Project Specialist

Capitalizing on over 140 years of history and tradition in downtown Los Angeles, the University of Southern California (USC) has embarked on an unprecedented period of expansion. USC is now poised to take its place as the preeminent research institution of the 21st century and we are looking for skilled, motivated professionals to help forge the future of higher education.

USC Financial & Business Services – Organizational Improvement Services is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Project Specialist with excellent collaboration skills to join its team.

About the Opportunity

The Project Specialist is responsible for providing specialized project administration support, which includes coordinating various projects and overseeing tasks such as planning, organization, research, and service delivery. As the primary central administrator for the iVIP system and the initial contact for all Attribute Access Requests (AAR’s), this position plays a pivotal role in managing day-to-day operational aspects. Responsibilities include training, facilitating meetings, fulfilling requests, evaluating processes, redesigning workflows, documenting improvements, and overseeing projects related to iVIP, AAR’s, and other Organization Improvement projects.

Accountabilities:

• Organize and manage multiple tasks and consistently produce work with strong attention to detail, accuracy, and completeness. Maintain a high degree of professionalism and discretion with sensitive and/or confidential information.

• Work independently and collaborate effectively with peers and all levels of management, execute tasks, and produce high-quality deliverables within scope and timeline of related deliverables. Anticipate the business needs of the team or project, seek clarification from management and colleagues as needed, organize work, and use critical thinking to efficiently solve problems on a daily basis.

• Manage the business approval process for requests received through the ServiceNow ticketing system. This includes prioritizing requests, maintaining thorough and accurate documentation, facilitating meetings with user community and other relevant subject matter experts to capture necessary details, guiding application owners through the approval process, and preparing documentation for monthly committee meetings to obtain approval. Maintains electronic databases and/or other records for reporting purposes. Enters and/or verifies database transactions as necessary. Provides technical support and design enhancements.

• Serve as the primary super administrator for the iVIP system used to create guest accounts at USC, providing functional support while collaborating with Information Technology Services (ITS) for system support. Act as a liaison between the user community and ITS to promptly address and resolve system issues. Provide essential training and ongoing support to administrators, manage accounts for the Finance division, and offer backup support to academic and administrative units lacking dedicated administrators.

• Assists in developing and updating department policies and procedures and/or project procedures and coordinating implementation, including evaluating, redesigning, and documenting processes. Communicates and/or documents. Develops forms, flow charts, and system requirements.

• Provide project and administrative support to the Director, Organization Improvement Services, including but not limited to calendaring, meeting management, project plans, event planning and logistics, expense reports, and other deliverables.

• Researches, gathers, organizes and summarizes data for project and/or administrative reports and/or activities. Analyzes data, presents results and makes recommendations on presentations of project and/or administrative reports.

• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Preferred Qualifications

The ideal candidate for the position of Project Specialist meets the following preferred requirements:

• 3 years of directly related experience

• Demonstrated experience/knowledge of USC’s organizational structure, operations, processes and procedures

• Excellent computer/technology skills; experience or understanding of information security, governance, and identity access management principles; adaptability to new technologies, and the ability to grasp technical terminology and concepts are valued

• Experience with iVIP access management system is highly desired

• Experience with Microsoft Office / Visio / SharePoint, and Qualtrics

Minimum Qualifications

All candidates for the position of Project Specialist must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree; however, combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education

• 2 years of project or administrative experience

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills for effective collaboration with a variety of departments, academic areas, and stakeholders across the organization

• Strong attention to detail, accuracy, and professionalism, especially when handling sensitive or confidential information

• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with peers and all levels of management

• Strong task execution and the ability to produce high-quality deliverables within scope and timelines

• Exceptional organizational skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities

In addition, the successful candidate must also demonstrate, through ideas, words and actions, a strong commitment to USC’s Unifying Values of integrity, excellence, diversity, equity and inclusion, well-being, open communication and accountability.

The hourly rate range for this position is $29.44 - $35.50. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

About USC Financial & Business Services

The USC department of Financial and Business Services (FBS) provides accounting, asset management, and organizational improvement services. FBS aims to provide exceptional customer service and is here to help the University community. Learn more about FBS at https://fbs.usc.edu/

The USC Financial & Business Services department values integrity, excellence, well-being, open communication, accountability, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Joi n us – apply today !

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree Combined experience/education as a substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 2 years