Staff Assistant III

About the role

The Department of Water, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (WEES) at Utah State University seeks an experienced and highly professional staff assistant to work with students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders. The primary functions of the position are serving as the department’s Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and a subset of other administrative support duties that are split with the department’s Program Assistant.

Responsibilities

• Graduate Program Coordinator (55%):

  • Serve on the WEES Graduate Committee with the Graduate Program Director and Department Head
  • Respond to graduate program inquiries from interested students
  • Monitor, accept, and deny graduate applications (e.g., using Recruit system)
  • Cook with the Business Service Center (BSC) to hire graduate research/teaching assistants and coordinate health insurance qualifications, tuition awards/payments
  • Track and approve forms submitted by graduate students throughout their program
  • Cook with the WEES Graduate Committee and Graduate School to approve external individuals to serve on USU committees
  • Monitor degree awarding, including verifying documentation in Degree Works
  • Cook with the GPD for onboarding/orientation for new graduate students
  • Aid with WEES/QANR/Grad School requirements, such as Graduate Mentoring Agreements and Annual Evaluations, and their archival in Box
  • Attend monthly (or as scheduled) GPC meetings with the Graduate School Staff Assistant

• Advancement, Outreach, & recruitment (40%):

  • Manage social media accounts and postings
  • Design and print department marketing materials, including posters, banners, digital media, etc. (coordinate with WEES Program Assistant)
  • Edit and proofread written materials for the department
  • Track department accomplishments, and submit relevant papers/awards to college media team for further coverage
  • Write journalistic articles for USU Today and other outlets (e.g., department website) on department research and happenings

• Curriculum Coordination (5%):

  • Coordinate with the Department Head creation of course schedules, including Coursedog entries
  • Coordinate curriculum changes, additions, and course fees
  • Coordinate new program submissions and catalog changes
  • Cook with Faculty Undergraduate Advisors as needed

• Other (5%):

  • Personal professional development, including courses, training, conference travel, or other appropriate forms of professional development
  • Other duties, as assigned

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualification:

  • Four years of experience; or an associate degree/technical training plus two years of experience; or a bachelor’s degree is required.

• Preferred Qualifications:

  • Advanced skill with Microsoft Office applications
  • Experience working in higher education
  • Experience working in an administrative assistant and/or Graduate Program Coordinator role
  • Knowledge of USU’s enterprise systems (e.g., Banner, Servicenow, Box)

• Skills, Abilities:

  • Skilled with computer programs and related software
  • Excellent critical thinking skills
  • Skilled in creative problem solving
  • Good organizational skills
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to handle sensitive and confidential business data and personal information
  • Ability to work without supervision
  • Knowledge of University policies and procedures
  • Excellent customer service skills