Administrative Associate: Department of Sociology - UTK

The position works closely with the Business Manager to provide financial, travel and administrative support to the Sociology Department. This position will provide departmental assistance support by establishing travel arrangements, entering travel request, entering expense receipts for traveler's reimbursement, etc. for faculty, graduate students and guests while maintaining current knowledge of departmental, college and university travel policies and procedures.  Additionally, this position will manage and reconcile departmental travel cards for faculty and staff, reconcile procurement cards, manage and pay invoices and process petty cash reimbursement while ensuring compliance with University policies. This position provides Banner and academic support services for student-related actions and timetable management, as well as specialized support for undergraduate student services, and graduate program needs. This position will also serve as the front-line customer service support for the department and manage scheduling, communications and other administrative tasks.

Financial / Travel

• Purchaser for the department - Orders office supplies, books, technology, faculty services and memberships, etc. via purchasing cards and purchase orders, ensuring that p-card purchases are allowable and compliant with fiscal policy 

• Reconciles p-card purchase receipts with monthly statements and responds to audit requests

• Management and payment of invoices 

• Purchase computer systems facilitated through the Computer Upgrade Program (CUP) and responsible for tracking expenses with budgets and providing reports and updates to the Business Manager

• Responsible for petty cash reimbursement 

• Ensure that all department spreadsheets are kept up to date

• Manage travel plans for faculty, staff, graduate students, and guests by coordinating with travelers to arrange trip details such as securing airline tickets, transportation and hotel reservations as well as coordinating entertainment and dining arrangements

• Request missing information from travelers so that reimbursements can be efficiently processed

• Ensure timely processing of requests and provide status updates to travelers

• Enter expense receipts for traveler's reimbursement

• Management and reconciliation of departmental travel cards for faculty and staff

Banner and Undergraduate Program Assistance

• Process student course add/drop requests

• Assist with timetable setup

• Responsible for enrollment management of courses; tracking enrollments to determine when classes should be canceled, when course caps should be increased, when additional sections may need to be requested, and when additional support may be needed for large enrollment courses as well as providing class rolls to instructors

• Responsible for removing registration holds

• Collect and maintain records of all course syllabi

Graduate Program Support 

• Prepare itineraries and coordinate events for visiting prospective students

• Provide support for graduate recruitment by answering incoming inquiries regarding graduate school requirements, policies, financial aid options, etc. and by selecting and purchasing items for recruitment/gift bags

• Maintain, update, organize and secure all graduate records 

• Responsible for graduate student registration by assisting with applications, preparing graduate appointment letters, and tracking appointment acceptance information

• Assist graduate committee with the review process

• Responsible for processing application fee waivers in Slate

Administrative

• Responsible for welcoming guests as well as building and maintaining relationships with multiple stakeholders by providing excellent customer service via telephone, email and in-person

• Provide support to the department head with scheduling, communication