Faculty Affairs Specialist

UMass Amherst; Amherst (MA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 88,000; Full time

Job summary

The Commonwealth Honors College (CHC) Academic Administration Specialist at UMass Amherst independently manages faculty personnel processes, partners with HR COEs, and ensures compliance with university policies and collective bargaining agreements.

The role serves as the main contact for appointments, reappointments, promotions, and leaves; coordinates payroll with HRBP; maintains records; and supports onboarding and searching across CHC and campus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 3+ years of progressively responsible experience in Human Resources or academic personnel administration, OR Associate's degree and 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in Human Resources or academic personnel administration.
• In-depth understanding of faculty appointment and promotion processes.
• Ability to interpret policies and apply sound judgment in complex situations.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the main contact for all faculty lifecycle matters including appointments, reappointments, promotions, and academic leaves.
• Interprets and applies university faculty policies and relevant collective bargaining agreements.
• Coordinates faculty compensation processes for all honors courses across campus in collaboration with the HRBP.
• Maintains and tracks faculty personnel records in local databases and university systems (e.g., Excel, Faculty Success Platform).
• Participates in the management of CHC student staff, including hiring processes for domestic and international students and guidance to student staff supervisors.
• Coordinates payroll processing with central HR to ensure timely payments.
• Assists in projecting payroll and position management for CHC's approx. $5m payroll budget and reporting.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Problem solving

Customer service orientation

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Associate's degree

Tools

SharePoint

Excel

HRIS

Job description

Title: Faculty Affairs Specialist

Executive Area: Academic Affairs

College/School/MBU: Other Academic Units

Department: Honors Administration & Dean

Work Location: Amherst

Schedule:Full Time

Work Arrangement:Hybrid

Job Summary

The Commonwealth Honors College (CHC) Academic Administration Specialist independently manages faculty personnel processes, partners with Human Resource Centers of Excellence (HR COEs), and ensures compliance with university policies and collective bargaining agreements.

Essential Functions

• Serves as the main contact for all faculty lifecycle matters including appointments, reappointments, promotions, and academic leaves.
• Interprets and applies university faculty policies and relevant collective bargaining agreements.
• Coordinates faculty compensation processes for all honors courses across campus in collaboration with the Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP).
• Maintains and tracks faculty personnel records in local databases and university systems (e.g., Excel, Faculty Success Platform).
• Participates in the management of CHC student staff, including managing the student worker hiring process for domestic and international undergraduate and graduate students; and provides guidance and support to student staff supervisors on personnel processes.
• Communicates with central HR to coordinate all payroll processing.
• Assists the Assistant Dean of Administration & Finance on projecting payroll and position management for CHC's approximate $5m payroll budget. Includes: maintaining the tracking worksheet, monitoring personnel actions, and providing reliable and precise payroll data for use in internal and external financial reports used in long-range planning decisions.
• Partners with Academic Human Resources (AHR) and HRBPs to interpret policies, resolve complex employee relations or performance issues, and advise on labor relations strategy.
• Coordinates all aspects of the faculty search process.
• Works with the CHC Administrative Coordinator to develop and implement on- and off-boarding processes for staff and faculty.
• Prepares, review, and route personnel actions ensuring compliance prior to AHR submission.
• Collaborates with HR Centers of Excellence COEs to ensure accurate and timely payroll and benefits processing, employee accommodations, and leave administration for staff and faculty.
• In coordination role the Assistant Dean for Administration & Finance, partners with HR Business Partners on employee relations matters involving faculty performance or conduct issues.
• Acts as liaison for academic HR systems; provide end-user support and ensure accurate data entry.
• Participates in partner meetings with AHR, maintains working knowledge of policies and systems, and shares process improvements.
• Interprets and communicates policy and system information from Academic HR to faculty through Microsoft SharePoint or other methods.
• Troubleshoots most academic personnel questions and problems independently, escalating unique situations or more serious matters to the Assistant Dean of Administration & Finance as required.

Other Functions

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and more than three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in Human Resources or academic personnel administration, OR Associate's degree and more than five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in Human Resources or academic personnel administration.
• In-depth understanding of faculty appointment and promotion processes.
• Ability to interpret policies and apply sound judgment in complex situations.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and customer service skills.

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-5:00pm

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 is non-unit, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees Non-Unit (Professional/or Classified) Employee Personnel Policy.

Salary Information

Pay Grade: PSSAP Grade 26