Job Description

The Administrative Officer is part of Finance & Operations Administration in the Law School at Vanderbilt University, serving as the leader responsible for management of faculty support staff including oversight of flow of work assignments, monitoring performance, attendance, time reporting, and employee relations. The primary responsibility of the administrative officer is to organize flow of daily operations to ensure service priorities are met utilizing a high degree of understanding of University and Law School policies and procedures including serving as a reviewer for all reimbursements and expense reports initiated by faculty assistants. This position is also responsible for management of the Law School’s Judicial Clerkship Program and support of faculty committees for clinical faculty recruitment and ad hoc faculty promotion and tenure. This position reports to the Assistant Dean for Personnel Services.

The Finance & Operations Administration team in the Law School is responsible for the management of all operations, finance, accounting, grants administration, human resources, and other business services. This team works to ensure compliance across the Law School relative to university policies and procedures as well as federal and state laws, or sponsor guidelines. The Faculty Support Services Department consists of six administrative assistants (each with a primary back-up) who work closely together to provide comprehensive administrative support to programs and their respective director(s) as well as faculty in their teaching and scholarship. The Academic Program Support Services team consists of three program coordinators and a manager who work closely together to provide comprehensive support to 9 academic programs and their respective program director(s) as well as participating faculty and students.

Duties and Responsibilities

Staff Manager

• Directly responsible for hiring, supervising, comprehensively training, policy administration, performance management, attendance monitoring, and time approvals for direct reports, temporary clerical office staff, and student workers.

• Provide oversight of workflow for 40 full-time primary faculty and 90 affiliated faculty members serving as an area resource ensuring adherence to university and school policies and procedures.

• Make hiring recommendations in collaboration with the Manager of Academic Program Support Services and consultation of the Assistant Dean for Personnel Services for the Academic Program Support team.

• Liaise with central HR on employee relations issues for direct reports.

• Make changes to faculty support assignments on an annual basis as new faculty are hired in consultation with the Assistant Dean for Personnel Services.

• Establishes, communicates, and suggests improvements to departmental processes as needed or in response to changes in university policies and procedures.

• Approaches questions and concerns from faculty, staff, and students with courtesy and an emphasis on customer service ensuring inquiries are handled quickly, and resolution is communicated timely.

• Accepts responsibility, addresses conflicts and problems, and monitors unresolved issues and requests assistance as needed to ensure timely resolution with guidance from the Assistant Dean for Personnel Services where needed.

• Exhibits absolute discretion with highly sensitive and confidential HR and personnel information.

• Builds and maintains strong working relationships with team members and key stakeholders.

• Participates in recurring meetings, trainings, and other opportunities to enhance knowledge, skills, and better understand resources available to staff.

Faculty Committee Manager

• Manage administrative responsibilities in support of ad hoc faculty promotion and tenure committees and the clinical faculty appointments committee (CFAC).

• Manage compilation and upload of candidate materials into Box.com and Interfolio, and printing and distributing materials to voting faculty members while maintaining confidentiality.

• Serve as back-up for faculty recruitment handled through Dean’s Office; stay abreast of systems and processes relating to faculty hiring.

Judicial Clerkship Manager

• Provide oversight for the Law School’s Judicial Clerkship Program by managing the in-depth application and submission process in coordination with the faculty clerkship advisor to standardize the process.

• Work closely with the Faculty Clerkship Advisor to manage the overall application and submission process. Develop tracking and reporting mechanisms to track the ongoing status for each applicant.

• Provide oversight, training and guidance to faculty support staff members, student workers and temporary employees in the preparation and assembling of personalized application packets for each student to each individual judge (i.e., personalized cover letter, letter of recommendation, resume, writing sample, and transcript).

• Ensure that all deadlines are met throughout the process so that our law students remain eligible and have equal footing among other law students in the very competitive process.

• Solicit feedback from support staff and the Faculty Clerkship Advisor about implementation of process improvements.

Administrative, Research, and Financial Management

• Manage and assume responsibility for various projects at request of faculty or administrative leader(s). Ensure administrative accuracy and integrity of special programs.

• Provide oversight of special faculty research projects involving copyright searches, obtaining permissions, processing fees and status tracking. Other research projects may involve compiling data, conducting searches, and summarizing findings according to general instruction.

• Serve as reimbursement request manager for visitors and work with the Law School Finance & Administration Services office to compile budget reports for special programs, projects, and initiatives.

• Serve as a reviewer for all faculty assistant initiated expense reports and reimbursements.

• Serve as a back-up to process law HCM transactions in Oracle Cloud, effort and costing coordination, general onboarding support, post-doctoral affairs management, visiting scholar and international visitor management.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position has direct supervisory responsibility for 6 faculty assistants and the Manager of Academic Program Support Services. The position reports administratively and functionally to the Assistant Dean for Personnel Services.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, or a directly related field from an accredited institution is required. A Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, or a directly related field from an accredited institution is strongly preferred.

• A minimum of seven (7) years of professional, progressively responsible HR experience is required.

• A minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience is required.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with ability to effectively relate to and promote diversity and inclusion is required.

• Demonstrated high levels of integrity, honesty, and openness to create strong and enduring collaboration with key leaders across the institution and community is required.

• Exceptional interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills are required.

• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality is required.

• Ability to take initiative, multi-task, and work well under pressure is required.

• Independent decision-making and critical thinking skills are required.

• Advanced experience with Microsoft Office Suite with advanced skills in Word and Excel is required.

• Strong proofreading and editing skills with precise attention to detail are required.

• Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally and ability to perform complex tasks and to prioritize multiple projects is required.

• Ability to provide technical advice and information to staff in areas of expertise is required.

• Knowledge of Vanderbilt policies and procedures, including experience with Oracle Cloud HCM is preferred.

• Experience in a higher education setting is preferred.

• An HRCI or SHRM certification is preferred.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.

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Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education. Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.