DAAAS Administrative Associate

Stanford University; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 51,136 - 56,274; Full time

Job summary

Stanford University’s Department of African and African American Studies seeks an Administrative Associate to provide front-line administrative and operational support. The AA will handle calendaring, travel arrangements, financial processing, and general office coordination in a fast-paced academic setting.

The ideal candidate is proactive, customer-focused, and detail-oriented, with strong communication skills and experience supporting a university department.

Qualifications

• High school diploma and at least three years of administrative experience.
• Proficiency with office software and email applications.
• Strong organizational, communication, and customer service skills.

Responsibilities

• Respond to inquiries and determine appropriate action; serve as a resource on policies and procedures.
• Schedule, organize, and operate conferences, seminars, and events; coordinate vendors and materials.
• Draft and disseminate routine communications; produce and format documents and materials.
• Plan and manage calendars; resolve scheduling conflicts; arrange travel per policies.
• Process routine financial transactions and monitor expenditures; resolve discrepancies.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Organizational skills

Multi-tasking

Attention to detail

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Bachelor’s Degree (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Drive

Zoom

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: This is an on-site position, based on the Stanford campus

Budgeted Salary: The budgeted base salary range for this position is$37.12 to $40.85 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:

Officially launched in January 2024, the Department of African and African American Studies (DAAAS) equips students with the critical skills to understand how African and African-descended peoples shape our historical and contemporary world. Our mission is to inspire, challenge, and teach students to think rigorously about identity, power, freedom, creativity, and social responsibility. Graduates pursue meaningful careers in law, public policy, creative arts, media, business, medicine, education, and technology. Recently, the department relocated to a historic, two-story building in Stanford’s Main Quad, marking a milestone for African American Studies at the university.

Brief Position Summary:

The Department of African and African American Studies (DAAAS) is seeking an Administrative Associate (AA) to provide administrative and operational support for the department. The AA will be the first point of contact in the department. The AA will work under minimal supervision of the Finance and Administration Manager and must possess and demonstrate a positive outlook on continuous process improvement efforts while maintaining a team-based and customer-focused mindset. It is critical that the employee in this position exhibit the abilities to practice sound judgment and decision-making; effective written & oral communication over the phone, in-person, and via email; strong attention to detail, and respectful relationship management.

The ideal candidate is a friendly, proactive, and dependable self-starter with strong interpersonal and communication skills. This position requires a high level of professionalism, productivity, accuracy, organization, multi-tasking, independence, sound judgment, and decision-making. The position requires a motivated person with a positive attitude and a passion for customer service and supporting others to manage a wide variety of tasks in a fast-paced academic environment with frequently shifting priorities.

This position’s daily responsibilities include front desk support, calendaring events and meetings, processing financial transactions, arranging travel, responding to requests via email, and coordinating building maintenance and safety issues.

This is a 100% FTE, two year fixed term position.

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional highly preferred qualifications for this position include:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Google Drive, Zoom, and standard office equipment.
• Previous experience managing events, from planning to execution, including management of post-event administrative and evaluative tasks.
• Experience maintaining websites, creating newsletters, and flyers.
• Experience with customer service.
• Is comfortable navigating ambiguity and managing changing priorities.
• A strong sense of proactiveness.
• Has a learner's mindset and thinks strategically and holistically about their work.

Core Duties

• Respond to inquiries, and determine and take appropriate actionas required. Serve as a resource regarding a defined set of policies andprocedures.

• Perform duties associated with scheduling, organizing, andoperating conferences, seminars, and events, including recommendingvendors for services, overseeing the production and distribution ofmaterials, coordinating logistics, and serving as liaison with internaland external vendors.

• Draft and/or generate routine communications; coordinateproduction (formatting, copying, etc.) and dissemination of documents,such as presentations, course handouts, grant proposals, conference andseminar materials, reports, brochures, and displays.

• Plan and schedule calendar(s) based on consultation, resolvecalendaring conflicts, and arrange travel in compliance with unit,university, and sponsor policies.

• Process and monitor routine financial transactions, which mayinclude researching and resolving discrepancies.

• Maintain office supplies and equipment; obtain vendor quotations,as needed. Coordinate office moves.

• May serve as the point of contact for general maintenance, healthand safety, and other facility concerns within the unit(s); report anyincidents or potential safety problems to appropriate representatives.Track completion of required training.

• Maintain approved content on websites.

• May perform human resources transactional support, e.g. timecards, I9s, and/or faculty affairs support.

• May guide and train student and/or contingent workers includingscheduling, assigning, and prioritizing workloads, setting appropriatedeadlines, and reviewing work for quality and timeliness.

Minimum Education andExperience

High school diploma and three years of administrative experience, orcombination of education and relevant experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proficient computer skills and demonstrated experience withoffice software and email applications.

• Demonstrated success in following through and completing routinetasks.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills.

• Ability to prioritize and multi-task.