MSU Extension Org Dev Team Assistant — Office Assistant IV

Working/Functional Title

MSU Extension Org Dev Team Assistant

Position Summary

Michigan State University Extension is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive organization, which requires all staff to contribute towards a vision for success. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to our work, regardless of title or position within the organization. This means that all staff at MSU Extension are dedicated to the following:

• We work together to ensure that programming is delivered to diverse audiences, produces equitable impacts for all participants, and demonstrates partnership and inclusion for all groups.
• We embrace that it is everyone’s job to create a culture that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• We ensure that every team member is prepared with the skills and resources to contribute to our welcoming and inclusive culture.
• We foster inclusion by recognizing and valuing diverse perspectives, skills, experiences, and work to create equal access to programming for communities.
• We commit to continuous learning for diversity, equity, and cultural competency, in order to achieve inclusive excellence.
• We understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential elements to our work and are vital to the organizational culture and programmatic success of MSU Extension.
• We embrace a culture of understanding, coaching and feedback towards achieving a vision of success for the entire organization and its staff.
• Together we will achieve success and we commit to these goals in our work, continued education, and ongoing efforts.  

POSITION SUMMARY

Coordinates and initiates a wide range of clerical activities in order to support administrators and to facilitate the functioning of the department or unit. Compiles, verifies, processes and/or analyzes complex and/or specialized department information/data; independently renders decisions; interprets information; apprises customers of appropriate actions in order to facilitate the functioning of the department or unit.

MSU Extension (MSUE) has more than 700 employees in 83 counties spread across the upper and lower peninsula of Michigan. This office assistant position will provide administrative support for the MSU Extension Organizational Development (OD) team and will contribute to the success of our intricate organization.

In this role, you will perform a variety of administrative tasks such as maintaining calendars, scheduling meetings, and tracking and managing numerous organizational reports. You will be responsible for composing and editing documents and correspondence, as well as creating meeting agendas. In this role, you will create documents, interactive forms, and presentations using Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, and Adobe.

You will provide administrative support to OD search committees and will be responsible for organizing and tracking a variety of trainings for internal and external audiences. Your work will include supporting new online training courses and modules through review, test, and editing of the material, as well as supporting aspects of MSU Extension’s New Staff Onboarding program. Your strong customer service skills will shine as you help troubleshooting issues for online courses, respond to inquiries using MSUE Expert Search, Ask Extension, and other appropriate resources. You will also prepare, print, and/or create packets of training materials for a variety of programs, including organizing and tracking employee training, supporting MSUE civil rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings and related processes.

Your attention to detail with the ability to work cohesively across the team will be important in this role. You will be responsible for collecting, compiling, and editing the MSUE organizational development newsletter, reviewing and updating the OD website and sub-pages, and helping to monitor shared inboxes.

You will process a variety of financial transactions such as travel reimbursements and invoice payments.

Although negotiable, there will be space available for this position to work from the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

This position may be eligible to utilize a flexible work environment, however, there is an expectation to work from a MSU Extension office. The needs, responsibilities, and opportunities of an individual’s position and office location drive the ability and amount of work-location flexibility.

Characteristic Duties/Responsibilities

• Receives, collects, and processes complex and diverse information and independently renders decisions in order to contribute to information bases or request specific actions or to provide information for administrators, faculty, staff, and external agencies.
• Prepares and/or assists in developing and compiling analytical reports.
• Interacts with University personnel, students, external agencies, and the public, in order to verify information and make judgments in order to ensure that records and resultant actions are correct.
• Schedules appointments and maintains unit administrator(s) calendar(s); maintains files and records applicable to the office, including travel.
• Facilitates, prepares, and distributes agenda materials and records minutes for regular and special meetings for unit administrators.
• Assists in preparing administrative reports; independently gathers data and information from a variety of sources and performs research as necessary to screen and relay sensitive information to administrators.
• Completes a wide range of computer tasks, including correspondence, reports, tables, agreements, and other documentation.
• Types, edits, and proofreads correspondence, letters, proposals, and other materials.
• Interprets and summarizes materials in order to keep the administrators, faculty, and staff informed of pertinent events and information.
• Interprets University policies and administrative procedures in response to inquiries and initiates necessary action.
• Prepares meeting rooms and audio-visual and other technology-related needs.
• Attends meetings with and on behalf of administrators in order to acquire and disseminate information.
• Interprets terms and conditions of documents or agreements pertaining to expenditure of funds.
• Orders and maintains inventory of office supplies in order to facilitate the functioning of the department or section.
• Maintains and reconciles the bookkeeping records for multiple departments and/or programs in order to assist with budget planning, grant proposals, and forecasting.
• Researches and collects data in order to assist in the preparation of grants, proposals, and departmental reports.
• Completes project work independently in order to facilitate the functioning of the department or section.
• Performs duties normally associated with the Office Assistant III and Accounting Clerk II in order to assist in accomplishing the goals of the office or unit.

Minimum Requirements

• Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired in the first two or three years in college, technical school, or a related field.
• One to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in maintaining account ledgers, departmental operations, employment, or in performing tasks related to the area of employment.
• Experience in word processing, editing, and composing correspondence, and maintaining spreadsheets, and/or databases.
• Or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• This position requires or will require prior to the completion of the probationary period knowledge of basic personal computer terminology and operations, and the ability to use e-mail and the Internet.
• Other skills and/or physical abilities required to perform duties of the position.

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated drive and initiative, with proven ability to manage multiple responsibilities and tasks simultaneously.
• Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
• Experience and proven ability working productively with a team serving in both leadership and contributor roles.
• Self-motivated with demonstrated ability to work independently without daily supervision and/or coaching.
• Proficiency in use of technology, or aptitude and desire to learn new technologies (e.g., web research, Zoom, Qualtrics, D2L, Microsoft TEAMS, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook for mail/calendaring, distance technology, etc.), artificial intelligence (AI) platforms for day-to-day work, record keeping, reporting, team-based communications, and overall management.
• Demonstrated skills and professional development from the last five years related to cultural competency and inclusive excellence.
• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity, knowledge, and use of appropriate approaches, skills, and techniques, which reflect an understanding and awareness of social, cultural, and economic diversity of the target population served.
• Understanding of and proficiency working with the EBS system, including financial system account and transaction e-documents, cost redistributions, and travel related support.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Application Materials

Current resume/CV.

Cover letter.

Four (4) professional references including two (2) current or previous supervisors.

Work Hours

STANDARD 8-5

Website

https://youtu.be/KjG34cLt9a8

Bidding eligibility ends December 17, 11:55 PM