Purdue OWL Administrative Assistant (2024)

Work, research, and study in one of the most recognized brands around writing support in the world. The Purdue OWL works with writers across campus and disciplines, helps with writers in West Lafayette and Indianapolis, and provides international research on writing center operations and practices. This position helps writing consultants, permanent staff, and leadership, and it enables the Purdue OWL operations and PR to happen effectively, from on-site and website presence to research projects.The Purdue OWL is a globally renowned resource that provides assistance with English to students, teachers, professionals, and organizations across the world. Our goal is to assist clients in their development as writers - no matter their skill level.

This position provides critical support for the Writing Lab's special projects, research, engagement, and daily operations. It is an essential position on the team. Position offers key administrative support for IRB-approved projects and on-going research on Writing Lab usage by pulling and marrying data from institutional (Cognos) and unit (WCOnline) platforms and then performing initial quantitative analyses to better understand university-wide traffic and impact patterns. Position works with other institutional partners like the Office for Institutional Research to study impact of writing lab usage on retention and graduation. Position supports faculty and students who are conducting research with this data or other projects which require blinded access to students or anonymized data and session notes about work with students. Position assists with the production and dissemination of social media and campus publicity as well as the Writing Lab’s alumni newsletter.

The College of Liberal Arts is an emerging leader in innovative Liberal Arts education and scholarship. It is home to the nationally-recognized Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program, Degree+, and launched the campus Degree in 3 initiative. Purdue University and the College of Liberal Arts are committed to free and open inquiry in all matters. All staff are expected to contribute to a climate that values free inquiry.

• Provide administrative support for the Writing Lab's daily operations coordinating with the College of Liberal Arts and partner academic units to submit and approve payroll and electronic timesheets for hourly employees and graduate students on assistantships/fellowships; tracking orders and confirm account information with the business office; preparing usage reports and extract information from online scheduling platform. Assisting with annual report production and distribution; developing campus-facing publicity materials to increase participation in workshops, writing groups, and the writing lab more generally, and developing social media postings on a variety of platforms to reach writing lab stakeholders and clients as well as monitor how the writing lab and OWL are trending on popular platforms. assisting with publicity and social media outreach. Assisting with event planning (for on-going and special occasions [arranging rooms and accommodations for staff meetings, writing workshops, intensive writing experiences for students and faculty, visiting delegations and scholars] and coordination of Writing Lab representation at campus events (from STAR and Boiler Gold Rush to new faculty and graduate student orientations, campus activity fairs, staff and admin fairs); maintaining master calendar of Writing Lab events, orientations, and projects; serving as backup receptionist as necessary. 35%
• Provide administrative support for the Writing Lab's special projects and engagement by tracking its usage (by college, department, demographic variables) and performing initial quantitative analyses of trends and impact [trends of use by major variables as well as grades, retention, graduation rates] maintaining files; organizing meetings; taking meeting notes/minutes when necessary; sending correspondence; other support-related duties. 25%
• Assist Faculty Director or designee with grant-funded and IRB-approved research projects by maintaining files; gathering and collating information; assisting with data extraction and packaging; generating reports; and other projects as designated by faculty director 25%
• Assist with alumni outreach and produce the Writing Lab's alumni newsletter 2-3 times per year. 15%

Required:

• HS diplomaplus two years work experience or equivalent required. Experience in a college/university setting preferred.
• Experience with customer service, project management, and correspondence required. This position requires strong organizational, time management, and communication skills. Ability to multi-task and work in an environment with constant interruptions necessary. Ability to work with diverse populations necessary. Proficiency with word processing and spreadsheets required. Knowledge of and experience with quantitative analysis and data visualization software along with desktop publishing preferred.
• MS Office (especially with Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premier), comfort with listserv maintainence, awareness of SPSS (or SAS/R) and Tableau.
  

• Purdue will not sponsor an employment related visa for this position
• A background check will be required for employment in this position
• FLSA: Exempt (Not Eligible For Overtime)
• Retirement Eligibility: Defined Contributions Waiting Period
• Purdue University is an EOE/AA employer. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply

Benefits of a Purdue Career:

• Competitive benefits package including generous paid sick time and vacation
• Tuition remission (Purdue and Purdue Global)