Job No. 158038
- Job Title:
- Associate Department Administrator 4
- Employer:
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Northwestern University
- Location:
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Chicago , IL
- Posting Date:
- 19-Mar-2026
- Description:
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Job Summary:
**Cover letter required for consideration**
Reporting to the Department Administrator/Director of Operations, the Associate Department Administrator in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences is responsible for managing administrative operations within the Department. This includes areas of budget, finance, facilities, operations, human resources, education, communications, development, faculty affairs, regulatory affairs, FSMIT, and research. The primary responsibilities of this position include creating and maintaining appropriate financial plans and corresponding controls; overseeing administrative processes; ensuring proper compliance; managing and maintaining departmental space and other related facilities; providing human resource management for all members of the department; and providing a professional administrative support structure within the unit.
This position serves as a point of reference for all department faculty and staff administrative functions and operations, providing lead oversight and management as needed. As a liaison to the Feinberg School of Medicine, this role also serves as the lead administrator over the Clinical Psychology PhD and MA program and is responsible for financial stewardship and compliance.
Specific Responsibilities:
Work Complexity:
EE uses judgment & an extensive amount of experience to adapt an advanced knowledge of skills, methods, practices, policies & procedures & a moderate degree of innovation, analysis, & reasoning to plan & prioritize work that is primarily project oriented & involves some extremely difficult problems &/or decisions. EE interprets policy.
Budget & Financial:
Serves a primary role in the development & implementation of annual budget including fiscal resource allocation of appropriated, discretionary, endowment & gift revenues.
Typically involved in the budget management of numerous research grants.
Responsible for payroll, purchasing, travel & entertainment (T&E) transactions & requesting new chartstrings using NU protocol.
Prepares faculty salary recovery & summer salary.
Oversees prompt payment of invoices & related research of errors.
Monitors open encumbrances & deficit chartstrings.
Level II approver in NUFS.
Department level approver in HRIS.
Routinely reviews & reconciles actual expenses to budget per NU Audit guidelines.
Approves funds reallocation within budget as necessary & appropriate.
Responsible to stop an expense that is inappropriate or against deficit chartstring.
Facilities & Safety:
Monitors area facilities conditions & directs requests to Facilities Management
Maintains key database & security.
Works with management to assign staff &/or faculty space including appropriate FM refresh/renovation & furniture purchase.
Coordinates set up of furniture, data, phone lines, &/or renovations.
Brings requests for building & space improvements to attention of management.
Oversees appropriate section of annual space survey following NU protocol.
Faculty Support:
Manages administration of faculty recruitment including ads, candidate communication, interview & visit, HRIS paperwork & orientation.
Oversees the preparation of Promotion & Tenure cases.
Interprets & applies policy & procedure.
Oversees colloquium & seminar coordination, faculty travel planning. Ensures faculty
completion of annual Conflict of Interest Survey.
Grants & Contracts:
Oversees &/or completes pre- & post-award research administration.
Utilizes established systems (effort reporting, direct cost charging/SDA, & financial reporting) to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations.
Interacts with Principal Investigators (PIs) I to build relationships, transfer knowledge & advise on research policies & procedures.
Oversees payroll for research appointments.
Ensures faculty completion of effort certification.
Provides appropriate training for staff & PIs.
Human Resources:
Manages implementation of human resource programs, policies, procedures & talent management lifecycle & related mentoring & training.
Posts positions to eRecruit, leads the recruitment & selection process.
Manages area/unit structure & prioritizes & distributes staff workload.
Oversees Performance Excellence plan for each employee & prepares annual review.
Manages performance problems, administers leaves, approves timesheets & oversees completion of annual staff Conflict of Interest survey.
Recommends complex HR solutions & implements decisions.
Institutes departmental policy & implements school & NU policy.
IT Services:
Ensures necessary hardware, software & network infrastructure services are appropriated from central or internal IT.
Strategic Planning:
Manages & implements strategic operation plans.
Reviews plans, meets with leadership & key faculty & staff, & recommends changes & improvements to administrative operations to better meet organizational needs & objectives.
Student Support:
Implements department strategy regarding structure, process, & staff support of students in compliance with NU policy.
Acts as primary contact with School or student organizations.
Supervisory:
Supervises 2 or more staff &/or provide work direction to others.
Provides direction to or coordinate administrative effort of staff within or outside of immediate dept or division.
Miscellaneous
Performs other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications: (Education, experience, and any other certifications or clearances)
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as business, accounting or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
5 years' administrative experience including budgets, finance, grants, facilities, &/or human resources; or other relevant experience.
Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)
Demonstrated leadership ability;
Ability to work with all levels of staff and management;
Professional presence/demeanor;
Critical thinking skills;
Knowledge of applicable regulations;
Ability to work on multiple projects;
Advanced experience with Word and Excel;
Advanced problem solving skills;
Effective oral and written communication skills;
High level of attention to detail;
Ability to create and manage a budget;
Ability to work in a matrix organization structure.
- Contact information:
- Northwestern University
- Chicago, IL 60208
- United States
- Employer's Website:
-
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