"Assistant Director of Administration"

Job Details

State Title: Professional Services Specialist 1 (A)

Bargaining Unit: CWA

Employment Type: 35 hours per week (Full-time)

Internal salary: Range 27 - Steps 1-11 $84,547.83 - $124,365.93

External salary: Range 27 - Steps 1-4 $84,547.83 - $96,493.26

The internal salary range is used for applicants who are current NJ state employees with underlying classified status for promotional calculations who meet the requirements below. The external salary range is used for candidates who are not NJ state employees who meet the requirements below.

About TCNJ

Founded in 1855, TCNJ offers a highly personalized and collaborative liberal arts education with over 7,400 undergraduates and 700 graduate students. The college is consistently ranked among the top comprehensive colleges in the nation, offering small classes, a 13:1 student-faculty ratio, and an immersive living-learning experience. With a 4-year graduation rate ranked #1 in New Jersey and #9 among U.S. public institutions, TCNJ is a model for public higher education.

Position Overview

Academic Affairs supports all academic programming at TCNJ, including the academic schools, college-wide academics, and the following academic support offices: Office of Academic Affairs, Center for Community Engagement, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Career Center, and Office of Grants and Sponsored Research.

This position will primarily reside in the Provost's Office and support multiple Academic Affairs teams.

The Assistant Director of Administration reports to the Director of Administration within Academic Affairs and provides strategic administrative, operational, and financial oversight in support of Academic Affairs schools, departments, and designated centers. Serving as a key partner to the Director of Administration, this role delivers high-level guidance and coordination across multiple units and functions, ensuring consistency, compliance, and operational excellence throughout the division.

Under the direction of the Director of Administration, the Assistant Director serves as the primary administrative liaison for the Center for Community Engagement, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Career Center, and the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research. The position works collaboratively with Academic Affairs leadership to advance divisional priorities and manages core functions including budget development and monitoring, human resources and hiring support, training and process implementation, travel and contract administration, scholarship disbursement, and professional development initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Budget Management
  • Oversee and support departments with an annual budget planning process including forecasting, strategic spending, and multi-year financial planning across assigned Academic Affairs units.
  • Partner with the Director of Administration to guide the division's full budget cycle, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and long-term goals.
  • Oversee financial operations, including budget monitoring, expenditure tracking, analysis, and preparation of financial summaries for leadership review.
  • Manage and streamline financial workflows, including reimbursements, purchasing, payment processing, and internal controls to ensure compliance with College policies.
  • Support the financial administration of grants, including budget creation, reporting, reconciliation, and collaboration with the Office of Grants & Sponsored Research
  • Oversee departmental credit card usage, ensuring accurate reconciliation, proper documentation, and adherence to College guidelines
• Human Resources & Hiring Support
  • Coordinate with the Director of Administration and Deans in serving as the administrative resource in managing the Faculty Hiring including requisitions, contracts, etc.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Administration and support departments with Staff Hiring including job descriptions, requisitions, recruitment documentation, onboarding support, etc.
  • Advise departments on process expectations and best practices related to hiring and employment procedures.
  • Oversee operational elements of Student Hiring ensuring compliance with college requirements.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Administration and departments in navigating throughout the hiring process
• Travel
  • Oversee the Academic Affairs student travel policy documents and respond to campus-wide questions regarding student travel
  • Ensure that all travel requirements and documentation are completed and aligns with College guidelines
  • Support the Director of Administration and departments with processing travel-related budget documentation and reimbursement
• Training
  • Lead the development and implementation of divisional training initiatives in partnership with the Director of Administration and campus subject-matter experts.
  • Coordinate and deliver training for new software or systems
• Contracts
  • Provide oversight and administrative support with procedures related to contract approvals
  • Support staff training as needed
• Scholarship Disbursement
  • Management of scholarships for Bonner Community Scholars Program, including creating annual scholarship budget, coordinating with financial aid for posting, etc.
  • Support school-based scholarships, including working closely with the Director of Administration to ensure annual disbursements and reporting are complete
• Professional Development
  • Support professional development initiatives for Academic Affairs
  • Assist in identifying development opportunities that enhance administrative and operational effectiveness across the division.

Assistant Director works in close partnership with the Director of Administration and other Academic Affairs leadership. Assistant Director executes established and developed plans and programs independently

Required

• Graduation from accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in business, public administration, or related field.
• Substitution: Applicants who do not possess the required education may substitute additional professional experience.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple projects with changing priorities across a variety of functions.
• Ability to develop, deliver and assess training to multiple audiences.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel, Pivot tables, and Google Sheets, and ability to learn new skills.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships at a variety of levels both within the organization and with campus partners through strong written and oral communication skill.
• Ability to meet deadlines, work independently, and maintain efficiency during peak workload.

Preferred

• Minimum of 5-7 years of professional experience in fiscal management, business administration, grant management or in related areas.
• Experience in project management and budgets, preferably in the non-profit, higher education or finance industry.
• Oracle Cloud experience and working knowledge of NJ procurement regulations, and/or the ability to learn new software systems and navigate/understand procurement regulations.

How to Apply

Qualified candidates should apply online and submit a letter of interest, resume (CV), as well as the names and contact information for three professional references. Applications will be considered until a viable finalist has been found.

Accommodation: Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation to apply or interview should contact hr@tcnj.edu.

Employee Benefits

As a member of The College of New Jersey Community, you will be a part of an exciting and rewarding public university career. Eligible full-time employees will be able to take advantage of a generous benefits package that includes health, welfare, and retirement benefits, including:

• Comprehensive benefit plans covering medical, dental and prescription plans
• Generous leave entitlements program and Energy Savings Program
• Employee and dependent Tuition Waiver and Reimbursement Program
• Pension, retirement, and deferred compensation plans, group life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee affinity groups
• New Jersey State Employee Discount Program (Pet insurance, cell phone plan discounts, discounted amusement park tickets, etc.)
• Access to extensive learning opportunities