Careers

General Summary: 

The Graduate Program Secretary for the Chemistry Department, reporting to the Chemistry Department Chairperson, will perform a number of clerical duties in support of the Department’s graduate programs, the work of the Graduate Program Director, and other department faculty.  On a daily basis, the Graduate Program Secretary will perform duties specified by the Graduate Program Director.

Examples of Duties: 

• Provide routine clerical support for the Chemistry graduate program; receive and respond to inquiries regarding the graduate programs; receive and sort mail; solve graduate and undergraduate student problems diplomatically; refer program inquiries to appropriate office and/or website; establish and maintain all files and records of chemistry graduate students;
• Work with the GPD, Graduate Committee, and Office of Graduate Studies to manage the graduate admissions process, including drafting and sending decision letters;
• Assist the GPD in formulating job postings for teaching and research assistantships; collect employment applications from students and send appointment letters;
• Assist the GPD in assigning, scheduling and coordinating teaching assistantships;
• Proofread graduate student materials for grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors, as well as for proper format, accuracy and completeness;
• Interface with various intradepartmental offices on behalf of graduate students, faculty, and the GPD;
• Update Chemistry Graduate Program Brochure and faculty research fact sheets;
• Communicate and provide accurate and timely information to newly admitted graduate students, such as the Chemistry Departmental Graduate New Student Welcome Orientations, required lab safety instruction, and the New Graduate Student with Assistantship Orientation;
• Assist graduate students with course registrations; add graduate students to courses with permission of instructor and/or department into WISER;
• Assist the Departmental Administrative Assistant with registering undergraduate students in WISER, especially during periods of high student demand;
• Establish and maintain all graduate student files and records in both paper and electronic copies;
• Receive and direct internal and external phone and e-mail inquiries related to Chemistry graduate programs, and when necessary refer inquiries to appropriate staff person or office;
• Provide program information regarding Chemistry graduate and certificate programs to prospective and current students and the general public;
• Check and review the graduate students’ degree declaration application forms received from the graduation team of the Registrar’s Office, and pass the GPD evaluation form in each student’s graduate application to sign and return back to the Registrar’s Office;
• Keep records of graduation and provide summaries at the request of the GPD;
• Develop and maintain a database of graduates from Chemistry graduate programs, including current addresses (if known), employment information, and job satisfaction;
• Interface with various university departments on behalf of students, faculty, and the GPD; solve graduate student problems diplomatically and professionally;
• Maintain the Chemistry Department Master Excel File for the Graduate Student Academic progress, tracking summaries during the entire cycle, starting from application, admission, coursework, literature seminars, WQEs, OQE defense, thesis/dissertation defenses to application for graduation processes.
• Organize the written qualifying exam administration twice per year, including informing faculty about the process, collecting student sign-ups, collecting WQE papers and exams from faculty, scheduling the exam day, printing exam papers for exam administration, proctoring the exam, and giving the exams to the faculty to grade;
• Administratively coordinate the oral qualifying defenses (OQE), thesis and dissertation defenses for the graduate students; edit defense flyers and send email announcements of defenses to the University community; prepare dissertation tracking forms to be sent to the Graduate Studies Office for record;
• Attend the Graduate Program Director meetings and take notes on occasions when the GPD is unable to be present at a meeting;
• Summarize anonymous student evaluations of teaching assistants; manage graduate program periodic evaluations of research and teaching progress of graduate students by their faculty supervisors;
• Assist the Chair, GPD, and Departmental Administrative Assistant in updating the written and web descriptions of our programs and the dissemination of these materials;
• Assist the Departmental Administrative Assistant as backup support in classroom and course scheduling, as needed;
• Handle Chemistry Department room and catering requests related to graduate student activities and events; work cooperatively with the Administrative Assistant in organizing all departmental events;
• maintain calendar with important programmatic dates and provide updates/reminders as necessary (i.e. assistant pings GPD when it's time to schedule WQE, new student orientation, etc.
• Be trained to edit and publish webpages and regularly audit and update graduate program information on website as necessary
• Enter hours for graduate students that are hired hourly through HR DIRECT.
• Order supplies for office and GPD;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: 

A minimum of three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, experience in office work is required.

• Knowledge of standard office procedures and practices, including office record keeping, office correspondence control, the types and uses of office equipment and supplies, and business letter preparation;
• Proficient with administration software applications and database management, including all applications of Microsoft Office Suite;
• Proficient with using DocuSign to create templates and to initiate the routing of program forms through DocuSign.
• Knowledge of the types and applications of standard office filing systems, including online systems (e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive);
• Ability to understand and apply the laws, rules, policies and procedures governing the assigned unit activities;
• Ability to follow guidelines and procedures, as well as written and oral instructions;
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
• Ability to assemble items of information in accordance with established procedures and determine the proper format and procedures for assembling items of information;
• Ability to maintain accurate records;
• Ability to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others and to deal tactfully with others;
• Ability to exercise discretion in handling highly confidential information;
• Ability to exercise sound judgment;
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks while respecting deadlines;
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills;
• Strong customer service;
• Willingness to adapt to the use of new management and communication systems used by the university, possibly through training courses offered through IT.

Application Instructions: 

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional work references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date.

Grade: 15 

This is a non-exempt union position.

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact the ADA/504 Coordinator Andrea Haas  or 617-287-5148.