Senior Staff Assistant, Graduate Programs Office

SilkRoad; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

SilkRoad’s Graduate Programs Office is seeking a Senior Staff Assistant to provide high-level administrative support from admissions through graduation. You will staff the reception desk and manage information flow for students, faculty, department admins, and the public, including answering calls, emails, and greeting visitors.

You will hire, schedule, train, and supervise student employees; plan mid-to-large events; maintain records; handle budgets and invoices; and work with the Director of

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred 1-3 years of related professional experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to deal effectively and diplomatically with various constituencies.
• Careful attention to detail is necessary. Strong organizational, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Able to work independently and accurately with high attention to detail.
• Ability to create a welcoming atmosphere to ensure success, belonging, satisfaction, and engagement of students, guests, and visitors.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and respond efficiently to a large volume of queries.
• Must include resume and cover letter to be considered.
• This position requires 5 days/week in person.

Responsibilities

• Provides administrative and operational support to the Graduate Programs Office and serves as a resource for students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders.
• Responds to inquiries verbally and via email using University policies and procedures.
• Coordinate administrative processing of graduate applications, including matching credentials and scanning materials.
• Hires, schedules, trains, and supervises student employees.
• Plans, coordinates, and executes mid to large-scale events and publicizes them.
• Maintains accurate records and coordinates with the Director of Admissions and related offices.
• Plans to hire student employees and trains the team.
• Attends meetings and takes minutes for distribution.
• Manages inventory, orders supplies, and reconciles budgets and invoices.
• Handles confidential information securely and maintains filing systems.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Detail oriented

Organizational skills

Problem solving

Independent work

Welcoming atmosphere

Multitasking

Resume and cover letter

In person presence

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Job description

Senior Staff Assistant, Graduate Programs Office

Category

Job Location

Tracking Code

26500148820917

Posted Date

9/18/2026

Salary Grade

No Grade

Expected Hiring Range Minimum

$24.63

Expected Hiring Range Maximum

$26.93

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, training and internal pay comparison. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Type

Full-Time/Regular

The Graduate Programs Office in the College of Engineering offers support to all graduate students from admissions through graduation. Our primary responsibilities are to drive all administrative processes related to graduate admissions, student support services, financial aid, and student records. We are seeking a dynamic individual to provide high level administrative support by staffing the reception desk and managing the flow of information to graduate students, faculty, department administrators and the public by answering phone calls, emails and greeting visitors. This position hires, schedules, supervises, and oversees student employees.

Essential Functions Include:

• Provides comprehensive administrative and operational support to the Graduate Program Office, serving as a key resource for students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders. Responds to verbal and e-mail inquiries using a broad understanding of University policies and procedures.
• Answers student, faculty and staff questions and provides explanations and instructions.
• Proactively ensures inquiries are addressed and resolved in a timely manner.
• Supports graduate admission and student services by coordinating the administrative processing of graduate applications; including matching credentials with applications, scanning & uploading application materials, and ensuring completeness before moving applications for review.
• Maintains accurate detailed records and corresponds with students regarding application statuses and expected timeline of admission decisions. Hires, schedules, trains, and supervises student employees.
• Conduct training, plan schedules, prioritizes their workflow, and leads the process of hiring of student employees for the entire office.
• Serves as primary contact for student employee questions and training.
• Plans, coordinates, and executes mid to large-scale events, which includes publicizing events.
• Provides resources to student groups regarding program planning and execution.
• Attends mid-to-high-level meetings and takes minutes to distribute to committee members.
• Assists with processing international student documents.
• Tracks and monitors all paperwork to ensure all details are included.
• Works closely with the Director Admissions, the Assistant Director of Admissions Operations, and the International Students and Scholars Office to problem-solve.
• Orders supplies and equipment on a routine basis.
• Ensures problems with office equipment or supplies are resolved.
• Responsible for managing inventory of office supplies. Works with student organizations on event planning, ordering of supplies and room reservations.
• Monitors, tracks, and reconciles budgets, pay invoices, and handles other financial matters of similar nature.
• Files documents and enters data into database systems, which requires knowledge of complex systems and being extremely detail orientated.
• Creates and maintains office filing and organizational procedures.
• Handles confidential information on a regular basis (e.g., personnel information and decisions, student records).

Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree preferred 1-3 years of related professional experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to deal effectively and diplomatically with various constituencies.
• Careful attention to detail is necessary. Strong organizational, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Able to work independently and accurately with high attention to detail.
• Ability to create a welcoming atmosphere to ensure success, belonging, satisfaction, and engagement of students, guests, and visitors.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and respond efficiently to a large volume of queries.
• Must include resume and cover letter to be considered.
• This position requires 5 days/week in person.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.