Administrative Assistant II

Job Summary

This position provides operational and administrative support for the Kaçar laboratory, with immediate responsibility for maintaining continuity on NASA ICAR MUSE and related laboratory operations.

Core responsibilities

• Coordinating administrative, budgetary, and communication needs across a high-volume research laboratory.
• Serving as the administrative point of contact for NASA ICAR MUSE and other multi-institutional research teams, including scheduling, meeting logistics, communications, and follow-up on action items.
• Supporting pre-award grant preparation, proposal timelines, document routing, and submission coordination.
• Serving as the administrative point of contact for NASA ICAR MUSE and other multi-institutional research teams, including scheduling, meeting logistics, communications, and follow-up on action items.
• Supporting post-award grant management, including budget tracking, award documentation, purchasing, expense reconciliation, and reporting.
• Providing direct PI support to project milestones, deadlines, budget oversight, and compliance-related administrative processes.

Required Qualifications

• Organizational and time-management skills that include problem-solving, multi-tasking, prioritizing, and meeting deadlines.
• Knowledge of pre- and post-award grant scientific management, preferably with experience in large federal grants.
• Experience communicating and coordinating operational team logistics across teams or institutions.
• Prior experience with personnel administration support such as recruitment, hiring, onboarding, offboarding, travel, purchasing and reimbursements, and records management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of grant submission platforms, such as federal proposal submission systems.
• Prior experience working in a laboratory or research environment.
• Prior experience with administrative systems commonly used in higher education (e.g., Workday, Concur, purchasing card reconciliation, financial/travel platforms, etc.).

Department

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), Department of Bacteriology, Kaçar Laboratory.

Compensation

The minimum pay for this position is $22/hour. However, final salary will depend on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Additional benefits information can be found at: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/univstaff.pdf.

Qualifications

• H.S. Diploma preferred minimum

Work Schedule

Normal hours are 7:45am – 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.

Contact Information

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), HR Manager, Erin Cook at erin.cook@wisc.edu
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), HR Generalist, Veronica Pierce at veronica.pierce@wisc.edu

Institutional Statement on Diversity

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies.