Office Manager

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

The Grainger College of Engineering

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is seeking candidates for an Office Manager position to support the Graduate Programs Office. This position will serve as the initial point of contact for the Graduate Programs Office (GPO) and will provide administrative support in managing graduate admissions, recruitment activities, program operations support and other administrative functions. The role supports faculty, graduate students, and staff by ensuring efficient office operations and delivering high-quality customer service.

 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Administrative Operations and Office Support

•  Serve as first point of contact for the Graduate Programs Office.
•  Provide administrative and scheduling support to the Associate Head of Graduate Studies and Assistant Director of Graduate Programs.
•  Manage GPO email inbox, answering a broad range of questions and inquiries from students and faculty regarding graduate program and departmental operations, enrollments, required and elective courses, registration, fellowships, degree requirements, deadlines, etc.
•  Serve as liaison for publications and communications (website, handbook, etc.) in consultation with Associate Head of Graduate Studies.
•  Prepare correspondence requiring policy interpretation to prospective students, current students, faculty, staff and other constituents, assist with graduate form processing including enrollment verification and program end dates for housing lease or other forms, etc.
•  Assist with preparing presentation materials for events, orientation, recruitment visits, and mailings as required.
•  Serve as GPO liaison with graduate student groups including Materials Research Society (MRS).
•  Order and maintain office supplies for the GPO.

Graduate Student Records, Registration and Academic Processes

• Maintain graduate student records for MS and PhD students (electronic via Grad Records and paper), manage graduate student annual review process, and ensure all graduate student listservs are updated each term.
•  Assist with registration requests and other relevant correspondence to graduate students regarding registration, career opportunities and resources, and other graduate student related policies.

• Manage PhD examinations including preparing announcements, committee paperwork, communication, and recording exam results (qualifying, prelim, and final examinations).
• Manage Oral English Assessment Interview (OEAI) registration and review processing of OPT, CPT, and other ISSS forms for international graduate students.

Graduate Admissions, Committees and Fellowships

• Support all efforts of all graduate related committees by managing administrative tasks and committee meeting participation; provide administrative support for admission-related tasks.
• Serve as main contact for Graduate Awards/Fellowships committee by managing administrative tasks for internal and external Fellowship and Award submissions.
• Process general fellowship forms and DAWS entries for awards processing.

Data Management, Assessment and Reporting

• Assist with data tracking by keeping updated admissions data spreadsheets, MS 3+2 enrollment, and MS/PhD time to degree spreadsheets for report and assessment.
• Track post-graduation data available via Illinois Illini Success Survey and MatSE exit survey.
• Manage graduation/exit surveys and participate in exit interviews with the Department Head.

Recruitment, Events and Communications

•  Plan and organize various recruiting events and current student events or informational sessions for MS students and PhD