Assistant Director of Academic Affairs and Administration

Department
 

PSD Chemistry: Administrative Staff

About the Department
 

One of the first departments founded at the University of Chicago was the Department of Chemistry. Since then, The University of Chicago has been the recipient of more than 73 Nobel Prize recipients, 15 of which came from the Department of Chemistry. Our current faculty has considerable strength in inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry, as well as in interdisciplinary research that delves into biology, physics, and materials science.

Job Summary
 

Reporting to the Department Manager and Chair, the Assistant Director of Academic Affairs and Administration will work to complete all academic appointments including faculty searches, appointments and reappointments, and tenure cases to ensure all materials are organized, reviewed, and submitted in accordance with university guidelines by working with the chair and search committees as needed. Identifies awards and prizes and assists the Chair with faculty nominations, tracking requirements, and deadlines. Provides administrative and executive support to the chair, associate chair, and the department manager, helping to ensure the overall operations of the department run smoothly. Coordinates, trains, and develops administrative staff within the department. Leads various strategic projects and initiatives, with management to maximize effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Works with the chair and faculty recruitment committee with the entire faculty recruiting process including posting job ads, soliciting confidential letters of recommendation, assembling case files for prospective candidates, and internal faculty promotion cases for submission to the Dean and College.
• Manages all of the administrative aspects of academic appointees’ recruitment, hiring, reappointment, and promotions workflow including managing applications in interfolio, coordinating reappointment memos, and working collaboratively with the faculty committee, and the Dean’s office.
• Works with the hiring committee with candidate communications and scheduling. Requests letters of recommendation. Assembles cases for submission to the PSD and Provost’s office.
• Manages all Chemistry faculty and other academic appointee reappointments, including managing the timeline, gathering all necessary information and documents, and putting the cases together for submission.
• Manages onboarding, continuous training, mentorship, and communications for the administrative staff supporting individual faculty members.  Assess and manage appropriate administrative assistant resource allocation to support the faculty.
• Provides comprehensive advanced support to the Chair, Departmental Manager, for a diverse set of activities aligned with the department’s needs.
• Assists leaders in executing the Chemistry Department’s strategic priorities; develops systems to monitor and track progress toward achieving our strategic objectives.
• Develops or executes new projects in collaboration with the Department leadership (e.g. alumni engagement, development initiatives), serving as an advocate for departmental facility needs.
• Serves as a departmental liaison to the PSD Dean’s office, Office of International, and other units across campus.
• Collaborates with the Department Chair on compensation processes for academic appointees.
• Troubleshoots complex matters related to faculty affairs including faculty wellness, visa questions, and other concerns identifying when to escalate the issue to leadership within the department, division, or University.
• Represent the Chair and Associate Chair in all internal and external verbal, written, and in-person correspondence. Builds relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders and collaborators.
• Assists with the department projects and initiatives that advance the institutional academic and administrative effectiveness, engaging the right resources and holding parties accountable for deadlines.
• Identifies faculty awards and prizes, tracks nomination requirements and deadlines, and assists the chair in preparing nomination materials.
•  Collect, analyze, synthesize, and report on data from faculty and external sources to inform the Chair of pertinent information.
• Plans and executes events for faculty such as monthly faculty meetings, annual faculty dinners, etc.
• Partners with the Chair and Associate Chair to ensure proper management and time allocation of the Chair’s calendar and general support for day-to-day operations.
• Develops and implements systems to organize, communicate, and manage key priorities and projects on behalf of the Chair.
• Responds to inquiries, requests, and issues on behalf of the Chair and Associate Chair with thoughtful correspondence, engaging other leadership members as needed for res