. We ask that you indicate your race or national origin and sex, but you are not required to provide this information. This information will not be kept with your application and will be used only in accordance with state and federal regulations.

If you are chosen for this position, a background check will be required.

Title:

Administrative Specialist – SSSP/Advantage Program

$37,000 per year

Working hours:

Working hours for this position consist of a 7.5‑hour period Monday through Friday exclusive of a ½ hour or 1‑hour lunch. Specific hours to be agreed upon between the supervisor and employee at the onset of employment. These hours may require occasional evening and weekend work. The hours may be modified based on the needs of the SSSP/Advantage Program with advance notice and mutual consent of the employee and the supervisor.

Summary:

Work as a member of the Advantage Team to provide office assistance and data entry duties. Responsibilities will include assisting with the daily operations of the office, events, activities and workshops, maintaining student records/files, assisting with communicating and providing services to Advantage Program students and data management.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work cooperatively as a member of the Advantage Program to handle routine duties for the Advantage Team including but not limited to performing secretarial duties such as typing, word processing, database/spreadsheeting, record keeping, filing, telephone calls, and taking minutes at staff meetings.
• Serve as initial point of contact to greet visitors and to respond to inquiries including walk‑ins, mail‑ins, and phone‑ins.
• Create, update, and maintain program files for Advantage Program students, both electronic and physical.
• Order all office and instructional supplies, furniture, equipment through proper RACC methods/procedures.
• Schedule and manage staff calendars to set up appointments, staff and other meetings. Assist in scheduling vendor meetings/events and help with the budget calculations for these events and program purchases.
• Learn new computer programs as required. Utilize the College’s student information system and all other computer software programs as required.
• Create content, maintain and monitor the department’s social media accounts.
• Maintain the files of the students that completed the required financial literacy component of the grant.
• Research, collect, compile, and perform high‑level calculations and comparison record data for Advantage Program Annual Performance Report. Maintain all record keeping, files, and data management as required by the college and grant, ensuring data integrity.
• Assist Advantage Team in orienting new students to the Advantage Program.
• Assist Program Director and Specialist with preparing materials for workshops and programs including but not limited to career, transfer, financial literacy, and academic development.
• Provide students with information about program services, events and workshops.
• Work closely with Peer students to ensure they are operating within the college policies and in noting the status of the program tasks assigned. In absence of the Director, approve Peer student work hours to ensure payroll is complete timely.
• Assist Student Support Specialists with student outreach to schedule appointments and assist in directing students to resources at RACC.

Perform other related duties as assigned by supervisor.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

Required:

• High School Diploma
• Two (2) years of full‑time secretarial experience in a business office

Preferred:

• Associate’s Degree
• Experience in overcoming educational and economic obstacles
• Knowledge of the needs of low‑income, first‑generation college students

Computer Skills:

Must be proficient in the use of Internet, Microsoft Office, spreadsheet, and word processing software.

Other Skills & Abilities:

• Highly Organized
• Must be able to learn and utilize Colleague and Student Access.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Conduct yourself in a professional manner and exhibit a positive image for RACC at all times.

Communication Skills:

Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to write simple correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one‑on‑one and small group situations to participants, staff, school personnel, and other RACC employees.

Mathematical Skills:

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent.

Reasoning Ability:

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to talk, sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.