Office Associate

Mississippi State University; Jackson (MS); On-site; USD 38,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Mississippi State University is seeking an Office Support role to perform clerical duties including typing, data entry, and document preparation within the MS Child Care Resource and Referral unit.

The position involves greeting visitors, answering phones, organizing materials, maintaining files, and assisting with travel arrangements; on-site work with possible irregular hours as needed.

Qualifications

• Education: High school diploma or GED.
• Experience: Two (2) years’ related duties.
• Equivalent combination of related education and related experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

• Perform clerical duties including typing, drafting, editing, and printing letters and reports.
• Greet visitors, answer inquiries, and direct them as needed.
• Answer phones, route calls, and provide information.
• Organize, catalog, and maintain educational materials and resources.
• Maintain resource library and materials neat and clean.
• Provide staff/operational support and liaise with other departments.
• Establish and update files, databases, and documents; prepare reports.
• Sort and distribute mail; prepare responses and operate office equipment.
• Schedule meetings, arrange travel, and manage calendars.
• Order stock and distribute office supplies; basic bookkeeping tasks.

Skills

Organizing & coordinating

Confidentiality

Simple accounting

Follow instructions

Receptionist skills

Calendars scheduling

Written materials

Inventory control

Data entry

Word processing

Education

High school diploma or GED

Job description

Position Function

Perform a variety of basic to complex office support and/or secretarial duties for the MS Child Care Resource and Referral, which require a range of skills and knowledge of organizational policies and procedures.

Salary Grade: 09

Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges. For salary grade UC, these positions are \"Unclassified\" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Anticipated Appointment Date

August 2026.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The following examples are intended as illustrations only of the various types of duties assigned in positions allocated to this classification. The absence of specific statements of duties does not exclude those tasks from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment of the position.

• Performs a wide variety of clerical duties which could be confidential in nature; operates personal computer to perform basic to complex typing assignments to include: enter data, draft, edit, revise, and print letters, tables, reports, and other materials.


• May greet and direct visitors, when appropriate; resolve routine administrative problems and answer inquiries concerning activities and operations of department/division.


• May answer telephone, route calls, take messages, and provide general information.


• Organize, catalog, and maintain the educational learning materials and resources.


• Responsible for keeping resource library and all materials neat and clean.


• Performs a range of staff and/or operational support activities; may serve as liaison with other departments on basic administrative and/or operational matters.


• May establish, maintain, and update files, databases, records, and/or other documents; develops and maintains data, and performs routine analyses and calculations in the processing of data for recurring internal reports.


• May sort, screen, and distribute incoming and outgoing mail; drafts or prepares responses to routine inquiries; prepares photocopies and facsimiles, and operates a variety of office equipment.


• May arrange meetings and conferences, schedules interviews and appointments, and perform other duties related to maintaining one or more individual schedules; makes travel and lodging arrangements, either directly or through travel agencies.


• May order, stock, and distribute office supplies.


• Performs basic, routine bookkeeping functions which may involve simple billing and cash receipt activities.


• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Responsible to:

• Director


• Project Director


• Project Manager


• Area Coordinator

Minimum Qualifications

Education: High school diploma or GED.
Experience: Two (2) years' experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.
Substitution: An equivalent combination of related education and related experience may be considered for this position

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Organizing and coordinating skills.


• Ability to maintain confidentiality of records and information.


• Ability to perform simple accounting procedures.


• Ability to understand and follow specific instructions and procedures.


• Receptionist skills.


• Ability to maintain calendars and schedule appointments.


• Ability to create, compose, and edit written materials.


• Knowledge of supplies, equipment, and/or services ordering and inventory control.


• Skill in the use of operating basic office equipment.


• Records maintenance skills.


• Word processing and/or data entry skills.


• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

• Irregular hours can be anticipated, including nights and weekends.


• Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.


• Frequent – Externally imposed deadlines set and revised beyond one’s control; interruptions influence priorities; difficult to anticipate nature and volume of work with certainty beyond a few days; meeting of deadlines and coordination of unrelated activities are key to position.


• Job frequently requires standing, stooping/kneeling/crouching/crawling, and lifting up to 20 pounds.


• Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or electronically.

Restricted Clause

Position is contingent upon continued availability of funding.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination is prohibited in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status to the extent protected by applicable law. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance, 231 Famous Maroon Band Street, P.O. 6044, Mississippi State, MS 39762, [phone].

What do I do if I need an accommodation?

In compliance with the ADA Amendments Act (ADA), if you have a disability and wouldlike to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position with Mississippi StateUniversity, please contact the Department of Human Resources Management at tel: [phone] or [e-mail].

If you have any questions regarding this policy, contact the Department of Human ResourcesManagement at [phone] or [e-mail]. Upon request, sections of thisjob listing are available in large print, and readers are available to assist the visually impaired.