Working under minimal supervision, incumbents in this position use advanced administrative concepts, practices and procedures to support faculty and their research lab staff. Gathers, organizes, stores and supplies information; maintains files; schedules appointments, arranges meetings and special events; produces correspondence and documents. Acts as a liaison between assigned Staff and the Director's Office, Office of Sponsored Research Administration and other administrative areas of the institution, as well as applicable administrative areas of external organizations often serving as the first point of contact for visitors, collaborators, and job candidates. The Research Administrative Assistant is distinguished by the degree of autonomy and professionalism expected, as well as the specialized knowledge and skills required to successfully support grant applications and grant-funded research. Creativity and initiative are expected in recommending and implementing solutions to unique administrative challenges. This position does have the opportunity for a minimum of 1-day per week work from home after completion of a 3-month probationary period, appropriate internet access, and approval by supervisor.
Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions
- Provides advanced administrative support to assigned Faculty and their lab groups including, but not limited to: calendar maintenance, internal and external meeting arrangements, all aspects of domestic travel arrangements and coordination of international travel, faculty and staff reimbursements, electronic and paper file maintenance; stay updated on organizational policies and processes as they impact the Faculty and lab groups they support, assist with on-boarding and off-boarding of employees including supporting training of other RAAs as appropriate, support development of correspondence and other documents, and timekeeping for research staff.
- Maintains calendars and appointment schedules; arranges time and place of meetings, often in cooperation with others; produces agendas and presentation materials for meetings; prepares facilities and greets meeting attendees. Facilitates and coordinates special events and meetings that may include internal and external participants. Makes travel arrangements for invited guests, prepares agendas, and coordinates in-town transportation. Prepares facilities and greets attendees.
- Liaises with the Office of Sponsored Research Administration and Research Program Development to assist with documents for grant submissions including creation of faculty and research staff biosketches, letters of support, and as needed documents for compliance reporting and progress reports.
- Updates faculty web presence, CVs, biosketches and online databases such as ORCID and PubMed. Assists faculty with submission of manuscripts including providing bibliographic reference material, help with graphics and submission to PubMed for NIH required PMCIDs.
- Develops mastery in and performs specialized duties/coordination functions including, but not limited to, support of Seminar Committee, Interest Groups, and research data entry. Provides Standard Operating Procedure for anything outside the bounds of normal administrative assistant work.
- Assists labs in ordering supplies; facilitates purchase orders. Provides general computer, fax, printer, scanning, copier, videoconferencing (e.g., Zoom,Teams) and software support to faculty and their staff. Works closely with IT to solve technical issues and order replacement supplies. May provide support and assistance in lab budgets; may monitor expenditures for supplies and other administrative expenses to ensure conformance with budget.
- Other duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- High School Diploma and 4 years relevant administrative experience
- A BA is preferred but not required. A familiarity with basic science is preferred but not required.
- Must have successful working experience using multiple technical applications including Microsoft Office and associated apps like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook commonly used in the performance of administrative assistant responsibilities. Desired familiarity with Concur Travel and Workday.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills and demonstrated ability to manage details accurately. Must be effective at managing multiple tasks and multiple priorities.
- Strong interpersonal skills to work cooperatively with a large team in a high-profile environment requiring discretion, judgment, tact, and diplomacy in interactions with a wide variety of people and personalities.
- Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally, to clearly exchange information with people representing a wide diversity of disciplines and levels of sophistication.
- Ability to take independent initiative and exercise good judgment in decision making under minimal supervision.
- Ability to anticipate needs of those to whom support is provided and supply needed services and materials in such a way as to maximize their efficiency and productivity.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, handle multiple projects, and meet short deadlines.
Education Required: High School Diploma or GED
Education Preferred: Bachelor's Degree
Experience Required: 4 years
Experience Preferred: 5 years
Salary Range (Hourly): $21.60 - $28.09
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About JAX:
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.
Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community. For more information, please visit www.jax.org.
EEO Statement:
The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.
