"Event and Chair Assistant"

Position Information

The Event and Chair's Assistant provides comprehensive administrative support to the BMPN Administration Department in service of the Department Chairs, faculty, staff, and students. The position is responsible for coordinating academic and departmental events, supporting committee functions, and facilitating award services related to student travel and research funding. Duties include managing communications, preparing and posting materials, maintaining award and application records, and ensuring timely notifications to students, faculty, and campus partners. The role requires a strong understanding of departmental operations, attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate across administrative, financial, and academic units to ensure smooth workflows. Working under general direction, the Assistant exercises independent judgment in carrying out daily responsibilities, prioritizing tasks in a fast-paced environment, and upholding the University's standards of professionalism, compliance, and service.

The full salary range for the Event and Chair Assistant is $29.35 - $42.06 hourly. However, the expected pay scale for this position is $29.35 - $34.46 hourly. We base salary offers on a variety of considerations, such as education, licensure and certifications, experience, and other business and organizational needs.

Requirements

Educational Requirements

• Four years education and/or experience equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in business, finance or discipline related to the essential functions of the job. Required

Experience Requirements

• Experience in providing administrative support for staff and/or faculty. Required
• Experience working in an institution of higher education Preferred
• Experience in website design, creating flyers & brochures Preferred

Special Conditions

• Overtime - depending on scheduled event times. Required

Minimum Requirements

• Skill in coordinating administrative activities by determining the time, place and sequence of actions to be taken
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills to communicate and interact effectively and professionally with colleagues, faculty, students, international visitors, and diverse clientele
• Skill in prioritizing assignments to complete work in a timely, organized, and accurate manner under the pressures of deadlines, interruptions, distractions and competing priorities and requirements
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision; work effectively with frequent interruptions
• Proficient skills in using PC-based computers using Windows applications (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Adobe PDF), skill in editing and formatting documents in word processing applications. Ability to enter data into databases or spreadsheets.
• Excellent written communications skills, including the ability to compose business correspondence, edit, and use correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar
• Skill in accurate record keeping with strict attention to detail
• Ability to interpret, apply, and explain policies and procedures, rules and regulations in regard to business processes
• Knowledge of general office procedures

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with UC travel and entertainment policies

Key Responsibilities

• Seminar & Event Planning (40%): Responsible for managing the seminar series and special ad hoc seminars for BCMB252, MCBL 250, PLPA 250 and NEMA 250. Disseminates seminar announcements, arranges hotel and transportation accommodations for speakers, creates itineraries, escorts visitor to meetings, sets up/cleans up meeting spaces as needed and organizes lunch with students. The number of seminars varies by quarter as each program follows their own format but there are no less than 15 seminars per quarter and can be up to 40. Coordinate and schedule events for the three academic departments under the BMPN Administrative cluster including but not limited to award ceremonies, receptions, symposiums, holiday parties and retreats. Duties include reserving conference rooms or other facilities, arranging necessary audio-visual equipment, room set-up, catering, notices/invitations, parking, and other arrangements as needed. Work with vendors and caterers both on and off-campus to schedule, contract out, and coordinate effective, seamless events. Communicate effectively and efficiently in both verbal and written communication.
• Financial & Business Services (25%): Reimbursements - Independently process all Concur reimbursements and Honorariums related to seminar speakers, campus visitors and faculty recruitment for 3 academic departments. Review all reimbursements for appropriateness and compliance with UC policies, request approval routing for the appropriate department and submit requests for exceptional approval, as needed, to the CNAS Dean's Office. Travel Coordinator - Primary Travel Coordinator for travel associates with seminar speakers, campus visitors and faculty recruitment for 3 academic departments. Prepare Concur reimbursements and approval documents in accordance with established departmental, CNAS, campus, and system-wide policies and procedures. Requests approval routing for the appropriate departments via DocuSign and Oracle Financials. Obtaining appropriate approvals from the department chair as needed.
• Chairs Support (15%): Provide administrative support to the department chairs of three different academic departments. Attends faculty meetings as needed, takes attendance, takes meeting minutes, APSU prepares ballots to be distributed and this position counts votes in conjunction with FAO. As each department operates differently under their established By-Laws, the chairs assistant must be cognizant of the differences and able to adapt accordingly. Coordinates summer session courses for Biochemistry and Microbiology courses. Obtains information needed for course offerings from the dept chairs and enters required data into R'Summer, adhering to published deadlines. Works with the chairs and R'Summer office regarding instructor, TA selection, course schedule, classroom location, and projected enrollment.
• Departmental Support (15%): Designs and maintains multiple web sites for Biochemistry, Nematology, Microbiology and Microbiology & Plant Pathology in collaboration with GSAC. Working with the different chairs and committee members regarding pictures, content and design. Act as backup to department Key Custodian - May infrequently distribute keys or fobs to employees and visitors according to departmental guidelines after verifying that mandatory lab safety training has been completed. Maintain an inventory of keys and fobs and update the electronic listing for both. Order additional keys and fobs as necessary through the facilities work order system. Facilities. Updates FMS as needed. Manages/approves conference room reservation requests for Boyce 1467, 2476, 5487 and Webber 2294 and 3239 Manages the email contact lists for each department ensuring information is current. Maintains mandatory workplace postings Requests alcohol permits for various departmental events.
• Award Services (5%): The Event and Chairs Assistant supports student travel and research award processes from application through notification. Responsibilities include generating and posting flyers, updating application contents, and sending email notifications to students to apply. The position pulls applications for committee review from the application portals and ensures the award rubric is updated with applicant names. Award notifications are sent to student recipients, and confirmation of COAs and the distribution of funds is coordinated with the Financial and Administrative Officer (FAO). The Assistant also notifies the Graduate Student Affairs Committee (GSAC) contact to route DGIA requests and maintains an updated award roster.

To apply, visit https://jobsportal.ucr.edu/jobs/36328625