Administrative Specialist- Civil Engineering bei Vanderbilt University

The Administrative Specialist is part of the Kosson Research Group at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual responsible for providing administrative support to Dr. David Kosson, Distinguished Professor, PI of CRESP (a consortium and collaborative research effort of more than 20 domestic and foreign research organizations) and Director of the Environmental Engineering Lab.

About the Work Unit:
Vanderbilt’s Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department vision is to be one of the foremost Civil and Environmental Engineering programs in effecting tangible change to resolve problems of critical importance to humanity in the built environment and the natural world through inspired teaching, research, and service, and to maintain a culture of leadership within an educational setting that values research innovation and impact. CEE prepares students to be leaders in Civil and Environmental Engineering in an era of rapid evolution of the profession, to perform innovative basic and applied research that will meet critical challenges in infrastructure and natural resources and provides service to institutions and government agencies that assists in resolving societal problems.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:
Manage daily operations of the Kosson Research Group Team
• Provide administrative support and coordination to faculty and staff in the Kosson Research Group
• Maintain calendar and scheduling for Prof. Kosson, including coordination with faculty, students, staff, and off-site professionals, senior government officials from multiple federal agencies, national laboratories, foreign collaborators.
• Serve as a liaison with faculty, staff, and students.
• Maintain communications and e-mail tracking for Prof. Kosson
• Responsible for travel arrangements and reimbursements for the research group. Also, responsible for travel arrangements for invited guests to Vanderbilt for the research group.
• Schedule, make all arrangements (including for locations and vendors), and logistics for on-site meetings, and assist with workshops, seminars, symposiums, and large group meetings with external visitors. Attend & take notes at meetings as requested.
• Support general research group needs, including greeting visitors and making sure their visits proceed smoothly, coordinating meetings and special events, etc.
• Order equipment and supplies
• Provide backup administrative support for other departmental staff
• Assist with updating bios and CVs for key faculty and staff of the Kosson research group and CRESP as needed for proposals, reports, etc.
• Assist with updating the websites
• Assisting with the preparation and formatting of reports, communications, and presentation slides (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, emails)
• Other tasks as assigned

Supervisory Relationships:
This position does not have supervisory responsibility; this position reports administratively and functionally to the Associate Director of CRESP.

Education and Certifications:
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education and related experience is necessary

Experience and Skills:
Duties may require the exercise of independent judgment, initiative, and the ability to make thoughtful decisions.
• At minimum of 2 years of experience; five years of experience is preferred
• Strong communication and verbal skills are necessary
• Strong organizational & analytical skills are necessary.
• Resourcefulness and detail-orientation are necessary.
• Excellent interpersonal, written & oral communication skills and the ability to work with a wide range of constituencies are necessary.
• Ability to plan, develop, and coordinate multiple projects is necessary.
• Ability to work both as a member of a team & independently is necessary.
• Software Skills:
o Word*
o Excel
o Outlook* (must have experience managing multiple inboxes)
o PowerPoint*
o Zoom/Teams*
o Travel Arrangements
o SharePoint/OneNote
o Data Entry
* High level of proficiency and skill is essential

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