Administrative Specialist

The Center for Urban and Cultural Affairs (CURA) is seeking a Program/Project Specialist to join the team of a small but fast paced social justice center. This is a full time, 12 month appointment. This position supports the HR, Payroll, Finance and Administrative functions of the unit. The candidate should be an experienced team player who will be responsible for administering the unit’s graduate assistant, students and staff hiring and payroll processes, provide financial support and varied administrative support to individual programs. This position will formally report to the Department Administrator and is located in the Hubert H Humphrey building on West Bank. Position is hybrid with an in-office schedule that may fluctuate due to meeting requirements. It is anticipated that the position will work 3 days in office, 2 days from home. However, the department reserves the right to change the number of in-office days. Typical weekly schedule will be Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM, with no weekend work, overtime, or consecutive Sundays required.

Job Responsibilities

• 45% HR and Payroll Responsibilities: Conduct hiring processes for unit. To include assisting with job descriptions, creating posting, maintaining recruiting system, create offer letters for non-full cycle (GRA and students) hires and accompanying hiring documentation and send system rejections for those not interviewed. Assist with scheduling interviews. Ensure all hiring and payroll events follow federal/state and University rules and regulations. Ensure receipt of required employee hire/payroll documentation. Conduct all payroll processes and audits for staff/undergraduate and graduate assistants. Identifies under- and overpayment situations. Maintain term by term tracking system of hires, degree programs and payroll. Serve as Unit Time and Absence Administrator. Provide guidance on HR policies and procedures to staff and students. Manage storage of personnel file documents. Transfer of HR documents into Perceptive Content.
• 20% Financial Support: Support administrative and financial functions for CURA Krusell Fellowship, PPDL, ANPI and NPI award programs to ensure program activities run smoothly from beginning to end. Collect supporting documentation necessary to establish Contracts for Professional Services; validate and track associated payments, etc. Maintain PPDL, ANPI and NPI application and award lists. Create and maintain multiple reports. Create CURA Placement agreements and the University Short Form Services Agreement for Krusell Fellowship program. Collect and prepare documentation for 3rd Party Krusell payments each term. Collect and prepare supporting docs for TDX Billing preparation. Maintain chart of accounts for Krusell Program. Prepare program funding source reports. Maintain internal financial systems, reports, and processes. Collect and prepare supporting documents for TDX Billing of external customers and foundation transfers.
• 30% Administration/coordination: Collect necessary information, create and monitor TDX requests for related transactions. Provide and coordinate onboarding and offboarding for staff and students. Analyze and maintain positions for departmental programs. Coordinate with program supervisors current, future and past hiring needs, creating and maintaining reports on hires for reporting and analysis. Oversee and maintain relevant workflow and procedures to ensure Unit’s operational effectiveness and compliance. Coordinate Krusell Fellowship program with Humphrey School. Create communications, provide onboarding support and tracking. Research and create associated benefit breakdowns annually for the fellowship program and maintain detailed program tracking records. Vet all incoming students and staff, conduct I-9 verifications and order background checks as required. Provide event support for student professional development/orientation and onboarding sessions (food, room rental, student tours). Conduct final report processing for the University Digital Conservancy.
• 5% Professional and Technical Knowledge Development: Stay updated on all relevant policies, laws and regulations. Engage in relevant courses, webinars, and newsletters. Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• High School Diploma/GED and HR/Payroll work experience to equal to five years.
• Highly proficient office service skills and knowledge of office operations and procedures, including Microsoft Office, Google Suites and Zoom.
• Experience processing and auditing payroll.
• Experience handling confidential and time-sensitive materials.
• Demonstrated relational skills, involving collaboration, teamwork and consultation.
• Consistent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Experience working independently using strong organizational skills, including managing multiple tasks effectively and maintaining deadlines.
• Proven problem-solving skills.
• Event planning and execution experience (in person and online).

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of UMN HRMS/EFS, TDX systems, Perceptive Content and Reporting Center.
• Experience with UMN HR rules and policies.
• Experience with UMN Financial policies and procedures.
• Experience with I-9 processing through I-9 Express.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide range of individuals and constituents, including undergraduate and graduate students, program directors, university faculty and administrators, and diverse community organizations.
• Experience and proficiency using spreadsheets for reporting.
• Experience working in an academic environment with multiple employee groups to include civil service, professional and administrative, undergraduate and graduate students.