Office Manager, Biology and Physics bei Loyola University - New Orleans, LA

About the Department

The Office Manager provides clerical support, manages departmental financial processes, and works closely with Chairs to manage general operations of the Departments of Biological Sciences and Physics. The Office Manager coordinates student advising; recruits and supervises work-study students and student assistants; and provides assistance to prospective and current students, staff, faculty, alumni, parents, and other departmental stakeholders. The Office Manager plans, promotes, and coordinates departmental activities and events such as the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The Office Manager routinely maintains and updates public web pages, departmental intranet sites, and permanent records of departmental financial and administrative activities.

Position Duties

• Works closely and routinely communicates with Chairs to ensure that the Departments of Biological Sciences (hereafter Biology) and Physics are operated in an efficient, friendly, and professional manner.
• Facilitates communication in person and via phone, email, text, web pages, and social media to ensure that the needs and concerns of current and prospective students, faculty, and staff are addressed in a prompt and courteous fashion.
• Promptly assists faculty in communicating with students during unplanned, last-minute, emergency situations that require a delay or cancelation of instruction. This may include posting signs in classrooms, writing messages on white boards, or unlocking doors.
• Familiarizes self with university policies and procedures and the academic requirements of Biology and Physics majors in order to help answer questions from current and prospective students or best advise them about where to seek information.
• Maintains an open, inviting, and productive office space. The Office Manager serves as the primary liaison to current and prospective students, faculty, and staff and therefore ensures that Biology and Physics offices are open and staffed as much as possible from 8:45 am until 4:45 pm Monday through Friday and that someone is on hand to answer the telephone, route calls, take and deliver messages, and make appointments. The Office Manager should be present Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the Biology office and Wednesdays in the Physics office, although this schedule may be adjusted based on changes in the respective needs of the two departments.
• Updates departmental calendars on a regular basis and maintains reservation schedules for vehicles and shared spaces such as the Biology Conference Room (MO 451).
• Maintains up-to-date and accurate financial records and works with Chairs to monitor budgets on a regular basis to ensure proper accounting including the general accounts, lab fee accounts, and other department accounts. Excel, Google spreadsheets, or other apps should be used to maintain more detailed records than are possible in LORA and that are needed to reconcile budgets.
• Prepares, processes and monitors departmental expenditures such as quotes, purchase requests, invoices, check requests and central supply orders in a timely and accurate fashion.
• Assists faculty with managing their research and teaching expenses and obtaining reimbursements.
• Handles routine clerical duties such as data entry, filing, photocopying, collecting mail, obtaining parking passes, and sending and receiving mail and packages. Clerical duties are generally limited to business directly related to administration of departments and not to needs of individual faculty.
• Assists Chairs with producing timely, accurate, professional and grammatically correct communications such as letters, memos, surveys, reports, forms, work orders etc.
• Assists Chair with scheduling courses by entering future course offerings into Colleague.
• Attends and actively participates in monthly departmental meetings and other departmental functions. Based on preference of Chair, records, revises, and posts draft and approved minutes of departmental meetings in shared drives and intranet.
• Helps plan, promote, and coordinate research seminars and annual events such as Meet the Majors, Undergraduate Research Symposium, BioBash, Sigma Pi Sigma induction ceremony, and graduating student award ceremonies. Makes room reservations up to six months in advance. 
• Coordinates with Sodexo and other vendors to host departmental events.
• Assigns new and transfer students to academic advisors and works with Chairs to ensure that advising workload is distributed evenly among faculty. Routinely uses Argos to ensure that all Biology and Physics majors are assigned a major advisor.
• Maintains and replenishes office supplies, postage, and forms.
• Oversees poster printer that is used by multiple departments and programs. Maintains inventory of supplies and orders paper and ink as needed using funds from Dean's office.
• Coordinates with Lab Coordinator to recruit, train, supervise, and direct work-study students in support of teaching and departmental administration. 
• Coordinates with Lab Coordinator Azby Greenhouse Manager, faculty, and vendors for maintenance, repairs, warranties, etc. of departmental equipment, spaces, and vehicles.
• Works with alumni office to maintain and update records of biology graduates.
• Coordinates with Chairs and search committees to arrange for booking travel and accommodations for candidates for staff and faculty positions.
• Maintains and updates public web pages and departmental intranets.
• Submits PNFs as needed.
• Assists with onboarding new hires and offboarding departing personnel.
• Submits work requests for cleaning and repairs and coordinates with Physical Plant to ensure safety and functionality of departmental spaces, including conference rooms (e.g., MO 451).
• Follows through to ensure that all administrative functions, duties, and responsibilities are completed in a timely fashion and routinely updates Chairs, faculty, and staff on any delays or impediments to completion.
• Other related duties as assigned.

• Maintains an inviting, neat, clean, well-organized and uncluttered reception area and work place with door open and lights on during hours of operation.
• Discusses changes in schedule in advance with Chairs (depending on day of week). Promptly notifies Chairs of unplanned tardiness or absences.
• Works independently for making professional, mature and accurate decisions even in the absence of written policy. 
• Maintains open and regular communications with all faculty and staff in Biology and Physics. 
• Prioritizes tasks appropriately. 
• Uses appropriate discretion and confidentiality in interactions with students and faculty concerning departmental and university issues. 
• Recommends continuous improvements to work processes. 
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum Highschool diploma, GED, or equivalent. Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Minimum two years of office administrative experience. Experience with staff management preferred.
• Excellent accounting or budgeting skills. 
• Expert proficiency with computers and use of productivity software such as Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint as well as ability to quickly learn and expertly use university systems such as LORA, Colleague, and Argos.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Effective writing and verbal communication skills with the ability to exercise tact, diplomacy, and courtesy in dealings with others.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, patience, and a positive attitude with the ability to anticipate needs of others.
• Demonstratable commitment to timely and professional office management and operations.
• Ability to adjust to constant requests from a variety of different individuals.
• Ability to work under pressure in a very active and productive environment.
• Must possess and maintain a current valid driver’s license as a condition of employment, and must also be able to successfully pass any driver background information investigation and any driver education courses required by Risk Management.

• Familiarity with academic environment, especially the life and physical sciences.

• Ability to perform job duties with or without reasonable accommodations.
• Ability to complete miscellaneous errands on campus and sometimes off campus.
• Ability to drive 12-passenger vans.