Senior Administrative Assistant

New-Mexico-Highlands-University; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

New Mexico Highlands University in Albuquerque seeks a Senior Administrative Assistant to support the Facundo Valdez School of Social Work (FVSSW) Dean, faculty and staff across four campus locations. This role handles executive administrative tasks, budgeting and coordination to ensure smooth operations and excellent customer service.

The successful candidate will manage schedules, onboarding, hiring processes, course scheduling coordination, and maintain confidential records while

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required as a minimum.
• Minimum 3 years of related experience.
• Associate’s Degree required; higher education preferred.
• Bachelor’s Degree in any field preferred.
• Experience with Ellucian Banner and Emburse ChromeRiver is desirable.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information.
• Knowledge of budgeting and accounts payable processes.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive administrative support to the FVSSW Dean and leadership.
• Coordinate schedules and manage travel arrangements.
• Assist with accounting tasks including accounts payable, budgeting, and reconciliations.
• Support hiring processes via PeopleAdmin and onboarding.
• Coordinate course scheduling and registrar communications.
• Maintain confidential files and departmental records.
• Organize meetings, minutes, and campus-wide events across four locations.
• Liaise with HR, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Leadership

Organization

Confidentiality

Problem solving

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Associate's Degree

Bachelor's Degree preferred

Tools

Ellucian Banner

Emburse ChromeRiver

Job description

Located in a dynamic, vibrant, student-centered, and team-oriented collegial environment with employee tuition and education benefits, the Senior Administrative Assistant provides the Facundo Valdez School of Social Work (FVSSW) Dean, faculty and staff with operational support. This position serves as the School’s first point of contact, providing excellent customer service by demonstrating a commitment to the University core values of excellence, responsiveness, diversity, and accessibility. Reporting directly to the FVSSW Dean, the Senior Administrative Assistant provides executive support to the School’s leadership and performs senior-level administrative, accounting and coordination tasks for the School and its four campus locations.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:Provides executive administrative support to the Dean, including schedule management;Coordinates and completes operations tasks across the four campus locations;Collaborates with Special Projects and Academic administrative staff for the FVSSW and University;Works closely with the FVSSW faculty and staff, particularly the Student Support Specialists; University library representative, Field Education Program staff and Special Projects personnel;Collaborates with the Metro Manager to ensure site staff coverage and to plan graduation and other student Campus Life events;In coordination with the Dean, Office of Research and Special Projects, and the Business Office, performs intermediate to advanced accounting duties including but not limited to, tracking accounts payable/expenditures, monitoring, reconciling, developing Budget Adjustment Requests, and upholding fiduciary responsibilities for a comprehensive FVSSW budget and its subaccounts (State Legislative Funds, including Endowments and Research and Public Service Projects, Federal and State Grants and Contracts, and Scholarships);Provides administrative assistance with student, faculty and/or staff hiring committees, to include initiating the PeopleAdmin process to include posting job descriptions, logging employment applications; providing support to search chair/committee, coordinating interview logistics, and coordinating search documentation;Coordinates closely with Human Resources to monitor and assist with new hire onboarding process for new faculty, staff, and student workers;Collaborates directly with the Dean and Program coordinators to prepare, organize, and monitor the processing of employee contracts for non-tenure track faculty, staff, and student workers, and to offer guidance to admin assistants at other sites on contract processes;Oversees and manages the administrative aspects of the course scheduling process, including tracking course schedule timeline/due dates, and coordinating with Program Coordinators and the Registrar’s Office; submits course schedule to Registrar’s office by due date;In collaboration with the Dean, develops and manages a master calendar of due dates and timelines for reports, contracts, course schedule, and other documents/submissions with required deadlines;Stays informed of changing policies and/or practices impacting administrative functions of the FVSSW, relevant to student, staff and faculty matters;Provides administrative support to the School of Social Work to include screening and handling telephone communications, greeting and directing visitors, and dealing with administrative inquiries, as appropriate; serves as a primary point of contact and liaison between faculty, staff, and students, and external constituencies on a range of day-to-day issues;Organizes and facilitates meetings and special events; schedules and coordinates dates and times, venues, attendance, agendas, and facilitates; takes minutes, and provides administrative support and follow-up on matters arising from meetings;Composes and prepares written documentation and correspondence for the office; screens and evaluates incoming and outgoing correspondence and prepares responses as appropriate;Researches information, compiles statistics, and gathers and computes various data for the preparation of special and/or one-time reports and activity summaries;Develops and manages projects to ensure efficient service and to achieve the mission and goals of the FVSSW;Serves as a primary point of contact between the Office of the Dean, the FVSSW and internal/external constituencies; provides information and performs problem solving on a range of issues;Schedules and coordinates the Dean’s appointments and/or travel arrangements, including the submission of travel expense approvals and reconciliation reporting;Gathers, enters, and/or updates data to maintain departmental records and databases, as appropriate; establishes and maintains files and records for the office;Supervises work-study students;Coordinates and oversees the day-to-day management of supplies, equipment, and facilities for the organization, as appropriate, to include maintenance, inventory management, logistics, security, and related activities;Enhances professional growth and development through participation in educational programs, current literature, in-service meetings, Campus Life initiatives, and workshops;Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:High School Diploma or GED;Minimum of 3 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified;Associate’s Degree from an accredited institution;Above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year-for-year basis.PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:Bachelor’s Degree in any field;Higher Education, large State or Federal institution administration experience;Experience with basic principles of accounting, specifically accounts payable and budget development and reconciliation;Experience with Ellucian Banner and Emburse Enterprise (ChromeRiver) systems.KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community;Strong organizational skills as well as in attending to detail, meeting deadlines, and following timelines;Leadership skills; ability to take the lead on tasks requiring the coordination of faculty and/or staff;Knowledge of general accounting and budgeting principles;Skills in prioritization of tasks and identifying and accessing resources;Records maintenance skills;Database management skills;Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;Ability to analyze and solve problems;Knowledge of planning and scheduling techniques;Knowledge of supplies, equipment, and/or services ordering and inventory control;Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality;Skills in the use of database management, word processing, spreadsheet, and/or presentation software;Knowledge of current and emerging trends in technologies and techniques;Ability to lead and train staff and/or students;Word processing and/or data entry skills;Ability to create, compose, and edit written materials;Knowledge of office management principles and procedures;Ability to coordinate and organize meetings and/or special events;Knowledge of academic administrative principles and procedures.Confidentiality in an office that manage sensitive information.PHYSICAL DEMANDS:• Repetitive hand motion and prolonged use of computer; • Sitting for extended periods of time; • No or very limited physical effort required.WORK ENVIRONMENT:• Work is in an indoor/office setting • Work with frequent interruptions