Program Coordinator, Biological Sciences (Hybrid)

The Program Coordinator (PC) is part of the core administrative team in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, Division of Natural Sciences at Vanderbilt University and is a manager responsible for administrative graduate program support. The PC works closely with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) on graduate student recruitment, orientation, registration, trainings, and program milestones (e.g. qualifying exams, committee meetings, dissertation defenses, etc.). The PC works closely with the Administrative Officer (AO) with regards to student financials (e.g. stipend, tuition, health insurance, etc.). The PC assists with processing graduate student travel and expense reimbursements and oversees departmental travel funding. The PC oversees the hiring all hourly graduate and undergraduate student workers in the department. Additionally, the PC will oversee a few annual events that may occur outside of normal office hours. The PC will engage with a wide range of colleagues (e.g. faculty, postdocs, students, and administrative staff) in various departments and central offices. 

A hybrid work schedule may be possible for this position following a successful training period. The staff on the administrative team are currently in the office, at minimum, 3 days per week. Due to the in-person nature of this position, remote work might not be possible every week, depending on in-person meetings, on-campus commitments, events, etc. This position oversees several department events, some of which may conclude after normal office hours. Hybrid schedules may be adjusted, as needed, to accommodate on site meetings and/or events, other on-site obligations, or as requested by the Administrative Officer.

The Department of Biological Sciences has an excellent staff to facilitate issue resolution involving personnel, financial management, supply and equipment orders proposal submission, and infrastructure. The faculty in the department carry out various research projects and often collaborate with other members within the department and in nearby departments. This department covers a broad spectrum of biology, from molecules and cells to tissues and organisms to populations and ecosystems. Award-winning faculty and graduate students teach and carry out research in Biochemistry, Structural Biology and Biophysics, Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Computational Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, Developmental Biology, and Neurobiology.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate the interviewing and recruitment of new graduate students
  • Administrative point of contact for graduate student recruits; maintains graduate program email account; answer questions from prospective/applicants
  • Utilize the Slate system to access applicant information, assign faculty reviewers, and communicate with applicants when necessary
  • Provide administrative support to the Graduate Admissions Committee (GAC) during recruitment process:
    • Review and organize applications in Slate
    • Attend GAC meetings, record meeting minutes 
    • Organize reviewer feedback
  • Coordinates travel arrangements for student recruits (e.g. hotel accommodations, ground transportation, etc.) & processes expense reimbursements 
  • Create interview itineraries 
  • Coordinates lunch, dinner, happy hours for student recruits
  • Works closely with the Graduate Student Association (GSA) to plan activities for interviewing students
• Maintain graduate student records and monitor completion of program requirements
  • Register new students and track registration for current students to ensure they are registered for required number of hours/courses
  • Work closely with the DGS to problem solve and assist with all graduate student concerns 
  • Communicate with students regarding completing important program milestones (e.g. advisor/lab selection, forming a dissertation committee, annual committee meetings, qualifying exam, and dissertation defense)
  • Provide required materials to committee chairs prior to committee meetings, qualifying exams, and dissertation defenses; verifies appropriate forms are submitted after each meeting 
  • Monitor completion of all required training (RCR, CITI, etc.) 
  • Provide support to graduate students when preparing for Research in Progress (RIP) talks
  • Assists the DGS and Vice Chair, as needed, with the scheduling of teaching assistant duties 
• Graduate Student Financial Management
  • Input student stipend payments into Oracle 
  • Complete Graduate Award Entries to pay student tuition, health insurance, and fees each semester 
  • Work closely with Vanderbilt Student Accounts to ensure that all graduate student accounts are charged appropriately 
  • Administrative point of contact for student payroll questions 
• Coordinate exam graders  
  • Works with graduate teaching assistants to ensure each exam for BSCI 1510/1511 (Introduction to Biological Sciences) is graded in a timely manner 
  • Works with Program Specialist to hire any additional graders as needed 
  • May help coordinate graders for other large courses such as BSCI 2520 (Biochemistry) 
• Coordinate graduate student travel funds & assists with travel and expense reimbursements
  • Monitor use of travel funds for each graduate student 
  • Track spending and balances 
  • Notify students of their balance at the beginning of each semester
  • Assists students, as needed, with preparing travel and expense reimbursements using Concur and Oracle systems 
  • Ensure students understand travel and expense policy and oversee that expenditures are within guidelines of travel policy
• Oversees and is the point of contact for catering, invite, venue, etc. for the following department events, some of which may conclude after normal office hours 
  • Start of the Academic Year Celebration (August)
  • New student orientation/IGP Day (August)
  • Department Picnic (October) 
  • Department Holiday Party (December)
  • Graduate student recruitment (January/February)
  • Commencement Reception (May)
  • Department Retreat (May)
• Departmental point of contact for distributing information to/from departmental graduate students
  • Distribute communications as requested to graduate students from AO, DGS, Department Chair, etc.
  • Distribute communications from graduate student organizations (e.g. GSA, IBA, etc.) to members of the department 
  • Distribute dissertation defense announcements       
• Promote the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences
  • Arrange visits for prospective students interested in our graduate program
  • Assist the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) with design and development of promotional materials used in recruiting
• Other duties as assigned 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent related experience is necessary
• Strong interpersonal and communication (written/verbal) skills is necessary
• Ability to use independent judgment and to manage and impart confidential information is necessary
• Ability to analyze and solve problems in a time-efficient manner is necessary
• Ability to plan, develop, and coordinate multiple projects is necessary
• Strong background in employee development and management is preferred 
• Knowledge of academic student policies, processes, and procedures is strongly preferred
• MS Office proficiency, Adobe Professional is necessary
• Proficient user of Vanderbilt & other systems including, but not limited to, Oracle and Redcap is preferred

Supervisory Relationships
This position has supervisory responsibility as functional & administrative manager of the Program Specialist position. This position reports functionally & administratively to the department Administrative Officer (AO). This position reports indirectly to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).