Graduate Coordinator, Penn English

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Graduate Coordinator, Penn English

Job Profile Title

Coordinator, Program

Job Description Summary

Provide coordination and high-level administrative support for the department. Act as program advisor, and as liaison between students, faculty, administrative staff, and other university areas. Performs all academic administrative functions for the graduate program.

Job Description

Penn English is a vibrant intellectual community with an internationally renowned faculty, a thriving undergraduate program, and a top-ranked, highly selective graduate program.  Our distinguished research faculty train M.A. and Ph.D. students in a full range of fields, materials, and approaches, and our graduate program has produced leading scholars and successfully placed them in a wide array of institutions.  Graduate working groups, which bring together faculty, students, and visiting scholars in particular fields, are a defining feature of our departmental life outside the classroom.  As a strongly interdisciplinary group, our faculty and graduate students collaborate with many departments, programs, centers, and schools at the University.  And we have robust ties to the wider Philadelphia community. We seek a new staff member who will work closely with our administrative team and with faculty and students on all matters related to the graduate program.  The ideal candidate will have previous experience in an academic setting.

Duties/Job Responsibilities:

The Department of English seeks a Graduate Coordinator to perform complex and confidential organizing functions for its graduate program, in which around 80 M.A. and Ph.D. students are enrolled at any given time.  The Graduate Coordinator is both the first person whom graduate students consult about curricular and financial matters and the person who maintains the program’s administrative infrastructure.  The position therefore requires highly developed interpersonal, communicative, organizational,