Office Support Specialist

Office Support Specialist - Department of Economics
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Department of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is seeking to hire an Office Support Specialist to perform necessary tasks to support Director, Associate Director, and Administrative Assistant in the Master of Science in Policy Economics (MSPE) Program. The OSS has full administrative responsibility for the operation of the selected areas of the program.
Duties and Responsibilities

Student Registration & Records Management

• Creates and updates the MSPE course schedule (Excel document).
• Maintains the Banner departmental advising holds on each MSPE student.
• Organizes the student advising appointments each semester for the Associate Director.
• Identifies, assists, and/or solves registration-related issues such as student holds, dropped sections of courses, etc. Keeps the Associate Director and/or Administrative Assistant informed of these issues.
• Verifies student registration per the students' approved registration changes each semester. Reports discrepancies and/or problems to Associate Director.
• Updates and maintains the accuracy of correlating student registration changes in the internal Access database, as well as in GradRecs.
• Facilitates the collection of MSPE student midterm grade results for Associate Director.
• Responsible for Graduate College Degree Certification process, which generates/updates graduation/degree lists for the Graduate College.
• Monitors the Slate portal and keeps Associate Director advised of the statuses of students' petitions and late course change forms.
• Primarily data manager and report generator for the extensive MSPE database.
• Creates pictorial and website directories of MSPE students by downloading iCard photos from the GradRecs system.
• Maintains MSPE course syllabi collection each semester.
• Maintains an orderly filing system for quick retrieval of digital and physical documents including digitally archiving alumni files.
• Provide input to enhance GradApps and/or GradRecs programs.

Program Support

• Prepare correspondence for, and on behalf of, the Director, Associate Director, and Administrative Assistant, in an accurate and timely fashion while maintaining confidentiality.
• Assist the Office Manager with tasks related to three student field trips that occur over the academic year.
• The Office Support Specialist may be required to attend some of the student field trips to assist Office Manager and/or Administrative Assistant with logistics. When the Office Manager or Administrative Assistant is unavailable, this position may be responsible for leading some student field trips. Field trips vary from a day trip to a nearby Illinois city; a trip that requires a two-night stay in a Midwest city (e.g., Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis); and/or a week-long spring break trip to either Washington, DC or New York City. Some overtime or compensatory time may be required.
• Assist the Administrative Assistant with program event coordination.
• Request room reservation for midterm exams and/or make up classes on behalf of faculty teaching MSPE courses.
• Responsible for coordinating professional photographer schedules and transferring digital event photos from photographer to MSPE website photo gallery.
• Serve as liaison between students and department/college for convocation coordination including ceremony notification, form processing, regalia assistance, and follow-up questionnaires.
• Assist Office Manager with tasks associated with annual communications such as recruiting and holiday greetings.
• Maintain digital display within office suite.

General Office Support

• Maintain the student lounge, including making coffee and daily tidying, ordering the necessary coffee supplies and preparing Chrome River related transactions.
• First point of contact for walk-in guests, incoming phone calls, and unit's MSPE general email inbox.
• Collect and distribute daily mail.
• Assist in gathering data and resources for the program's webpage and intranet. Assist in updating both sites under the direction of the Associate Director and Administrative Assistant.
• Maintain and order office supplies for the MSPE office.
• Responsible for photocopy machine maintenance requests to vendor; sending meter reads to vendor.
• Assist in general organizing and tidiness of office suite.
• Perform other duties as assigned to further the mission of this unit.

Required Qualifications

1. High school diploma or equivalent.

2. Any one or combination totaling two (2) years (24 months) from the categories below:

A. College coursework in any curriculum, as measured by the following conversion table or its proportional equivalent:

• 30 semester hours equals one (1) year (12 months)

• Associate's Degree (60 semester hours) equals eighteen months (18 months)

• 90 semester hours equals two (2) years (24 months)

• Bachelor's Degree (120 semester hours) equals three (3) years (36 months)

B. Work experience performing office/clerical activities, including the use of computer systems.

3. One (1) year (12 months) of work experience comparable to the second level of this series.
Successful candidates will have:

• Ability to communicate effectively with others.
• Ability to professionally interact with diverse internal and external constituents, including students, faculty, and staff.
• Awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural and linguistic differences. Commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and stay organized.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality in all business, personnel, and academic matters.
• Working knowledge of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Ability to use Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Knowledge of or ability to learn Microsoft Access, BANNER, Chrome River, iBuy, SAP Business Objects/EDDIE, DAWS, Drupal, Slate, Grad Apps/Grad Recs, ASTRA.
• Ability to obtain knowledge of University of Illinois, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Graduate College, Department of Economics, and MSPE policies and procedures.

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Civil Service 3243 - Office Support Specialist position, appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the deadline date. This is a bargained position and as such, the salary is driven by the collective bargaining agreement. The wage for this position is $40,400.10 per year. Hybrid work options may be available for this position after an initial on-site training period of six months, with the ability to be on-site at the Champaign-Urbana campus as needed per the University of Illinois workplace flexibility guidelines: Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position.

For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS web site at
Application Procedures & Deadline Information

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on January 6, 2025. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting and upload your Cover Letter, Resume, and Names/Contact Information for three professional references. Please remember to include specific information on how you meet the qualifications of the position in your application materials, including all relevant experiences. In order to be considered as a transfer candidate, you must apply for this position. Applications not submitted through will not be considered. If required by the position, transcripts or other documentation of credentials are to be provided no later than the first day of employment. For further information about this specific position, please contact . For questions regarding the application process, please contact .

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

TheUniversity of Illinois must also comply with applicable federal export controllaws and regulations and, as such, reserves the right to employ restrictedparty screening procedures for applicants.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal, or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at , or by emailing .

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Job Category: Administrative Support
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