Employment Opportunities at USD

5323

About the Center for Educational Excellence:

The Center for Educational Excellence (CEE) is the University of San Diego’s center for pedagogical development, working to inspire and support faculty to grow in their teaching and in all their interactions with students. Through a variety of opportunities, rooted in our values, we seek to inspire educators to adopt practices that lead to meaningful student learning; enhance the success of interactions between teachers and learners; and cultivate relationships among our community of educators. The CEE team consists of a director, assistant director, administrative assistant, two student assistants, and four faculty liaisons.

Our Commitment and Practices for Equitable Employment:

At the Center for Educational Excellence (CEE), we are committed to advancing academic excellence and creating a diverse and inclusive community. The University of San Diego (USD) is an engaged, contemporary, Catholic university, and members of all faiths (or no faith) are welcome. At the CEE, we believe that it is imperative to anchor our work in a commitment to equity in all its forms, recognizing the ever-evolving nature of injustice. Starting from our hiring process to how we engage on a day-to-day basis, we are continuously implementing new strategies to overcome our own implicit and explicit biases while working to shift our larger campus culture toward antiracist and antiheterosexist practices, among other forms of institutional inclusion. We seek to create an environment where all members of our office team and campus community thrive, aligned with the university’s Horizon Project goals.

The University of San Diego, an engaged and contemporary Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity’s urgent challenges.

About the Administrative Assistant Position:

At the CEE, we create, organize, and facilitate a variety of different opportunities for faculty to develop their teaching methods and practices. These opportunities include communities of practice, reading circles, keynote speakers, and workshops (see webpage for examples). All of these offerings require planning, organizing, and reviewing to make sure we are providing successful, inclusive, and meaningful ways to engage faculty. The administrative assistant has a crucial role in managing the logistics for each of these offerings. Beyond this, the administrative assistant is also responsible for managing all administrative tasks for successful office operation. The administrative assistant works under close supervision from the Assistant Director.

We are looking for someone who is:

• Committed to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, grounded in a commitment to enact inclusivity in everyday practices that foster a warm and welcoming office environment.
• Willing to invest time and energy in one’s own personal and professional growth as part of their work schedule.
• Effective with communication skills, embodying professionalism and compassion for others, both in interactions among the office team as well as with the broader campus community.
• Effective with time management skills, including strategies for: prioritizing tasks; coordinating multiple events in parallel; and working independently with minimal supervision.
• Flexible to adapt to circumstances as they arise and respond with diplomacy and compassion.
• Willing to build relationships with others across the campus community and to gain a working knowledge of the various units and roles within the university.
• Committed to maintaining confidentiality of information as appropriate for a professional context in addition to university policies and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
• Available to occasionally work early mornings, evenings or weekends when necessary.

You Would Be Responsible For:

The administrative assistant (AA) position can be broken down into two main areas of responsibility - Office Operations and Event Coordinating.

Office Operations Duties:

• Welcoming all visitors to the office; answering phones; providing general information.
• Managing all appointments and meetings including scheduling rooms, inviting participants via Google calendar, confirming meeting time and location with attendees, preparing agenda and other documents, and recording meeting notes.
• Processing all administrative forms (office purchases, stipend requests, invoices). 
• Composing and responding to CEE communications and correspondence (mail merges, departmental letters, email, etc.).
• Coordinates travel/conference arrangements: hotel and airline reservations, conference and retreat payments/expense reports, and transportation needs for CEE team and USD faculty who request assistance.
• Updating team directory profiles.
• Assisting with the preparation of year-end reports via data-tracking.
• Organizing and maintaining CEE records/files.
• Completing monthly supply inventory and purchasing supplies and equipment as needed.

Event Coordinating Duties:

• Managing event logistics such as room reservations, Zoom meetings, event registration pages, sign-up sheets and Google calendar invites. 
• Organizing and submitting event contracts such as catering invoices and speaker fees.
• Maintaining online spreadsheets that track the details and status of each event.
• Sending event reminders and follow-up to event participants and presenters via email.
• Assisting with event setup such as meeting caterers and preparing meeting rooms and materials.
• Meeting with the team to strategize, discuss, and report about preparations for program offerings.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• Available to occasionally work early mornings, evenings or weekends when necessary.

Background check:  Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes. 

We welcome and encourage all interested individuals to apply—even if you don’t have direct experience with every responsibility listed in the job description. We believe that diverse perspectives and backgrounds can enrich this role in meaningful ways. That said, there are a few minimum expectations that applicants must meet in order to be considered (outlined below).

Minimum Qualifications:

1. High school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED) equivalent plus 3-5 years of progressively responsible administrative support experience. Additional education may substitute for work experience at the rate of 2 years of college = 1 year of experience.
2. Minimum 1-2 years of event scheduling/coordinating experience.
3. Proficient in Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, etc.) and Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Forms, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree.

Tools and Equipment Used:

• Personal computer (Windows environment), Microsoft Suite, Google Suite, Zoom (phone and meetings), task management software such as Monday.com, document editing software such as Adobe Acrobat, additional software such as Workday, Salesforce, and Concur, copier, and other related office equipment.

Physical Demands:

• The administrative assistant will frequently sit; talk; hear; use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms. The administrative assistant will occasionally walk and must occasionally lift and/or move objects up to 25 pounds. The administrative assistant will occasionally push a wheeled cart around campus for approximately 10 minutes. The administrative assistant must be able to see closely and be able to adjust focus for use of computer and distance visibility.

Work Environment:

• The work environment is in an office setting. The building is air-conditioned. The noise level can vary from very quiet to moderately loud depending upon activities at any given time. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

$22.50 - $24.75 per hour; Excellent Benefits

The University of San Diego offers a very competitive benefits package including; medical, dental, vision, a retirement contribution given to you by the University, and access to on-campus Fitness Centers.  Please visit the benefits section of our website to view all of the perks and benefits that USD has to offer.  USD: Human Resources: Benefits

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position.  Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers’ review.  If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.

Note: Preference will be given to qualified current University of San Diego employees.

37.5 Hours per week

Closing date: August 20, 2025

Note: External job postings will be up for at least three days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.

The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.