Administrative Access Coordinator

Administrative Access Coordinator

About the Opportunity

Overview

Dr. Mona Minkara, a blind Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Northeastern University, is seeking a full-time Administrative Access Coordinator (AAC) to make accessible and coordinate all operations related to Dr. Minkara's office and laboratory. This position will draft and execute high-level communication to internal and external collaborators (including faculty, researchers, and university staff), oversee a strict calendar schedule, and ensure all calendar invites are accessible with specific links and audio support to Dr. Minkara.

This position will manage the operations of Dr. Minkara's team and analyze, manage, and make accessible financial reports (including grants, start-up, and discretionary accounts) for Dr. Minkara's office. The AAC also collaborates with the Bioengineering business management team to achieve appropriate fiscal processing. This position utilizes critical thinking constantly to develop creative and unique solutions to challenges associated with visual accessibility, in the academic environment and beyond. Responsibilities will also include providing access and visual information, booking travel, and periodically attending conferences with the Assistant Professor.

This position maintains continuous correspondence with the Assistant Professor's students (teaching and research) and ensures frequent, quality communication. The AAC will meaningfully collaborate over creative efforts on Dr. Minkara's team, including but not limited to academic conference preparation, recruitment efforts for her research lab and office team, and occasionally contributing original content for external dissemination.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required
• Excellent organizational skills and high attention to detail
• Punctual and responsive to a time-sensitive schedule; responsible and trustworthy
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; strong notetaker and attentive listener
• Ability to work well under pressure with strong multitasking and problem-solving abilities
• Financial and office management bookkeeping experience preferred
• Independent and efficient worker with strong project management skills
• Flexible, adaptive, and capable of high-level critical thinking to address accessibility challenges as they arise
• Commitment to maintaining finances and other university systems in an accessible manner

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

1. Project Management (10%)

• Oversee projects related to the Assistant Professor's most pressing initiatives, including scheduling, attending, and participating in meetings, executing project work, and allocating resources and planning
• Coordinate follow-up items to ensure project roadblocks or holds are addressed in a timely manner
• Track progress on projects, tasks, and report obligations

2. Calendar Management (10%)

• Manage and coordinate a high volume of demands for the Assistant Professor's time by prioritizing requests and demonstrating significant independent judgment in identifying and resolving potential conflicts
• Respond quickly and efficiently to schedule changes with diplomacy
• Synthesize information to understand relationships and leverage them to the advantage of the Assistant Professor
• Anticipate the Assistant Professor's needs by independently soliciting and providing necessary backup and research materials to ensure she is well-prepared for all meetings, events, and speaking engagements

3. Office Management (15%)

• Increase office accessibility through initiatives including creating Braille labels to improve the Assistant Professor's navigational abilities, creating tactile calendars to empower independent schedule reading, and critically improving upon existing systems
• Create tactile representations of visual materials such as diagrams and figures
• Oversee office operations, including management of technical equipment inventory (laptops, printers, etc.); maintain inventory, monitor levels, and place orders to ensure appropriate equipment is available
• Hire, supervise, evaluate, and train student staff; complete onboarding and oversee the recruitment, development, and retention of Co-Op and graduate assistant staff

4. Travel & Conference Preparation (15%)

• Make travel arrangements for the Assistant Professor, prepare itineraries and event information, and conduct necessary research to ensure preparation for events or meetings
• Process and track travel and expense vouchers
• Provide human guide support for travel accessibility

5. Communication (10%)

• Communicate on behalf of the Assistant Professor
• Advance and monitor progress on the Assistant Professor's initiatives; identify and track specific assignments
• Review, revise, and summarize correspondence and briefs for the Assistant Professor
• Create accurate and professional reports and presentations

6. Financial Analysis & Reporting - Operations and Grants (20%)

• Meet regularly with the Assistant Professor to review current and future expenses and operating budget needs
• Responsible for financial monitoring of grant and operational budget accounts
• Identify and resolve discrepancies with AP, the Budget Office, Student Affairs Office, and other key partners through detailed financial analysis
• Responsible for timely processing of bill payments, budget reconciliations, and Concur reports, as well as the review of purchase and reimbursement requests from staff
• Ensure accurate documentation, reporting, and compliance with established operational and financial procedures

7. Providing Access to Visual Information (20%)

• Provide access to visual information in ways suitable to the Assistant Professor's needs, including: Verbally describing complex figures and images Reading inaccessible material received via traditional methods such as mail and email (including PDFs and flyers) Occasionally helping the Assistant Professor navigate the Northeastern University campus

Position Type

General Administration