Office Manager - IMPA Chemistry at University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois

Job Description:

Office Manager
Department of Chemistry



University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign



Job Summary

The Office Manager is responsible for administrative work, to support teaching and research activities in the Inorganic, Materials and Physical Chemistry areas of the Department of Chemistry.

Seminars, Awards, and Lectures



• Responsible for arranging weekly seminar programs, schedules for various visitors to the area, and conferences as requested. This includes travel arrangements. publicity (both posters, paper schedules and web announcements), room reservations, coordinating appointments, meals, and all follow-up work for reimbursements, honorariums, and precise completion of all details. Also responsible for performing foreign national reimbursements for seminar series visitors, collecting necessary documents, creating a Vendor ID and submitting the correctly formatted payment request invoice through Chrome River or the Foreign National Payment E-form.


• Responsible for graduate student seminars. Inform students of deadlines, schedules the seminars and practice times, design posters for literature seminars as well as advertise the event on the web. Upon request, will create a digital critique system for review of student seminars utilizing Webtools. Will provide records obtained from Webtools to faculty to aid in review of students' seminars.


• Bailar Lectures: Includes communication with the speaker for titles for both lectures, a brief abstract, graphic/figure, photo of speaker, and a brief biographical sketch to put on the poster and program and travel arrangements. Make all hotel, reception, and meal arrangements including reserving all rooms. Print out and mail letters to invite the Bailar family as well as invitation letters to approximately 350 people. Update mailing list as needed. Coordinate printing of programs, framing of posters and engraving of the Bailar medal. Compose memos to school faculty, postdocs and graduate students informing them of reception and lectures. Handle all reimbursements, honorariums and expenses associated with the event. Keep a complete file (paper and hard drive) on each lecturer. Also responsible for maintaining Bailar Fund financial statements, saving all documentation of financial transactions for the Fund, and providing this documentation upon request.


• Piper & Klemperer Awards: Responsible for contacting the faculty to get names of potential students, tracking the nominations, and organizing the award seminars and receptions. Responsible for maintaining Inorganic and Material Area and Piper and Klemperer Fund financial statements, saving all documentation of financial transactions for the Funds, and providing this documentation upon request.



Office Management



• Responsible for assisting with training IMP office staff. Updates and maintains training materials. Acts as supervisor when current supervisor is absent due to vacation or illness.


• Participates in the planning and organization of the workload for the entire Chemical and Life Sciences Laboratory Chemistry office which includes three areas: Inorganic, Materials, and Physical with a focus in Inorganic & Materials. In the absence of other supervisory personnel, supervises other clerical personnel including student help.


• Responsible for organizing and updating complex filing systems using both paper files and computer databases. All areas maintain files for faculty, students, publications, research, grants, budgets, reimbursements, and various other pertinent information. Many of these files are highly confidential. Implements requested expenditures after deciding appropriateness.


• Sign on behalf of superiors, as directed, correspondence, vouchers, and other similar papers and forms. Attend meetings as requested and record verbatim material and gather and provide requested literature using library and computer services and factual information requiring reference to a variety of sources


• Assists with calendar for area conference room which is heavily used for meetings, recruiting, presentations, seminars, and classes.


• Independently composes correspondence containing authoritative information requiring knowledge of departmental procedures and practices as well as interpretative and directive correspondence requiring subject-matter knowledge, discretion, and confidentially. Responsible for faculty correspondence as requested including correcting grammar, sentence structure, spelling, formatting, and punctuation as needed.


• Responsible for assisting with course needs each semester such as textbook orders and final exam space requirements.


• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.



Graduate Students



• Assists in the coordination of prospective graduate student visits. Some responsibilities include: printing name tags, organizing a poster session and materials associated, arranging parking, assisting with student schedules, help with reimbursements, arranging tours, ordering supplies, creating bags to give to potential graduate students, communicating and organizing current graduate students and assisting with finding students and getting their information, fielding questions and other related duties. Also responsible for assisting in coordinating the event general schedule, payments to event halls, service providers and hotel.


• Responsible for assisting with tracking of graduate student academic progress. Manage scheduling,



Calendar and Travel



• Assists with calendar of appointments and visitors for faculty exercising judgments concerning priorities. Remind faculty and students of deadlines


• Assists with calendar for several faculty with full access to make appointments. This includes fielding phone calls, walk-ins and e-mails from faculty, graduate students, visitors. other campus areas, for setting up group meetings, individual meetings, preliminary exams, final defenses, literature seminars, guest seminars, special events (graduate recruiting, special lectures) and notifying the faculty of the posting.


• Organize travel plans for supervisors including obtaining optimum routing, plane tickets, reimbursements, etc.



Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.


• Two (2) years (24 months) of work experience comparable to the third level of this series

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to communicate effectively with others
• Solid interpersonal skills and professional acumen.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally, build rapport and establish effective working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and parents.
• Ability to easily and quickly pivot from one task to another and stay organized
• Ability to remain calm and productive in a busy work environment with frequent interruptions
• Ability to be self-motivated, prioritize tasks, and exercise good judgment.
• Attention to detail
• Ability to maintain confidentiality in all business matters.
• Ability to handle sensitive matters with tact and diplomacy.
• Skill in operating MAC and PC computers, fax, copy machines. scanners and poster printer.
• Working knowledge of secretarial procedures and office routines.
• Working knowledge of computer programs including but not limited to: Microsoft, File Maker Pro, ChemDraw, EndNote, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Orade Calendar. MathType.
• Working knowledge of activities, programs and organizational structure within the School including procedures used in the Business Office.
• Knowledge of chemical terminology used in the work in sufficient detail to ensure accuracy. This includes the ability to proofread long, complex chemical terms.
• Working knowledge of University forms and corresponding procedures for processing.

Appointment Information


This is a 100% full-time Civil Service 3266 - Office Manager position, appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the deadline date. This is a bargained position and as such, the salary is driven by the collective bargaining agreement. The wage for this position is $44,267.08.
For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS web site at https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/pages/classspec/default.aspx .This position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule as operations permit, after an initial training period (remote work and in-person work in Champaign-Urbana each week). Please view the University of Illinois work place flexibility guidelines. https://cam.illinois.edu/policies/hr-87-2/. Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position.



Application Procedures & Deadline Information


Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on April 1, 2025. To apply for this position, please create a candidate profile at https://jobs.illinois.edu, use the Apply Now button on the posting and upload your cover letter, resume (months and years of employment must be included), and names/contact information for three professional references. Please remember to include specific information on how you meet the qualifications of the position in your application materials, including all relevant experiences.


In order to be considered as a transfer candidate, you must apply for this position. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. If required by the position, transcripts or other documentation of credentials are to be provided no later than the first day of employment. For further information about this specific position, please contact lascollegehiring@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.


For assistance with resume creation and mock interviews, please follow this link for University of Illinois Human Resources workshops: https://illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/1595?c=illinois


The University of Illinois must also comply with applicable federal export control laws and regulations and, as such, reserves the right to employ restricted party screening procedures for applicants.


The University of Illinois offers a very competitive benefits portfolio, depending on the position. Click for a complete list of Employee Benefits .

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify .

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal , or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing accessibility@illinois.edu .


Requisition ID: 1029608
Job Category: Administrative Support
Apply at: https://jobs.illinois.edu


Apply Now