Details
Posted: 12-May-22
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Type: Full Time
Preferred Education: High School
Categories:
Career Services
Human Resource/Staffing
Recruiting/Talent Acquisition
Department
HUM Staff: English
About the Department
The Department of English Language and Literature has played a highly regarded role in the transformation of literary studies over the past half century. Our faculty and students have participated centrally in the rethinking and reshaping of the discipline. The Department is composed of over 40 faculty members and has a graduate student population of approximately 80. The staff provide administrative services to facilitate and support the work of the faculty, students, and other staff.
Job Summary
The Department Assistant supports the Chair of the Department in the following ways including, but not limited to: coordinating departmental events, communicating on behalf of the department both internally and externally, overseeing faculty personnel cases (such as tenure cases and faculty hiring), and keeping the Chair’s schedule.
Responsibilities
- Serves as the primary logistical planner for departmental events. This includes scheduling; booking rooms, flights, and accommodations; and sharing promotional materials (lecture series, admissions, etc.).
- Works alongside faculty committees and the Chair to offer a high degree of staff support for complex coordination.
- Corresponds with guests and faculty to organize travel plans and other scheduling needs. Connects them with other staff members as necessary.
- Keeps in contact with caterers, tech contractors, and other support staff. Handles the payment of invoices, honoraria, etc.
- Serves as the point of contact for co-sponsored English events and logistics.
- Acts as the main departmental contact on the Chair’s behalf. This includes initiating correspondence, reaching out to find answers to the Chair’s questions, and following-up when needed. An understanding of departmental confidentiality is required.
- Maintains the Chair’s schedule and departmental calendar. Develops a schedule for the uneven rhythm of the year.
- Maintains departmental digital records.
- Processes the Chair’s expenses.
- Streamlines processes and keep a running tab of what work requires the Chair’s input and what can be done independently.
- Writes copy, edits, and posts on the department’s social media and website.
- Updates website including but not limited to: faculty and graduate student bios, ongoing events, admissions materials, etc.
- Creates posters and other promotional materials for departmental events. Shares materials internally within the UChicago and English Department communities as well as with the public.
- Accommodates administrative requirements for hiring, contract renewal, tenure, and promotion cases.
- Ensures that new hires have appropriate resources to integrate appropriately into the Department and University environment, e.g., access to faculty websites, housing arrangements, international visa offices, travel, as well as assist to schedule and advertise courses.
- Collects updated faculty CVs and annual reports for the Office of the Dean, as well as maintains a calendar of faculty leave of absence requests.
- Manages the faculty leave schedules.
- Communicates general knowledge about the Department to the public.
- Orders and stocks office supplies, sorts mail.
- Fields phone calls for the Chair.
- Assists the Student Affairs Administrator and Department Administrator during peak workloads.
- Answers internal faculty or student queries or follow-up to find the answer.
- Provides administrative support for a leader. Stays informed of activities relating to programs and initiatives, apprising the leader of issues when deemed necessary. Coordinates information flow from leader's office.
- Triages emails and telephone calls for action. Resolves mostly routine and some complex inquiries.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
Education:
Minimum requirements include vocational training, apprenticeships or the equivalent experience in related field (not typically required to have a four-year degree).
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Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher.
Experience:
- Working in higher education.
- Organizing events.
- Working with logistical-type work.
- Writing on behalf of others.
- Working in an office environment.
- Working with accounting or financial-type work.
Technical Skills or Knowledge:
- Excellent verbal and written skills including proofreading.
- ?Skilled at managing details while not losing sight of the overall goal.
- Knowledge to handle all documents appropriately and with accuracy.
- Excellent communication skills including listening.
Preferred Competencies
- Meticulous with details and accuracy.
- Adaptability to diverse situations.
- Teamwork competency.
- Being organized.
- Understanding who the constituents are and meeting their needs.
- Multitasking and meeting deadlines.
Working Conditions
- Office environment.
- Lift and/or push/pull up to 25lbs.
- Use a computer for several hours.
Application Documents
- Resume/CV (required)
- Letter of Interest in this position (required)
- References Contact Information (3)(required)
- Please answer the following questions: a) When was a time that you had to handle both long-term deadlines with immediate, urgent tasks? b) How did you balance the two?
When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Posting Statement
Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward.
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
