Clerk V (Office Manager)

About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.

The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers.

In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

Job Summary

The Office Manager (Clerk V) is responsible for the administrative management of the Social Thought and Political Economy program and serves in a variety of roles, including as program coordinator, business and personnel manager, scheduling officer, and events coordinator.

Essential Functions

Serves as office manager by providing leadership and problem-solving initiative in the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the program.

Develops and implements various administrative procedures to ensure efficiency and that goals of the program are met. Oversees program space allocation and reporting, including the planning, renovation, and maintenance of public and office space for faculty, graduate teaching assistants and staff.

Collaborates with the Director on a variety of special projects including strategic planning or program Academic Quality Assessment and Development (AQAD) reviews.

Collaborates with the Director and coordinates with cross-college interdisciplinary partners to appropriately allocate resources to meet curricular demands by managing teaching assignments and contracts for part-time faculty, lecturers and teaching assistants.

Serves as personnel manager, ensuring correct and timely preparation, processing and management of all personnel actions and records.

Serves as business manager by analyzing program resources and budget. Makes strategic recommendations to the Director on current and projected status of overall financial and personnel operations in the program;

works collaboratively on budget and personnel planning. Authorizes a variety of financial transactions including purchases, recharges, invoice payments, reimbursements, faculty travel, journal entries and work orders.

Prepares purchase orders and administer Bank Card accounts for program purchases.

Collaborates with the Director on enrollment and curriculum management to meet the strategic goals for the program's curriculum, enrollment growth and student success objectives.

Provides the Director with enrollment data for future needs and trends. Serves as scheduling officer, resolving problematic issues and special requests as required.

Serves as the program's course scheduling representative with access to the SPIRE system to schedule academic courses and request classroom reservations.

Manages the process of curricular changes, and approval of changes through appropriate channels in the University (college, faculty senate, university).

Keeps apprised of all rules and regulations involving all aspects of course scheduling.

• Supports a variety of program events including public lectures and events for student recruitment and success. Coordinates publicity, secure venue, catering, necessary campus resources, hotel arrangements, honoraria, and travel reimbursements.
• Provides support for outreach and recruitment of new students from high schools and community colleges.
• In collaboration with the Director and Associate Director, works with the Alumni Association to develop program outreach with alumni.

Assists the Alumni Association in maintaining a database and creating reports of alumni.

• Serves as liaison to Physical Plant, IT and Network Communications. Performs other duties as assigned or required showing adaptability and flexibility to accomplish goals.
• Serves as the curriculum representative, responsible for collecting course syllabi and course descriptions as well as uploading them to the Course and Curriculum Management system and receiving student evaluations reports.

Other Functions

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• High school diploma and five (5) years of full-time or equivalent part-time experience in administrative work.
• Excellent ability to work both independently and to be part of an effective team with a highly cooperative and collaborative work style.
• The ability to adapt and work effectively as the situation changes.
• Knowledge of bookkeeping and financial administration practices.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills with the ability to interact effectively, and create and maintain harmonious relationships with a diverse population of staff, faculty, students and off-campus constituents.
• Must have the ability to stay on task and work productively with a minimum of supervision.
• Ability to write concisely, express thoughts clearly and develop ideas in a logical sequence.
• Extensive organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to complete assignments in a timely manner, balancing the demands of concurrent and potentially competing projects.
• The ability to investigate a situation, seek out additional information and resolve discrepancies.
• The ability to think through problems, organize information, identify key factors and underlying causes to generate solutions.
• Ability to read, understand, apply, and explain rules, regulations and policies / procedures related to duties.
• Ability to understand and follow complex oral and written instructions and create effective and efficient work processes.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and varying situations with independence, competent judgment, and discretion.
• Flexibility to work with initiative and willingness to take on a variety of tasks related to the successful operation and administration of the unit.
• Excellent computer usage skills including email, spreadsheets (including formulas), word processing, and databases.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to follow guidelines, procedures, and policies.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Knowledge of the UMass systems (such as finance, HR, scheduling, and space management) needed to perform position duties.
• Knowledge of general University, College, and Departmental practices, polices, and procedures needed to perform position duties.
• Certified Travel Preparer.

Physical Demands / Working Conditions

Typical office environment.

Work Schedule

Monday - Friday, 8 : 30am - 5 : 00pm.

Salary Information

USA / MTA Grade 15

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume. References will be checked at the finalist stage. Please be prepared to provide contact information for three (3) professional references.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, caste, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, political belief or affiliation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related condition(s), veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, natural and protective hairstyle and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University.

To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans.

It is the policy of UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.