Admin Specialist Assoc Health

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

The Department of Surgery is currently seeking a full-time Administrative Associate Specialist to provide high-level administrative support to one of our research faculty members and their laboratory team. The research laboratory, which is currently comprised of over 20 researchers and students, is located in the Biomedical Research Building and supports a large and active research portfolio involving faculty, postdoctoral fellows, staff, students, and multiple research and training programs. This position focuses predominantly on work associated with research, therefore a person considering this position should enjoy all aspects of work related to the University of Michigan?s research objectives. Success in this position requires the ability to independently manage complex responsibilities, prioritize competing demands, and support a fast-paced research environment with professionalism, discretion, and strong problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide advanced administrative support to the Principal Investigator and laboratory members, including 6 faculty, 7 postdoctoral fellows, 2 staff members, students, and associated research personnel.
• Manage incoming and outgoing communications, independently prioritizing and responding to emails, phone calls, mail, and other correspondence as appropriate.
• Draft, edit, and proofread correspondence, itineraries, strategic documents, letters of recommendation, presentations, and other professional materials.
• Provide complex calendar management and coordinate domestic and international travel arrangements, conference registrations, reimbursements, and related logistics.
• Support human resources activities including onboarding and offboarding, faculty appointments and promotions, student hiring, visa coordination, orientation activities, and access requests.
• Coordinate seminars, symposiums, meetings, and large-scale events, including scheduling, catering, audiovisual support, travel arrangements, reimbursements, and meeting materials.
• Serve as liaison with the Office of Faculty Affairs and assist faculty with CV maintenance using Elements, promotions, and other professional documentation.
• Provide financial and procurement support related to grants, discretionary accounts, gift funds, expense reporting, PCard reconciliation, laboratory supplies, subscriptions, memberships, and other purchasing activities while ensuring compliance with University and Michigan Medicine policies.
• Coordinate laboratory operational support, including purchasing documentation, shipping coordination, shortcode monitoring, and related research administrative processes.
• Independently prioritize and resolve complex administrative issues to support continuity of laboratory and research activities.
• Serve as a primary liaison between the Principal Investigator and institutional stakeholders across departments and administrative units.
• Support activities associated with the Hematopoiesis and Immunology Program, the University of Michigan Surgical Oncology Research Training Program, the Signaling and Tumor Microenvironment (STME) Program, and other collaborative research initiatives.
• Participate in team meetings, contribute to process improvement initiatives, and coordinate special projects in support of faculty and laboratory objectives.

Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience

Demonstrated experience providing high-level administrative support in a fast-paced complex environment with the ability to independently manage competing priorities, exercise sound judgment, solve problems, and adapt to changing operational needs and deadlines

Strong organizational, analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills with exceptional attention to detail and the ability to maintain professionalism, confidentiality, and collaborative working relationships across teams and departments

Proven ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy, initiative, discretion, accountability, and professionalism while maintaining a strong service-oriented approach

Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Zoom, and Adobe Acrobat.

Experience using University of Michigan systems such as Elements, Emburse, eRAM, M-Pathways, or related systems preferred

Ability to work independently with minimal supervision as well as collaboratively within a team environment

Experience supporting faculty and research operations within an academic medical center, higher education, research laboratory, or other complex environment

Experience supporting NIH-funded research programs, interdisciplinary research teams, faculty appointments and promotions, postdoctoral appointments, immigration-related processes, or other academic personnel activities

Experience coordinating complex meetings, conferences, seminars, large-scale events, and research administrative operations including grants, publications, procurement workflows, and financial reconciliation

Familiarity with University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine policies, procedures, and administrative systems

Experience developing operational resources, training materials, process documentation, or administrative reference guides

This is a full-time year-round position with somewhat flexible working hours as operational needs require, with the opportunity to work from home several days a week based on performance. Please note that new employees will be asked to work 100% in person for the first three months in the position.