Front Office Student Assistant

Center for Public Partnerships & Research; Topeka (KS); On-site; USD 18,000 - 23,000; Part time

Job summary

Center for Public Partnerships & Research is seeking a Front office student assistant to provide general office support to the staff of the C&PE Department at KU. You will handle phones, mail, emails, greet guests, and assist with basic text and graphic projects while supporting departmental staff with information gathering for reports.

The role requires strong MS Office skills, excellent communication, and the ability to commit to 2-hour blocks between 9 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

Qualifications

• Proficient in MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be available in 2-hour blocks 9:00–16:30, M-F.

Responsibilities

• Answer phones and departmental emails; assist visitors and students.
• Perform word processing, scanning, filing, and general office tasks.
• Support staff with text-based and graphic projects and information gathering.

Skills

MS Office

Communication

Availability blocks

Job description

Position Overview

Front office student assistant providing general office assistance to the staff of the C&PE Department. Duties would include daily mail retrieval and sorting, answering phone calls, answering departmental emails, assisting guests and students in the department office, supporting departmental staff with text-based and graphic projects, and researching and summarizing information for reports. Students from across KU are encouraged to apply.

Job Description

80%: Assist department staff with phones, mail, filing, office organization, and lunch and meeting coverage. 15%: Office duties (word processing, scanning). 5%: Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Strong MS Office skills, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Have a minimum of 2-hour blocks of availability between the hours of 9 AM and 4:30 PM M-F.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working in an office setting.
• Experience with software for creating graphics.

Position Requirements

During the semester term of the appointment, the student hourly must be enrolled in no fewer than 6 credit hours. For summer periods the student hourly must: (1) have been enrolled in no less than 6 hours in the past spring semester or (2) be pre-enrolled in the upcoming fall semester in no less than 6 hours or (3) be enrolled in summer session or (4) be admitted to study in the upcoming fall semester. Student Hourlies may be undergraduate or graduate students. (Exceptions granted for GRA/GTA/GA appointments DO NOT apply to Student Hourly appointments).

Employment Conditions

• Student employees are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HR.
• This is an hourly/non-exempt position. A student employee cannot hold an hourly/non-exempt position and a salaried/exempt graduate or undergraduate position (GRA/GTA/GA/RUA/RGA) concurrently.

Additional Candidate Instructions

In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

• A cover letter addressing how the required and preferred qualifications are met.
• Resume.
• Contact information for two references.

Contact Information to Applicants

Susan Williams
[e-mail]

Advertised Salary Range

$15.00 Hourly

Anticipated Start Date

Tuesday July 28, 2026