Jobs for People with MS: National MS Society

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $90,000 - $100,000

Position Summary

The Religion Department at Columbia University engages students in critical, comparative, and interdisciplinary exploration of religious life. The faculty's research and teaching build upon the shared understandings that religion continues to be a central and influential component of human life, society, and politics-and that, furthermore, religious transmission and authority are constantly being shaped in dynamic interactions with other religious traditions, societies, and cultures. The curriculum in religion teaches students how to analyze and investigate religious texts, histories, beliefs, bodies, and communities using a variety of disciplinary and methodological approaches.

The Director of Academic Administration and Finance will report to the Chair. The incumbent is responsible for the organization and planning of the day-to-day academic and administrative activities of the department including financial management, personnel management, space management, and the provision of student and faculty services. The Director of Administration and Finance assumes overall responsibility for the department's administrative budget and supervision of the instructional budget, as well as the oversight of all projects in the department, including department's gift accounts and grants and accounts connected with any special programs. The incumbent will work closely with the EVP A&S Office and partners with other offices throughout the University.

Responsibilities

Academic / Department Administration

• Responsible for the hiring, training and supervising of the department's staff and work-study/student workers and working closely with the EVP A&S offices (HR Administration and EVP Finance and Budget Office) for the processing of documentation and administration of all faculty, staff, and students' appointments; oversees faculty search activities; explains University benefits and policies.
• Acts as primary administrative contact for all international hires, coordinating with the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) in visas, visa renewals, housing advice, and related paperwork as well as assists faculty in immigration processing.
• Collaborates with the Chair and Academic Affairs Office to complete faculty searches, tenure and academic research appointments and other academic administration. Oversees the adjunct faculty appointment processing ensuring timely submissions to the Academic Affairs Office.
• Works with Chair and other departmental officers in reviewing curricular planning; curriculum proposal; faculty teaching schedules and class times and room assignments; engages in planning new program initiatives and directly works to complete their implementation.
• Manages day-to-day aspects of admissions and fellowship/assistant awards including contact with prospective students; advises students and oversees registration and nomination procedures for university fellowships.
• Maintains confidential student files and tracks student rankings and fellowship preferences and awards.
• Acts as a primary administrative contact for faculty and students concerning departmental and university policies; maintains up-to-date knowledge of relevant policies (including but not limited to MA and PhD exams and progression, business expense and travel policies).
• Responsible for administering the day-to day-administrative and human resources functions for the department including assisting the Chair in determining personnel, personnel recognition, recommendations and addressing employee concerns.
• Demonstrates day-to-day leadership and guidance to staff by proactively managing and providing clear, timely and University compliant solutions on a wide range of administrative and financial matters.
• Collaborates with University offices and departments to oversee logistics for smooth operation of the department, including facility needs, maintenance, repair, and minor construction as needed.
• Oversees and supports departmental programming, including travel and accommodation arrangements for guest speakers, design and dissemination of promotional material, and other support as needed.
• Arranges for faculty meetings and other meetings as called by the Chair or other faculty, including the use of online polls, takes minutes, and facilitates setup and running of A/V needs.
• Performs other related duties as needed.

Finance and Budget

• Provides strategic financial planning and forecasting to the Chair by capturing and analyzing data to use to inform financial decisions of the department. Advises and performs budgetary analysis and modeling to forecast future financial needs/resources.
• Responsible for conducting the department's financial planning as well as producing financial reports.
• Responsibility for administering the department's administrative budget, including department's gift projects, discretionary projects and pre & post award grants and projects connected with any special programs.
• Responsible for conducting monthly projects reconciliation; managing fellowship/assistant budget; responsible for preventing overdrafts; completing budget submission process and reports as needed; recommends level of spending, as well as assists in resolves financial problems.
• Works in collaboration with the EVP A&S Office to complete all year-end transactions for the department. Trains, mentors and acts as a coach for new employees to perform transactions.
• Manages department budget.
• Performs special projects as needed.

Training and Communication

• Oversees the Academic Appointment and Payroll webpage, updating any process changes, payroll, and University forms.
• Creates training materials for the appointment process and posts them on the website.
• Provides PeopleSoft guidance and acts as an intermediary with Central University offices to resolve issues.
• Trains administrators and staff as needed in processing nomination/personnel actions forms (PAF), PAC labor distribution modules, and other online systems.
• Oversees the departmental website, weekly news bulletin, and other channels of communication as required.
• Performs other duties and special projects as required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 5 years of related experience.

Additional Position-Specific Minimum Qualifications

• Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills required. Initiative, discretion, ability to establish priorities, ability to work under pressure and without supervision, and good independent judgment required.

Other Requirements

• Must have, or be able to acquire quickly, a detailed knowledge of University policies, procedures, and systems. Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills required. Initiative, discretion, ability to establish priorities, ability to work under pressure and without supervision and good independent judgment required. Computer literacy and experience with electronic funds management required.