PhD Faculty Support and Program Coordinator

smithcollege; United States; On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Smith College is seeking an administrative coordinator to support the PhD Program within the School for Social Work. The role serves as the primary liaison to the PhD Director and interfaces with doctoral faculty, students, and institutional partners to manage operations, contracts, and academic milestones.

The position emphasizes coordinating scheduling, records, and communications, while supporting internships, governance activities, and budget oversight, with a focus on continuous process

Qualifications

• Primary administrative liaison for the PhD Director.
• Manage doctoral student records, progress tracking, enrollment, degree and milestone monitoring.
• Coordinate doctoral program milestones with the PhD Director and faculty; document and submit grades to the SSW Registrar.
• Maintain program records and prepare institutional, accreditation and external reports (census and SURveys).
• Serve as a point of contact for doctoral students; advise on processes and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Support clinical and research internships with material collection, tracking and distribution to satisfy faculty oversight and student compliance.
• Coordinate meetings for the PhD Director and the PhD Policy Oversight Committee; prepare agendas and materials; document decisions.
• Manage doctoral program communications and keep faculty- and student-facing information up to date on platforms.
• Assist with budget monitoring and financial tracking; analyze annual spending for planning and forecasting.
• Provide logistical and technical support for dissertation defenses, oral examinations, meetings and hybrid events.
• Provide Moodle setup, troubleshooting and support for CSWE competency data collection, gradebooks and rubrics.
• Serve as backup Sonia system user to support the Office of Practicum Learning.
• Review doctoral processes and propose operational improvements for efficiency and compliance.

Job description

If you have any questions about the position or our application process, reach out to us at [e-mail] .

Department

School for Social Work

Job Description

Job Summary

As a member of the Faculty Support, Operations & Systems Office, this position serves as the primary operational and administrative coordinator supporting the PhD Program while also providing faculty support services to the MSW Program. The coordinator plays a critical role in ensuring the effective operation of the SSW PhD program by working with the Manager of Faculty Support and Director of the PhD Program, to navigate complex faculty, student, academic and operational processes. The position serves as an administrative partner to the PhD Director and a primary liaison to doctoral faculty, students and institutional partners. This position exercises discretion and judgment in managing program operations, faculty support systems, communications, and helps with the contracting processes and academic milestones. The coordinator independently manages multiple ongoing projects and operational workflows, including doctoral student progress tracking, assisting with the faculty contracting, and activity-pay administration, PhD Policy Committee support, course reserves, syllabus management, faculty onboarding and instructional support services. The position is expected to identify opportunities to improve existing systems and procedures and implement enhancements that strengthen faculty support, student services and program effectiveness in the PhD program.

Take appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

Essential Functions

PhD Program Administration and Faculty Support (55%):

• Serve as the primary administrative and operational liaison for the PhD Director within the Office of Faculty Support, Operations & Systems.
• Manage and maintain doctoral student records, databases and academic progress tracking systems; monitor enrollment, degree requirements, dissertation milestones, examinations, and graduation requirements.
• Coordinate doctoral program milestones in partnership with the PhD Director and faculty, including qualifying examinations, dissertation proposal meetings, dissertation defenses, oral examinations and associated documentation and grade submissions to the SSW Registrar.
• Maintain program records and prepare institutional, accreditation and external reports, including census reporting and Survey of Earned Doctorates submissions.
• Serve as a point of contact for doctoral students and provide guidance regarding program processes, timelines and administrative requirements.
• Provide administrative support for clinical and research internships - ensuring accurate collection, tracking and distribution of required materials to support faculty oversight and student compliance.
• Support the PhD Director and the PhD Policy and Oversight Committee by coordinating meetings, preparing agendas and supporting materials, documenting committee decisions and maintaining governance records.
• Manage doctoral program communications and maintain accurate faculty- and student-facing information across relevant platforms and systems.
• Assist with budget monitoring and financial tracking; compile and analyze annual spending data to support planning, forecasting and fiscal oversight.
• Deliver logistical and technical support for dissertation defenses, oral examinations, meetings, and academic programming - including virtual and hybrid events.
• Provide Moodle course setup, troubleshooting, and support for CSWE competency data collection, gradebooks, and rubrics.
• Serve as a backup Sonia system user, providing operational support as needed to the Office of Practicum Learning.
• Review existing doctoral program processes and workflows and recommend operational improvements that enhance efficiency, accuracy, compliance and user experience.

Faculty Contracting, Compensation, and Faculty Support Systems (20%):

• Under the guidance of the Manager of Faculty Support, assists with administering faculty appointment, contracting, reimbursement, and activity-pay processes for doctoral and adjunct faculty in collaboration with the leadership.
• Track invoices, reimbursements, honoraria and faculty compensation requests; coordinate payment processing and resolve discrepancies in collaboration with Human Resources, Payroll, and Finance.
• Support hiring processes by assisting with the maintenance of faculty records, hiring pools and curriculum vitae databases and oversee hiring communications, documentation tracking and onboarding logistics.
• Serve as a secondary point of contact for PhD faculty inquiries and maintain timely, accurate communications and documentation.
• Partner with campus offices to establish coordinated timelines and workflows for PhD faculty-centered events and training.

Faculty Support Projects and Academic Operations (15%):

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