Program Assistant 3, Residential Community and Support

Department: Residential Experience
Salary/Grade: NEX/11

Northwestern University's Residential Services helps build a community environment for students through housing-related services, intentional learning opportunities and residential settings that include residence halls, residential communities, and residential colleges. Learn more about the Residential Services department, the Office of Residential Experience and the Residential Community and Support team here: https://www.northwestern.edu/living/index.html

Job Summary

The Program Assistant coordinates Residential Community & Support (RCS) administrative processes and prioritizes, directs, and responds to business matters involving administrative functions associated with human resources, payroll, education, and operations.

The Program Assistant acts as the administrative lead for the department and provides support for the Office of Residential Experience. They directly support the Directors within the Office of Residential Experience by effectively and efficiently managing the directors' calendar, travel arrangements, and workflow requirements, and create and cultivate internal and external relationships that will ensure that all associated activities are completed diplomatically and on time. The RCS Program Assistant also serves as a key member of the RCS team providing direction and education to staff and student affiliates on financial and administrative processes.

Pay Range: The pay range for this Program Assistant position is $45,022.50 - $46,980 per year ($23 - $24 per hour) depending on experience, skills, and internal equity.

Principal Accountabilities:

Human Resources and Payroll 30%

• Process all onboarding and offboarding paperwork for over 130 Resident Assistants/Graduate Resident Assistants and 9 Assistant Resident Directors.
• Process onboarding and offboarding paperwork for 16 RCS full-time professional staff
• Manage hours and payroll for 1 - 2 student employees throughout the year.
• Process all one-time payments/stipends for student leaders and professional staff including mobile allowances.
• Resolve hiring, termination, payroll etc. processing problems for student leaders and professional staff.

Accounting 30%

• Manage procurement for the REx team and multiple Student Resource rooms including office supplies, merchandise and iBuyNU acquisitions.
• Reconcile all RCS charges with departmental budgets.
• Provide training & ongoing support to RCS staff regarding expense reports, SOFO policies and budgeting resources.
• Resolve discrepancies and issues with budget, expense processing, etc.
• Manage Corporate Card reconciliations: for self, for Directors within Residential Experience, and any charges within RCS related to travel & professional development.

Office and Program Coordination 20%

• Maintain office operations records.
• Maintain calendars for supervisor and help coordinate calendars for the RCS team including but not limited to RCS Operational calendar
• Coordinate travel arrangements for conference attendance
• Coordinate and update agenda items including running data summaries from multiple systems and creating visual displays of data.
• Respond independently to inquiries via phone, email, or in person
• Manage all contracts, services and rentals including payment of 20 cell phone lines
• Access and run reports from Student Information Systems including student enrollment, meal plans, and grade verifications
• Collaborate with staff in shared office space to ensure adequate supply ordering and operational needs are maintained
• Manage departmental storage including inventory & redistribution of items
• Coordinate Residential Experience space reservations in collaboration with internal and external partners.
• Manage departmental printing processes

Communication 10%

• Take, revise and disseminate minutes from various RCS meetings
• Support Director with creating and cultivating internal and external relationships
• Manage departmental marketing including updating and collection of materials, ordering & distribution and engaging social media templates for RCS
• Manage RCS departmental email account

Supervision 5%

• Recruit, hire, and supervise one to two undergraduate student employees throughout the academic year to support routine clerical operations.

Other duties as assigned 5%

Minimum Qualifications:

• A high school diploma or equivalent required.
• 4 years of administrative support or other relevant experience required.
• Direct experience with basic Microsoft Suite: Outlook, Word, Excel, & PowerPoint

Minimum Competencies:

• Intermediate knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, email, and database software programs is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Previous experience with office management in a corporate or collegiate environment
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple projects
• Direct experience with entire Microsoft Suite: Teams, SharePoint, OneNote
• Direct experience with budget tracking and management in an office setting
• Previous customer service training or demonstrated direct experience with customer service in an office setting

Preferred Competencies:

• Familiarity with confidentiality and privacy laws (or experience working in environments subject to confidentiality and/or privacy laws)

Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth and Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.