Administrative Business Specialist

Department:

Summary

Under the general direction of the Director of Art Foundation and the Director of Painting & Printmaking, this position provides administrative and secretarial support for these two departments. In addition to typing, filing, and scheduling, the administrative business specialist performs duties such as coordinating meetings and conferences, obtaining supplies, coordinating direct mailings, and working on special projects. The incumbent also answers non-routine correspondence, assembles highly confidential and sensitive information, and deals with a diverse group of important external callers, visitors, and internal contacts at all university levels. Independent judgment is required to plan, prioritize, and organize a diversified workload among both departments.

Generous benefits are available.

Reports to: Director of Art Foundation and Director of Painting & Printmaking,

Major Activities & Essential Functions

  • Processes and completes all paperwork associated with professional development, business, research, and academic travels, such as TAs or Chrome pre-approvals, TERVS, etc., for department directors, faculty, staff, students, and visiting/guests faculty, students, and speakers/lecturers.
  • Coordinates student field trips, professional development, research trips for directors, faculty, and staff, business trips for visiting/guest lecturers, speakers, and other business trips with the HR team for flights, accommodation, visas, and transportation needs.
  • Responsible for overseeing all air, rail, hotel, and car service reservations, entry fees, travel insurance, and visa documentation and application, as well as, creating a travel booklet for student field trips, and preparing a travel package for travelers.
  • Creates travel budget proposals by providing travel costs for budget requirements and ensuring compliance with university policies and procedures, and provides advice/recommendations related to travel budget and reviews travel policy to ensure compliance and apply cost saving to VCU school of the arts in Qatar wherever possible.
  • Monitors faculty expenditure on travels and use of Professional Development funds and provides report/feedback, researches field study destinations, and makes initial contact with embassies, universities, design schools, design studios/designers, museums, and other sites of importance that may be visited during the field study; and arranges a time for subsequent visits
  • Arranges and coordinate departmental events such as public lectures, workshops, and student presentations and assist with big University events & international conferences, etc, and liaises with departments/lead personnel to ascertain precise event requirements
  • Performs budget review to ensure appropriate funds for the event, as well as, being responsible for bringing the invited speaker/guest to the event by processing all travel-related paperwork, visa requirements, and all travel arrangements.
  • Arranges the schedule and book a suitable venue/location and coordinate venue management, layouts, IT/AV requirements, caterers, program, invitations, etc. with the facilities department and takes care of menu selection and oversees the venue set-up, and manages guest list and sends out invitations via email, delivery, or by post.
  • Liaises with the communications department if the event requires publicity and stays onsite on the day of the event to troubleshoot issues that may arise, and assists with major University events such as Commencement and Tasmeem.
  • Performs budget tracking, reconciliation, and analysis, and assists in preparing budget proposals by providing budget reports from previous expenditures and preparing departmental budget summaries and proposals, as well as, reconciles encumbrances and actual expenditures and provides feedback about the departments' expenses and any potential variances in the budgeted costs.
  • Generates purchase order requisitions and processes personnel reimbursements such as petty cash, direct deposit, etc., and processes ICAs for visiting lecturers and other contracted guests, and researches purchase options and/or payment information to purchase necessary supplies and equipment and obtain quotations from different suppliers/vendors.
  • Communicates company’s payment policies & procedures to outside suppliers/vendors. Disseminates new procurement standards and procedures to faculty and other staff for compliance, and reviews contracts, purchase orders, and other procurement documents to ensure compliance with applicable policies and regulations, and receives invoices in the Banner for timely payment of vendors and suppliers and tracks unpaid EPOs/invoices in the banner.
  • Liaises with faculty and bookstore for procuring materials and supplies for each department and prepares the department’s lists of textbooks and supplies for annual procurement, and communicates with department faculty regarding textbook and supply requirements for their courses and research as required for ISBNs, publishers, etc, as well as, works with faculty for FRG budget proposals and works Research department to maintain inventory of FRG expenditure.
  • Serves as a liaison point with internal departments, external collaborators, outside offices, external contacts, visitors, other organizations, and groups; and manages guest relations, including invitations, email contacts, and phone calls to facilitate official travels and event participation.
  • Generates professional correspondence to external contacts, stakeholders, and vendors, and obtains client feedback, also, addresses any issues or concerns through liaison with concerned departments or provision of the required information.
  • Handles incoming inquiries from visitors effectively by e-mail and phone; quickly identifies and ensures that the department's appropriate staff and faculty members receive them, and communicates new administrative procedures and systems to faculty and other staff.
  • Establishes and maintains an organized filing system for the departments. Responsible for record keeping of (1) annual faculty and staff reviews/evaluations, IWPs, (2) student agreement forms, (3) syllabi, (4) faculty promotion dossier, (5) JAB reports, (6) class schedules, (7) policy documents, (8) surveys, etc.
  • Arranges and attends retreats for the departments in fall and spring semesters, weekly department meetings, student meetings, and other special meetings as required; and takes minutes of the meetings, coordinates between the departments, and determines the need to handle projects simultaneously across each department.
  • Organizes and prioritizes large volumes of information and calls and handles confidential and non-routine information, assists the directors in managing their schedules and maintaining departmental calendars, and maintains the department’s community calendar listings and posts departmental announcements on the Internet as required.
  • Works independently and within a team on special, nonrecurring, and ongoing projects. Follows up on projects for the directors and ensures that the project deadline is met at the request of the directors, which may include planning and coordinating multiple presentations, disseminating information, and organizing department-wide events.
  • Types and designs general correspondences, memos, charts, tables, graphs, lecture materials, etc, and composes, formats, and types routine correspondence, reports, and other documents like e-mails, e-vites, and surveys; and creates visual presentations for the directors.
  • Schedules participation of students for department activities by coordinating with Student Affairs and the Assistant Dean for Enrollment & Registration, as well as, works with academic advisers by providing assistance and support in the academic advising events and portfolio review process to determine students’ choice of majors, such as gathering and preparing assessment reports, transcripts, registration, curriculum list, etc.
  • Oversees department requests to the facilities department as required for maintenance of studios, classrooms, and equipment, and supervises Teaching Assistants according to the department’s needs, including scheduling and assigning appropriate duties, monitoring workload, and managing performance.
  • Performs other job-related duties as assigned by the directors.

Qualifications

  • Three to five years of experience in an administrative assistant capacity OR any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the position's duties OR a Bachelor's degree in a related field of study, background in art and culture, and art management is preferred.
  • knowledge of various computer software applications in word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software (MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) is a must.
  • Knowledge of Adobe creative suite, Photoshop, and InDesign and a strong understanding of social media, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and newsletter applications is an advantage.
  • High level of attention to detail in composing, typing, and proofing materials, establishing priorities, and meeting deadlines.
  • A solid public service orientation to interact and communicate with a diverse team in a fast-paced environment.

Skills & Experience

  • Must have high interpersonal skills to handle sensitive and confidential situations. The position continually requires demonstrated poise, tact, and diplomacy.
  • Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
  • Enthusiasm and the ability to thrive in constant change.
  • Comprehensive command of English and knowledge of Arabic is an advantage.
  • Skill in organizing resources and establishing priorities.
  • Excellent time management skills, multitasking, and working to tight deadlines.
  • Willingness to work within a cooperative structure, be flexible and be able to handle last-minute tasks.
  • Positive attitude and desire to be in a customer service-oriented environment.
  • Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU school of the arts in Qatar.

Application Process

Apply for this job online

Review of applicants will begin immediately.