The College of Social Work (CSW) seeks a position for a full-time Administrative Specialist who will be an energetic and active part of a vibrant, fast moving team. This position provides high-level, quality administrative support for approximately 5-6 endowed faculty, including 2 endowed professorships. This position plans and directs the complex administrative support activities for the College of Social Work Endowed Faculty. The administrative assistant provides executive, administrative, and analytical support to the endowed faculty in a variety of areas, management of travel, new initiatives, endowed budgets, and events held by the endowed faculty. The administrative specialist must function independently and be self-directed to manage the needs of the endowed faculty, exercise good judgment, be organized and able to manage multiple projects at one time, analyze and respond to complex situations and tasks.

Required Qualifications

• Education:
  • High school diploma or GED
• Experience:
  • 4-5 years of experience in an office environment with a High School Diploma/GED
  • 2-3 years of experience in an office environment with a Bachelor's Degree
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
  • Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and assignments.
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information appropriately.
  • Professional decision-making and problem-solving skills.
  • Self-disciplined, motivated, and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, etc.) and Microsoft Teams.
  • Ability to work efficiently and effectively in a fast-paced environment.
  • Commitment to the mission, vision, and strategic plan of the College of Social Work and adherence to all University and College policies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education:
  • Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience
  • Prefer experience interacting with senior-level personnel in a business or academic environment planning and coordinating events. Experience with data analysis and report compilation.
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
  • Knowledge of the University of Tennessee, its policies and procedures.

Work Location

• Nashville TN

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: 5
• Salary Range: $40k - $44K
• Hybrid Schedule w/ occasional weekends, evenings, and overnight travel
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

For best consideration applicants should submit the following documents:

• Resume
• Cover Letter expressing interest in the role
• 3 Professional References

About The College/Department/Division

The College of Social Work is committed to advancing the mission of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as the state’s flagship land-grant university: to provide a quality public education for the citizens of Tennessee and beyond through exemplary teaching, research, and service. The college provides a professional social work education program that prepares bachelor’s and master's-level students for social work practice and doctoral-level graduate students for social work research and academia.

Endowed Faculty Support

Core duties include administrative and financial support:

-Managing endowed faculty budgets, including monthly reconciliation to ensure expenses are accurate and in compliance and daily administrative support needs.

-Submitting Order Request Forms (ORFs) for purchases (office supplies, memberships, events, travel)

-Creating, submitting, and revising expense reports.

-Processing petty cash requests.

-Supporting faculty travel such as providing guidance on travel policies and deadlines and submitting travel requests and assisting with international travel requirements, and coordinating travel cards.

-Coordinating faculty travel that includes multiple funding sources, international travel compliance, and reimbursement documentation.

-Providing clerical and administrative support, such as scheduling meetings and assisting with data collection.

-Works on a variety of complex assignments such as managing and reconciling multiple endowed budgets with different funding restrictions and reporting requirements.

-Supporting endowed programs or initiatives that require tracking expenses, timelines, and deliverables across departments.

-Coordinating speaking engagements that involve contracts, honoraria, travel, and coordination with multiple campus offices.

-Ensuring expenses align with endowment guidelines, university policy, and donor intent, while resolving discrepancies as they arise.

-These assignments require independent judgment, attention to detail, and coordination across financial, academic, and administrative units by independently managing administrative and financial matters for endowed faculty by proactively identifying issues, recommending solutions, and coordinating appropriate processes to ensure compliance, efficiency, and continuity of operations.

-Acts independently to identify and recommend methods and procedures to solve problems and address concerns to improve office efficiency along with Identifying and resolving budget discrepancies before they become compliance issues; Proactively addressing travel or reimbursement delays by correcting documentation or coordinating with the appropriate offices; Troubleshooting issues related to ORFs, expense reports, or contracts and ensuring they move forward without unnecessary delays; Serving as a point of contact to clarify policies, answer questions, or redirect faculty to the appropriate department when needed; Anticipating administrative needs of endowed faculty and taking action before issues escalate; and overall, this means reducing barriers for faculty so they can focus on teaching, research, and engagement.

Provide assistance to Endowed Faculty on support of a research center at the Nashville campus. Duties may include:

-Providing financial and administrative support related to research activities

-Assisting with scheduling, reporting, and documentation

-Supporting purchasing, travel, and reimbursement processes tied to research-related work

-Supporting all of the research center’s individual and community events. This will include advertising, RSVPs, room setup, and providing food or swag as needed based on the type of event.

Provide DASH Financial support

-Provide travel support and reimbursement requests for endowed faculty .

-Providing information on travel policies and deadlines and answering any questions or directing endowed faculty to the point of contact or department.

-Submitting ORFs (Order Request Forms) for purchase items such as office supplies and memberships, event food, and all travel -Assisting with international travel requirements and travel card requests.

-Creating and submitting expense reports for faculty review/resubmission if/when needed, including gathering agendas, receipts, and conference details.

-Process petty cash requests for the endowed faculty.

Event Coordination for Endowed Faculty

-Work with endowed faculty on events they will be hosting.

-Ensure the delivery of services and goods with internal and external vendors.

-Create and manage event registrations through Qualtrics or other appropriate platforms.

-Collaborate with the CSW Communications team to create event advertisements for stakeholders, and to execute virtual events on social media and other digital platforms.

-Oversee the contract process with internal and external vendors for events.

-Select appropriate vendors for catering, swag, entertainment, and various event-related materials.

-Submit invoices and work with the CSW Business Office to ensure timely payments.

-Manage the process for obtaining event spaces and/or equipment rentals ensuring consistency across all events.

-Other duties as assigned.