Department Administrator

UMass Amherst; Amherst (MA); Hybrid; USD 51,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

UMass Amherst is seeking a Department Administrator in the College of Education’s Student Development Department in Amherst, MA. This full-time, hybrid role provides senior-level leadership and management to support social justice and department goals.

Under oversight from the Department Chair and Assistant Dean, you will drive strategic decisions, coordinate enrollment and curriculum planning, and manage resources and records while collaborating with college staff and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 5 years in an administrative role; Master’s may substitute for 2 years experience.
• Excellent initiative and problem-solving skills; able to handle complex situations and crises.
• Strong organizational and time management skills; able to balance concurrent projects.
• Strong writing, editing, and interpersonal skills for working with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external partners.
• Proficient in MS Word and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Department Chair to manage day-to-day and overall department operations; develop administrative procedures to ensure efficiency.
• Lead enrollment management and academic planning with program directors; oversee course schedule administration.
• Advise on budgetary planning; develop and lead departmental budget processes; approve routine expenditures.
• Allocate teaching resources for part-time and tenured faculty; plan personnel events with Chair.
• Lead strategic projects identified by leadership and AQAD processes.

Skills

Initiative & problem solving

Organization

Communication & interpersonal

Writing & editing

MS Word & Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree (Education/related)

Master's degree substitution for experience

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

Microsoft Teams

Slack

Zoom

Job description

Title

Title: Department Administrator

Executive Area

Executive Area: Academic Affairs

College/School/MBU

College/School/MBU: College of Education

Department

Department: Student Development

Work Location

Work Location: Amherst

Schedule

Schedule:Full time

Work Arrangement

Work Arrangement:Hybrid

Job Summary

With high-level oversight provided by the Student Development Department Chair, and supervision and support provided by the Assistant Dean of Administration & Operations, the Department Administrator works collaboratively with the college administrative team (Department Administrators, Assistant Dean of Administration & Operations & administrative support staff) to support the social justice mission of the College of Education by providing overall leadership and management for the Department of Student Development. In this role, the Department Administrator operates with autonomy and discretion, making strategic decisions on behalf of the department.

Essential Functions

• Serve as strategic partner to the Department Chair in managing, planning, and evaluating the day-to-day and overall operations of the Department. Develop and implement various administrative procedures to ensure efficiency and that goals of the department are met. Manage department space allocations.
• Lead short and long-term enrollment management and academic planning by partnering with the Chair and Program Directors to ensure coordinated, effective and efficient curriculum offerings that are student-centered and in line with the strategic goals of the department, college and university. Oversee course schedule administration, providing direction or problem-solving support to administrative staff.
• Provide counsel and make recommendations to the chair on budgetary planning. Work collaboratively with Department Chair to develop and lead departmental budget processes. Approve routine expenditures for department supplies, equipment, services and furnishings.
• In conjunction with the Department Chair, allocate resources to meet curricular demands by managing teaching assignments for part-time faculty, lecturers, teaching assistants and tenured system faculty. Regularly meet with the Chair to discuss upcoming personnel deadlines and plan for future personnel events.
• Lead strategic projects as identified by the Department Chair, faculty, and/or AQAD processes.
• Develop effective systems for processing and managing student academic records. Maintain student academic records for the department, ensuring compliance with departmental, college and university policies and procedures. Assess student completion of degree requirements.

Other Functions

• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisors showing adaptability and flexibility to accomplish goals.
• Advise department colleagues on federal, state, university, college, and department regulations, policies and procedures regarding pertinent areas of business.
• Travel locally to implement department events' logistics. Attend department and college meetings as requested.
• Understand responsibilities with respect to Title IX, Clery and other compliance requirements.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 5 years of experience in an administrative role. Master's degree in business, education or related field may be substituted for 2 years of the required experience.
• Excellent initiative and problem-solving skills. Ability to work though complex situations and manage crisis or changing situations effectively.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills. Ability to make sound and mature decisions and to carry out assignments in an organized and timely manner, balancing the demands of concurrent and potentially competing projects.
• Excellent ability to develop and maintain harmonious and productive relationships with faculty, staff, students, alumni and other external constituents. Ability to work cooperatively and facilitate collaborative projects.
• Excellent writing and editing skills. Superlative communication and interpersonal skills.
• Extensive knowledge of computer applications including Microsoft Word and Excel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with enrollment management and course schedule planning.
• Knowledge of UMass systems.
• Experience using Microsoft Team, Slack, Zoom or other online collaborative software.

Additional Details

The College of Education includes three (3) departments and serves approximately 400 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students. At any one time, the College maintains approximately 240 employee appointments, including tenure system faculty, part-time and full-time lecturers, permanent and temporary staff members, post-doctoral research associates, graduate teaching assistants, and student employees.

Working Conditions

Work is performed in a standard office or indoor university environment and involves minimal physical exertion.

Work Schedule and Work Arrangement

Monday-Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm.

Required to work occasional nights and weekends.

This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, with the expectation that the person in the role will be able to work onsite full-time for the first six (6) months in the role before converting to a mutually agreed upon hybrid work schedule.

This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee's work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Pay Grade: PSSAP Grade 26

The salary range for this position is $50,722-$76,025

Additional Information

The College of Education is committed to an atmosphere of diversity and inclusion between faculty, staff, and students alike. To advance the College's mission of furthering social justice, this position will require a diversity statement to be included with each candidate's application materials. The diversity statement is intended to clarify how a candidate will support a culture of equality and fairness at all levels of the organization and may highlight prior advocacy efforts or intended contributions to the College of Education.

Questions about this can be directed to [e-mail].

Job Status

This position will remain open for the time period required by any applicable collective bargaining agreement and will continue until a suitable candidate pool is identified. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early.