Administrative Officer 2

Administrative Officer 2 (4263C), Department of Chemical Engineering - 75997 About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.

We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles , Principles of Community , and Strategic Plan .

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

Departmental Overview

The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) is an instructional and research Department in the College of Chemistry. CBE provides the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to obtain a thorough fundamental knowledge of all fields in chemical and biomolecular engineering.

In broad terms, research conducted in CBE can be divided into the following areas: catalysis and reaction engineering, electrochemical engineering, polymers and complex fluids, microsystems technology and microelectrics, molecular simulations and theory, interfacial engineering, biochemical and bioprocess engineering, biomedical engineering, and synthetic biology. The CBE also collaborates with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

The Department has 17 ladder ranked faculty, four regularly appointed non- Senate faculty, two full time Lecturers and four to six temporary lecturers each year. CBE is home to about 425 undergraduates and 135 Masters and Doctoral students. Approximately 100 graduate and undergraduate students are hired annually as GSI's and Readers in support of the teaching program. In addition, CBE is host to approximately 75 visiting postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars and researchers. Teaching and research facilities are located in several buildings within the College of Chemistry's complex, and several faculty have appointments at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as well. The Department's budget includes state and federal funds, discretionary funds, gifts and endowments, scholarship and fellowship funds.

Position Summary

Involves managing or performing the administrative services or managing the full general operations of an academic or non-academic organization(s). Administrative services include activities in finance and human resources and may also include IT, facilities, or student services. General management activities include long and short-range strategic planning in determining the mission and directing all activities of multi-disciplinary departments through subordinate management staff.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: February 14, 2025

Responsibilities

Administrative Operations:
•  Serves as an administrative resource and main contact for lab members to ensure continuity.
•  Provides orientation/training and continued guidance for lab members with UC's purchasing and recharge system, and any administrative issues such as high value equipment purchases, assisting in navigating the bureaucratic campus structures, informs/reminds lab members of UC policies, and coordinates/facilitates catering services for PIs' sponsor review meetings or occasional lab research presentation meetings.
•  Provides substantial lab member support concerning traveling to conferences and the complex UC travel and entertainment regulations, and restrictions.
•  Coordinates a lab group's usage of recharge facilities beyond the College of Chemistry, and updates fund numbers if projects end or change.
•  The FSA reports significant increases in recharge spending to the PI, and reminds lab members to obtain quotes for more substantial shop work. Human Resources and Finance Assistance:
•  Provides guidance to supervisors and managers in developing job descriptions, facilitating benefits communications, and providing guidance on compensation programs, personnel policies, and procedures when acting as a liaison between PI and HR department.
•  Provide PI with updated policies or regulations when hiring new lab members and when facilitating the appointment of new Visiting Students Researcher (VStR). This includes the process of appointing GSRs every semester and for summer, and guiding international visiting scholars (VS) or student researcher (VStR) through the campus administrative structure, and questions about finding accommodation.
•  Assisting GSRs navigating various fellowships in order to secure correct and timely stipend payments.
•  Supports international visiting student researchers (VStR) to access EH&S security training in order to enter the lab and conduct research by the start date.
•  Coordinates and assists in hiring student workers during the summer break, facilitates building access, and on behalf of the PI reviews/approves student workers' bi-weekly time cards.
•  For PIs with a LBNL appointment and funding, this position requires that the FSA coordinates with LBNL's HR and the RA to support the hiring of lab members. LBNL has different deadlines and more extensive procedures, especially for international lab members.
•  Functions as the lab's resource on issues such as research invoicing discrepancies, escalated customer service problems and vendor concerns.
•  Periodically check with lab members about the delivery status of older open Purchasing Orders (POs).
•  If needed contacts the vendor regarding not yet received invoices and post vendor invoices in the UC system.
•  Monitors older POs until either closed or fully paid. Communicates with the Disbursement department in order to get overdue invoices paid and for further processing when a vendor put our account and order on hold because of the overdue UC invoices. Communications:
•  Serves as liaison between Principal Investigator, Contracts and Grants Accounting, Berkeley Regional Services (BRS) and agencies.
•  Keeps UCB and LBNL administration informed with regard to research personnel payroll changes.
•  Keep RAs updated on potential contract renewals based on the PI's intention so RAs can update their projections.
•  Notify HR and RAs a lab member resigns for processing the separation, and updates the PI's previous lab member contact list.
•  Reviews the RAs projections to insure it reflects the PI's estimates.
•  Communicate with the PI if the changed spending will lead to over or underspending on a particular project. General Operations Support:
•  Assists PI in the preparation of correspondence, reports, nominations and recommendations.
•  Facilitates and processes the submission of applicant's nomination to various annual awards, as for example the American Chemical Society (ACS).
•  Gathers and coordinates financial and other resource data; prepares report drafts, or analyses of operational activities pertaining to current services. Examples are regularly updating the PI's publications, Current, and Pending Support document in MyNCBI, an automated system for storing PIs' CV, publications and Current and Pending Support data.
•  Periodically updates the PI on administrative lab issues, problems and deadlines that may indirectly affect research projects.
•  Participates in the development and revision of standard operating procedures and guidelines.
•  Serves as a liaison between Principal Investigator, Sponsored Projects Office, Contracts and Grants Accounting, Berkeley Regional Services (BRS), and agencies.
•  This position sets internal deadlines for collecting administrative and technical documentation from all participants involved in a grant proposal.
•  This position pivots to ensure the priority of short-notice proposals.
•  They carefully read and monitor Proposal Requests and the details of documentation and restrictions, and provide the PI with a budget and budget justification draft.
•  This position facilitates the process of timely submitting Principal Investigator-s research proposals through the University's internal review system called PHOEBE and coordinates with the preAward RA the submission and approval of the final proposal.
•  Administers a defined operational program or activities that may include some of the following functions: finance, facilities, payroll, space planning, student services, human resources, communications, informational technology or safety.
•  This position reviews actual financial transactions and compares transactions with projections. Assures that all payroll charges at the end of the previous month are correct, and alert/work with the Research Administrator (RA) or HR to correct discrepancies and correlate spending plans click apply for full job details