Assistant to Department Head - Computer Science

Job no: 501448
Work type: Full-Time
Location: University City - Philadelphia, PA
Categories: Drexel University, College of Computing and Informatics

Job Summary

The Assistant to the Department Head reports to the Department Head of Computer Science and is directly responsible for managing the following areas: financial functions, human resource management and facilities management. The role of the Assistant is multi-disciplinary and requires financial, personnel management, organizational, and excellent communication skills. The Assistant also has dotted line reporting to the Assistant Dean, Operations and Faculty Affairs in the areas of facilities management, daily College operations, and faculty affairs. The Assistants will regularly coordinate with and inform the Assistant Dean about departmental matters to ensure clear communication and efficient operations College wide. The Assistant works closely with the Director of Finance and Administration in monitoring expenses and following general university policies and procedures.

Essential Functions

General Secretarial Support to the Department Head and Associate Department Heads:

• Manage schedule and calendar; includes travel arrangements and prioritization of events.
• Point of contact for external parties (i.e., visitors) and internal contacts (i.e., administrators, faculty, staff, and students).
• Manage daily activities of the main office for the department, including ordering supplies and hospitality (coffee/water services).
• Schedule, coordination and support of departmental meetings, conferences, academic integrity appeals, special events, etc.
  • Inform and consult with Events Manager as needed. Work collaboratively with the Events Manager for needs outside the department.
• Typing of internal and external correspondence.
• General office functions to support the department: run Hyperion reports (term master schedule, class lists, etc.), filing, distribution of department mail, printing exams, shredding, etc.

Finance:

• Maintain departmental credit card for departmental purchases and travel arrangements.
• Reconcile departmental and Department Head credit card charges each month.
• Review all departmental faculty credit card statements for receipts and proper cost centers.
• Process all travel expense reimburse reports for departmental faculty and students.
  • Review for receipts
  • proper cost centers.
  • Department head approval/signature
  • Submit to Procurement/Travel Office (travel@drexel.edu
• Submit Smart Source requisitions (purchase orders and check requests).
• Keep track of departmental travel budget and the total that have been approved and spent.

Management:

• Provide administrative support in the hiring process for all faculty appointments, including accurate position descriptions, advertising for positions, managing interview processes.
  • Receive, sort and organize faculty candidate curriculum vitae for faculty candidates.
  • Generate and send acknowledgement to faculty candidates.
  • Arrange flight, lodging and dinner reservations for faculty candidates.
  • Create and finalize faculty candidate agenda for campus visit, including meeting with the Dean.
  • Update PageUp on all applicant statuses in a timely manner.
• Maintain files on all faculty members in the department including current vitae.
• Assist with all faculty related documents/collection including:
  • Visa/sponsorship paperwork
  • Work with the Program Manager for Faculty Affairs (e.g., tenure and promotion).
• Hire, train and supervise student employees/work-study students to provide administrative support to the department.
• Process E-PAF's (position appointment forms) for applicable student hires (e.g., course assistants, work study students, etc.)
  • Approve biweekly timesheets and facilitate Payroll Resolution Forms as needed.
  • Work with Director of Finance and Administration to resolve payroll issues
• Create adjunct E-PAFS (see below).

Academic Operations (performed on quarterly basis):

• Assist Department Head and/or Associate Department Heads with course scheduling and all related issues:
  • Manage the adjunct pool and maintain spreadsheet on rates of pay.
  • Create and maintain Terms and Conditions forms/contracts for all adjuncts and faculty overload. Ensure receipt of form before payment is authorized.
  • Create E-PAF’s for all adjuncts and overload.
  • Data entry of position numbers in Banner (SIASSGN).
• Maintain faculty workload information for the Department Head.
• Place textbook orders for the department.
• Ensure feedback on course evaluation is forwarded to the department for review. (Coordinate with college level academic affairs personnel.)
• Collect and maintain syllabi for all departmental courses. (Coordinate with college level academic affairs personnel.)

Physical Plant:

• Assist central administration with coordination of repairs of all departmental facilities.
• Responsible for oversight of departmental area organization, cleanliness, etc. including classrooms and labs.

Technology:

• Must be familiar with departmental office equipment, (i.e., network printers, fax machine, photocopier, etc.) and provide assistance or coordination with IT group.
• Perform basic printer maintenance, including changing toner and clearing paper jams.
• Act as a liaison between technology staff and faculty to aid in repair of simple computer problems.

Team Duties

• Support administrative functions at the college level as needed and directed by the Assistant Dean of Operations & Faculty Affairs.
• Serve as back up to other academic departments and/or the dean’s office.

Other Special Projects as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• A minimum of a High School Diploma or GED.
• At least 2 years secretarial support experience.

Other requirements

• Ability to remain highly organized in a complex environment.
• Ability to effectively communicate with visitors, administration, faculty, staff, and students and members of other departments throughout all levels of the organization.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Team player to assist at college level events and functions as needed.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

3 years secretarial support, and 1-2 years fiscal management experience.

Physical Demands

• Typically sitting at a desk/table.

Location

University City – Philadelphia, PA

Additional Information

This position is classified as Exempt with a salary grade of J. For more information regarding Drexel’s Professional Staff salary structure, https://drexel.edu/hr/career/ducomp/salstructure/

Please review the Drexel New Hire Benefit Guide for some information on our benefits offerings.

Special Instructions to the Applicant

Please make sure you upload your resume and cover letter when submitting your application.

Review of applicants will begin once a suitable candidate pool is identified.