PMA Academic Affairs Manager

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Job Summary

This is a senior administrative staff position reporting to the Division Operations Officer (DOO). The Academic Affairs Manager will manage and oversee general administration and organization for the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA) in the area of academic affairs. Manages all Division Office academic functions involving appointments and support of non-tenure faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and other academic positions. 

Requires the ability to provide solutions to a wide range of difficult problems and effectively handle unique or complex requests. The ability to develop innovative solutions outside of standard procedures is essential. Requires someone who is organizationally astute, who can handle many responsibilities simultaneously with discretion and tact. The successful candidate has excellent attention to detail; sees the big picture rather than a series of tasks; is dedicated to becoming an integral member of a team; can provide information that is needed by others even before it is requested; understands what information others need to do their jobs; and has the ability to analyze complex situations and help the team determine thoughtful solutions to problems.
The successful candidate is self-motivated and is energized by being part of a high-level administrative team that interacts throughout the Division and the Institute.
This is an Essential Reporting position. An employee designated as essential reporting has essential job skills that are needed for response and recovery and is expected to report to campus as soon as possible.

Essential Job Duties

• Manages all Division Office academic functions involving non-tenure new appointments, reviews, promotions, reappointments, salary changes and leaves for non-tenure-track research faculty, lecturers, postdoctoral scholars, Moore Scholars, visitors, visiting faculty, and Members of the Professional Staff.
• Coordinates, manages, and updates onboarding and exiting processes.
• Notifies Chair and DOO when actions are needed and follows up to ensure actions are accomplished and required steps are fulfilled to meet Institute requirements.
• Determines, gathers, and assists in the timely preparation of content of all materials to be presented to IACC and Board of Trustees, and follows up on subsequent distribution.
• Maintains confidential records and files.
• Produces reports and data as required, including assisting in the response to surveys.
• Plans, directs, and executes special projects.
• Communicates and collaborates with the Provost’s Office staff regarding academic appointments and other matters.
• Acts in an advisory role to Division Chair, faculty, and administrative staff on academic-related guidelines and policies of the Institute, requiring the ability to provide solutions to a wide range of difficult problems and effectively handle unique and complex requests.
• Independently responds to routine requests, uses excellent judgment and discretion in referring complex or special requests to the Chair and other members of the Division.
• Oversees and executes all administrative and operational requirements involved in hiring of non-tenure academics through search committees.
• Reviews all re-appointment forms prior to Chair approval.
• Acts as single point of contact between the Office of the Chair and Institute administration, including Human Resources, the International Scholar Services office, and external partners.
• Tracks ending dates on all appointment periods; works closely with the Human Resources and the International Scholar Services departments to ensure proactive effort to resolve pending issues.
• Ensures compliance with policies and procedures regarding terms of appointments, salary, visa requirements, Ph.D. requirements and funding.
• Improves internal processes and creates/updates user guidelines.
• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience with 5 to 10 years of progressively responsible administrative experience.
• Ability to interact successfully with various levels of senior management and faculty.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate clearly and tactfully.
• Ability to manage, direct, organize, and coordinate activities/projects and follow-through on all aspects of workflow.
• Ability to work with, instruct, and train a team of ~25 people.
• Ability to oversee a portfolio of hundreds of people, and understand the different ranks and their policies.
• Ability to be proactive in identifying potential problems, making recommendations for mitigation, and taking action to avoid them.
• Ability to perform complex and sensitive functions requiring the application of non-standard techniques and/or procedures.
• Ability to work effectively with multiple interruptions, conflicting priorities, and tight deadlines.
• High degree of independent judgment and the ability to handle confidential information with discretion and tact.
• Ability to resolve problems by interpreting and applying Divisional and Institute policies and procedures.
• Proficiency with desktop computer systems and Microsoft Office suite, website software, Mailchimp. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Caltech experience preferred.
• Experience with Oracle, Division Personnel Management database, Card Quest, and Wrike is desirable.

Required Documents

• Resume