Duke University:

 

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

 

Occupational Summary
Assist department or division head in administration of department’s graduate student program. The DGSA  will assist senior leaders: Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), Associate Chair for Teaching (ACT), Chair and Administrative Director (AD) in administration of programmatic, financial and operating procedures for the Graduate Program of the Department of Physics. This position reports directly to the Administrative Director in support of the Graduate Program and its affiliate units. Maintains effective working relationships for Physics student programs and activities through strategic planning and coordination with countless Duke offices and teams.

 

Work Performed

 

Graduate Program Duties

Interpret departmental policies and procedures, making decisions on specific operating problems and issuing instructions to graduate students in the name of the Chair, ACT, DGS in accordance with departmental precedents and policies.

Serve as departmental liaison with Chair, ACT, DGS and Graduate Curriculum Committee concerning Graduate School regulations, University policies and procedures, and budgetary preparation and control. Advise Graduate Curriculum Committee on Departmental policies. Plan, coordinate, and manage all day-to-day operations of the Graduate Program and admissions process. Make operational and programmatic decisions that have a significant impact on the successful achievement of the Graduate Program strategies and objectives; develop, coordinate, and advise graduate students and staff regarding Graduate School and Payroll policy. Manage extensive web-based Departmental graduate admissions process; provide administrative support to the Graduate Admissions Committee. Plan, coordinate and administer activities of the Graduate Program to include developing and implementing procedures, processes, services and systems; train staff in proper methods and procedures and ensure correctness of work.  Administratively responsible for Teaching Assistant (TA)-Research Assistant (RA) assignments for fall, spring, and summer semesters; work with faculty to facilitate timely TA-RA assignment decisions; work with grant managers to provide faculty with financial reports, past support information, and other information as needed to make TA-RA assignments; follow-up with grant managers after assignments are received from faculty to ensure correctness of work and to facilitate updates to payroll and graduate school online systems. Monitor individual graduate student progress and advise students as needed; interpret and communicate departmental, programmatic and institutional policies to graduate students. Plan all preliminary, propositional, and Ph.D. defense exams; record academic and personnel data for all graduate students; maintain comprehensive data of all past Physics graduate students. Monitor and evaluate Graduate Program effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative research techniques; investigate trends and recommend and implement modifications to improve program effectiveness. Prepares internal and external reports and analyses setting forth progress, adverse trends, and appropriate recommendations and/or conclusions. Maintain liaison between graduate students and the DGS; with other programs, offices and departments at Duke to coordinate Graduate Program business and to accomplish program objectives. Interface with external organizations as appropriate to ensure cooperative efforts are enhanced and available resources are utilized in all interactions with various related administrative functions including budget, sponsored projects/payroll, bursar, international office, graduate school/admissions and partner graduate and certificate programs. Represent Graduate Program on behalf of the DGS, ACT, AD and Chair to the University and the public. Meet regularly with graduate program senior leaders (DGS, ACT, AD and Chair) to ensure effective collaboration and updates of programmatic activities, policies and procedures, Graduate School and partnering units. Represent Graduate Program to sponsors and other external organizations. Coordinate and participate in activities to maximize external funding for graduate students. Maintain information on student fellowship opportunities for graduate students.                                                                                                          

 

Payroll/Budget Duties

Administer and manage the compensatory and non-compensatory payroll and GSSF actions for all Physics graduate students, including hiring, salary, changes, etc. Control and maintain financial records of departmental graduate student funds and inform appropriate staff members of financial state. Assist and advise Administrative Director of budgetary and related problems; prepare for approval by Administrative Director (AD), initial budgetary recommendations by considering past requirements and expenditures and present program plans. Assist in the preparation of annual Teaching Assistant (TA) Graduate School and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences budget; monitor graduate budget and payroll, to include compilation of data and preparation of budget expenditures; monitor and verify expenditures; ensure compliance with University and Graduate School policies and procedures; prepare administrative reports for submission to Admin Director, DGS, ACT, and various external organizations. Prepare financial and operational reports and analyses reflecting progress, adverse trends and appropriate recommendations or conclusions. Budget for, and coordinate, public events and all graduate recruitment activities, develop and coordinate new ideas and concepts for program themes, materials and resources to supplement, expand or replace existing program components including Open House events, individual recruiting visits, and web-based long-distance recruitment activities; prepare and organize orientation week for arriving graduate students; coordinate office space for new students, and lead departmental orientation meeting.

 

Administration/Event Management

Provide administrative assistance to DGS and ACT to support the accomplishment of program objectives. Coordinate public relations activities to include conceptualizing and creating content for and supervising the production of webpages, brochures, bulletins, and electronic media aimed specifically at graduate student recruitment. Develop plans and schedules for release of publicity materials. Ensure all events and graduate programmatic activities are coordinated and executed. Collaborate closely with the departmental business team. Assist in coordination and training for front office program staff assistant in support of student programs.

 

Preferred Skills/Knowledge

Duke Graduate School Policies and Forms Duke General Accounting Procedures Budget Projections  Trend Analysis Computer Skills: Microsoft Office, iForms Payroll Processing, Graduate School Student Funding (GSSF), DukeHub (Student Information Services & Systems SISS / STORM / ACES), Online Database Management Applications Event Coordination Supervision/Counseling

 

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Work requires a general business background generally equivalent to a bachelor's degree in a business related field.

Experience

Work requires 2 years related business or administrative experience to OR ANY OTHER EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE. become familiar with general personnel practices, accounting and budgeting principles and coordination of major office activities. A master's degree in a business related field may be substituted for 2 years experience.

 

 

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

 

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

 

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.