Administrative Associate, McDonald Observatory

Job Posting Title:

Administrative Associate, McDonald Observatory

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Hiring Department:

McDonald Observatory

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Non-Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

MCDONALD OBSERVATORY

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Job Details:

General Notes

This position is onsite at the McDonald Observatory, 16 miles from Ft. Davis, Texas (440 miles west of the UT Austin campus). The administrative associate provides administrative support to McDonald Observatory's West Texas operations. The administrative associate will report to the executive assistant for the Superintendent and works closely with the Austin Business Office.

UT Austin, recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Large Employers, provides outstanding employee benefits and total rewards packages that include:

• Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)

• Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options

• Paid vacation, sick time, and holidays

• Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan with employer-matching funds

• Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)

• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses

Purpose

This role provides administrative support to McDonald Observatory's West Texas operations, including procuring goods and services, contracts, inventory, accounting and reporting, and other administrative duties.

Responsibilities

• Administrative Support. Support the administrative and clerical operations for the Superintendent’s office and staff. Assists with shipping and receiving packages and mail and ensuring the proper recipients are contacted. Helps maintain site calendars. Composes and proofreads departmental correspondence. Prepares required documentation for special events and assist with special event staffing as required. Serve as backup to administrative staff and Astronomers Lodge. Assists with records retention. Maintains a professional manner and ensures confidentiality. Drives UT vehicles as needed. Performs other related duties as required to meet the business needs.

• Physical Plant Administrative Support. Assists the Physical Plant Manager and Technical Trades Supervisors with administrative tasks, including, but not limited to, purchasing research, fuel reports, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reports. Provides quarterly account reconciliation reports to the managers. Performs radio dispatch, sends faxes, copying, scanning, and other job-related duties.

• Procurement. Serves as a point of contact for West Texas staff regarding University purchasing policies and procedures and ensures compliance, including the Superintendent's office, in coordination with the Austin Business Office. Procures goods and services for the Observatory's West Texas operations. Issues department transaction numbers and sets up vendor ID's. Obtains quotes, processes electronic documents, maintains records, and orders merchandise. Prepares purchase orders and ProCard purchases following University policies and procedures. Posts and maintains the purchasing database. Maintains department's ProCard and assists with the ProCard logs for the Superintendent's staff. Coordinates all information, services to and from suppliers/vendors concerning purchase orders. Coordinates and monitors all purchases through contracts between UT and the West Texas site. Develops relationships with suppliers and vendors to promote the availability of supplier resources to meet and exceed project needs. Monitors all purchasing requests and escalates issues with internal customers and vendors to appropriate managers.

• Inventory and Surplus. Responsible for over site of West Texas Inventory, including issuance and maintenance of inventory tags, database entry, and inventory reporting. Coordinates West Texas surplus, tracking the returns on spreadsheets, taking photos, arranging for vehicle and trailer usage to deliver to UT