Business Administrator I, College of Arts & Sciences

University of Delaware; Newark (DE); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Delaware’s College of Arts and Sciences seeks a Business Administrator I to lead the department’s administrative operations, manage budgets, scheduling, and HR processes. You will liaise with faculty, staff, vendors, and external agencies to advance teaching, service, and research objectives.

Under limited direction, you will interpret university policies, forecast finances, and prepare reports to support departmental programs and strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related discipline with four years of work experience.
• Knowledge of financial reporting and university policies and procedures.
• Experience with contract and grant administration and HR management.
• Ability to lead teams and manage complex tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven ability to develop competencies and engage staff.
• Skilled in using management systems, databases, and standard software.

Responsibilities

• Direct the administrative operations of the assigned Department(s) and support CAS mission.
• Interact with faculty, administrators, vendors, and external partners to exchange information.
• Oversee budgets, forecasting, and variance analysis; manage internal documentation.
• Coordinate scheduling, registrations, grants, and student employment records.
• Lead HR processes for departmental staff and onboarding of new personnel.
• Ensure compliance with policies and assist with audits of departmental finances.
• Prepare reports and support strategic operational objectives with leaders.
• Represent the department in relations with facilities, IT, and College stakeholders.

Skills

Financial reporting

Administrative policies

Contract & grant administration

Human resources management

Leadership & supervision

University policy interpretation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration

4 years related work experience

Tools

Management systems

Relational databases

Spreadsheets

Word processing

Job description

Context Of The Job

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is the largest college at the University of Delaware, comprising 22 academic departments, 2 academic centers, and 37 interdisciplinary centers, programs, and institutes across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. CAS plays a central role in the University’s academic mission, providing foundational coursework for all UD students and serving more than 8,400 undergraduate and graduate majors. CAS is home to over 520 full-time faculty who are nationally and internationally recognized scholars and innovative teachers. With annual sponsored research expenditures exceeding $40 million, the College supports significant interdisciplinary research and maintains outstanding teaching and research facilities. Supported by over 425 staff members and 45 postdoctoral fellows and researchers, CAS operates with annual expenditures of over $152 million and serves as a hub for interdisciplinary engagement, connecting the University with local, national, and global communities through research, creative activity, and public service.

PAY GRADE: 30E

Under the limited direction of the CAS Director, Academic Operations Support, and in coordination with the Department Chairperson, the Business Administrator I is responsible for the direction of the overall administrative operation of the assigned Department(s) and supports the mission and goals of the Department, College, and University. The Business Administrator I interacts and serves as liaison with faculty, students, College and University administrators, vendors, other educational institutions, alumni, and government agencies to exchange information and/or solve problems and other issues, and to advance departmental teaching, service, and research objectives.

Major Responsibilities

• Manage the resources and operations of the Departments, including centers and programs, ensuring compliance with College and University policies and procedures.
• Partner with the Department Chairperson, Directors, and the Director, Academic Operations Support, to implement strategic operational objectives.
• Interpret and provide guidance regarding University policies and procedures for the Chair, Directors, the faculty, and departmental staff.
• Oversee operating and discretionary budgets in coordination with College Financial Operations staff. Assist with forecasting, provide variance commentary on budget/forecast vs. actuals, interpret financial reports, and manage internal documentation to assist the Chair, Directors, and faculty in fiscal matters related to departmental operations and discretionary funds as well as research and academic programs.
• Manage and facilitate a positive undergraduate and graduate university experience for students. Oversee and direct UDSIS scheduling for all Department classes for five terms per year. Ensure scheduling updates and changes related to classes, courses, rooms, times, space, instructors, and enrollments. Oversee the implementation of student registration requests, changes, and overrides in UDSIS for each term. Assist with and records graduate student Teaching Assistant assignments. Prepare numerous reports related to the department programs.
• Coordinate financial aspects of the Department’s graduate and undergraduate program and work with College Financial Analysts to ensure proper contract and payment processing, including graduate academic and summer contracts and payments, tuition allocation, tuition discount pricing, and supplemental contracts for teaching.
• Work with the Department Chair, Directors, faculty, and College on undergraduate and graduate recruitment and enrollment initiatives and events, new student orientation, and convocation.
• Work with the College Faculty Administration Manager to ensure the accuracy of department faculty life cycle tracking to include Promotion and Tenure, Sabbaticals, Peer Reviews, and Performance Appraisals. Maintain academic faculty workload distributions for Promotion and Tenure reviews and Faculty Performance appraisals.
• Manage daily operations of the Department including:
• Oversee tasks related to procurement, budget and planning, human resources, sponsored activity, communications and events, facilities and IT issues with the Director, Academic Operations Support, and College functional teams.
• Ensure adherence to academic and administrative deadlines.
• Resolve complex organizational or procedural issues in a timely manner.
• Directly supervise all departmental administrative staff, ensuring that performance and contributions result in the efficient operation of the Department. Actively partner with College HR to support departmental research staff.
• Oversee the maintenance of the Labor Allocation Module (LAM) for faculty workload and effort commitment on research accounts and for staff and graduate students paid from research accounts, in coordination with College Sponsored Programs staff.
• Coordinate non-sponsored research summer payments for faculty.
• Prepare employment renewal letters and tracks time of term in the Department in coordination with the Faculty Administration Manager.
• Monitor and review monthly time sheets for all departmental non-exempt employees.
• Review all department charges and applies appropriate measures to correct any errors. Participate in audits of departmental operating and discretionary budgets as needed.
• Onboard new student workers, miscellaneous wage employees, and adjunct faculty members. Coordinates with College HR on new hire paperwork, Criminal Background Check requests, and separation paperwork. Orient the new employee to the Department and College and manage and records arrival dates in conjunction with the College Sponsored Programs staff.
• Work with College Facilities staff to resolve minor building issues, such as key requests and Fix Its.
• Coordinate with College IT staff to ensure that departmental computing needs are met for faculty and staff.
• Represent the Department with vendors, other educational institutions, alumni and government agencies.
• Present information on strategic planning, budget and financial forecasting, staffing needs and other departmental initiatives to the Department Chair and faculty.
• Participate in the development and implementation of special initiatives and projects.
• Attend department faculty meetings and College business administration meetings.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or a related discipline and four years of job-related work experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge and experience of financial reporting, administrative policies and procedures, contract and grant administration and human resources management.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment and is excited to advance and share in the success of highly successful programs.
• Experience leading complex organizations and managing complex tasks.
• Demonstrated experience in leading teams, maximizing employee engagement and developing competencies of individual staff members
• Experience using management systems, relational databases, spreadsheets and word-processing software programs.
• Effective organizational skills are essential.
• Ability to interpret, adapt and apply guidelines and procedures.
• Ability to plan, organize, implement, evaluate and modify administrative support needs.
• Ability to gather and analyze statistical and financial data and generate ad-hoc reports.
• Ability to develop, plan, and implement new strategies and procedures, and be part of the College’s continuous improvement plan and effectively share any new ideas with peers in other departments and College leadership.
• Ability to communicate effectively and interact well with people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.