Position Overview
The Senior Administrative Associate serves as the lead administrative professional and office coordinator for Housing & Residence Life (HRL). Reporting to the Executive Director, this position also provides high-level administrative support to the Director of Residence Life and the Associate Director of Business & Strategic Initiatives, including support to their respective functional areas.
This role manages a wide range of administrative, communication, and project coordination activities. The incumbent will handle sensitive, complex, and confidential information requiring discretion, sound judgment, and professionalism. Success in this position requires strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.
The Senior Administrative Associate also oversees daily office operations, including hiring, training, and supervising student employees who provide reception and general administrative support. This position operates in a dynamic office setting requiring frequent interaction with students, staff, and campus partners. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required for events or special projects.
About Housing & Residence Life:
Housing & Residence Life at the University of Kansas is home to more than 5,500 students across residence halls, apartments, and cooperative (scholarship) houses. The department is dedicated to fostering supportive on-campus living experience that promotes student growth and success.
Job Description
Administrative Support (50%)
- Serve as the Executive Director's primary liaison with internal and external stakeholders.
- Manage complex calendars, schedule meetings, and coordinate logistics for HRL leadership.
- Prepare meeting materials, agendas, correspondence, and follow-up documentation.
- Support departmental meetings and retreats, including scheduling, communication, and minute-taking.
- Coordinate hiring and onboarding processes, including interview scheduling, room reservations, and candidate communication; ensure completion of HRL onboarding tasks.
- Assist with human resources processes such as time approvals, audits, and employee data tracking.
- Support KU Endowment activities related to HRL, including donor communications, scholarship coordination, correspondence, and stewardship.
- Plan and coordinate departmental events and meetings.
- Identify and resolve administrative challenges; proactively manage issues and workflow priorities.
- Other duties as assigned.
Customer Service & Office Management (20%)
- Serve as the primary point of contact for Housing & Residence Life leadership.
- Oversee reception operations, ensuring a professional, welcoming office environment.
- Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate student office assistants.
- Manage departmental calendars, on-call schedules, and reservations for shared departmental spaces.
- Provide high-quality customer service to students, staff, and campus partners.
Project & Report Administration (20%)
- Coordinate special projects, including research, data collection, analysis, and report preparation.
- Track and manage deadlines for departmental initiatives and compliance requirements (e.g., Clery and Fire Safety reporting).
- Support the preparation and distribution of departmental reports and communications.
Technology & Data Management (10%)
- Use university systems and software (e.g., Outlook, Excel, Teams, Zoom, Mercury/StarRez, Co-Pilot) to manage data, schedules, and records.
- Understand and follow all relevant compliance rules and regulations (FERPA, PCI, NCAA, Clery, etc.) and maintain privacy with respect to student and staff information.
- Assist with creating standard operating procedures for HRL processes; create and distribute training materials and presentations.
Required Qualifications
- High school diploma or GED equivalent and four (4) years of office experience, or four (4) years of post-secondary education.
- At least two (2) years of experience performing general administrative support duties in an office setting, including:
- Managing in-person, email, and telephone communications
- Using computer systems for office operations
- Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel
- Excellent written communication skills, as demonstrated in application materials.
- Demonstrated experience with handling and resolving problems, using independent judgment, and gaining necessary knowledge to apply to resolution of problems as evidenced by application materials.
- Demonstrated experience handling sensitive or confidential materials with discretion.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree.
- Experience providing administrative support within a university or higher education environment.
Additional Candidate Instructions
In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:
- Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
- Resume
- List of three (3) professional references
Only complete applications will be considered.
Application review begins Nov 21, 2025. and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants are identified.
Contact Information to Applicants
Sarah Waters
sarah.waters@ku.edu
Advertised Salary Range
50,000
Application Review Begins
Saturday November 22, 2025
Anticipated Start Date
Monday January 12, 2026
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University of Kansas
Nov 12, 2025