Senior Administrative Officer

Vanderbilt is a community of talented and diverse staff & faculty! 

At Vanderbilt University, our work - regardless of title or role - is in service to an important and noble mission in which every member of our community serves in advancing knowledge and transforming lives on a daily basis. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 330+ acre campus and arboretum dating back to 1873, Vanderbilt is proud to have been named as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” as well as a top employer in Tennessee and the Nashville metropolitan area by Forbes for several years running. We welcome those who are interested in learning and growing professionally with an employer that strives to create, foster and sustain opportunities as an employer of choice through: 

• Working and growing together as a community of communities... we are One Vanderbilt. 

• Providing a work environment where every staff and faculty member can be their authentic and best self, while providing the resources and opportunities to learn and grow. 

• Encouraging development, collaboration, and partnership both internally and externally while fostering the value that every member of the Vanderbilt community can lead and grow regardless of title or position. 

We understand you have a choice when choosing where to work and pursue a career. We understand you are unique and have a story. We want to hear it. We encourage you to apply today so that you might become a part of our story. 

About the Blair School of Music:

Situated on Vanderbilt Campus in the heart of Nashville, TN, the Blair School of Music is a vibrant and fast-paced school at Vanderbilt University, focused on the personal and professional education of highly talented young musicians who demonstrate an exceptional capacity and motivation to shape our increasingly diverse and complex global century—through music, with music, and in music.  The school has 140 full and part-time faculty members and industry professionals who teach approximately 220 music majors, 650 Blair Academy students (comprised of pre-college and adult students) and 2,000 non-music Vanderbilt majors.   

https://blair.vanderbilt.edu/.

About the Divinity School:

The Divinity School administrators and staff comprise a team committed to excellence in theological education. From different composite areas: admissions, community life, academics, special programming, communications, theological and religious library resources, and development and alumni relations, each person contributes to an innovative and collegial environment. The unit as a whole is committed to the mission of both the University and the Divinity School. We make equity, diversity, and inclusion a priority from a theological foundation of social justice, and we seek to lead the nation in the care, preparation, and professional qualification of our students to the religious and theological professions.

In a global and multi-religious world, the Divinity school seeks to fulfill the following objectives:

• to engage in theological inquiry;
• to help persons prepare for the practice of Christian ministry and public leadership;
• to encourage personal and spiritual formation;
• to prepare agents of social justice; and
• to educate future scholars and teachers, locally and globally.

The Senior Administrative Officer, HR, is part of the finance and administration team for Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music and the Vanderbilt Divinity School and is a high-level individual contributor responsible for support of human resources, employee relations, and administrative operations. The Senior Administrative Officer serves as the primary Human Capital Specialist (HCM) and human resources manager for the Blair School and Divinity School. Reporting directly to the Chief Business Officer (CBO) of the schools, this position is responsible for the administrative functions including training and development, performance management, compensation and classification, employee relations, recruitment, and employee engagement for both schools. The Senior Administrative Officer possesses expertise in all faculty and staff HR life cycle, from onboarding to leaving/retirement. This position serves as Human Capital Management (HCM) Specialist in the Oracle Cloud administrative system and processes hiring, costing, end of employment, and all other transactions for faculty, staff, and student employees. This position assists hiring managers with the recruitment efforts including pre-search, search, and hiring process, position reviews, and reclassifications, as well as leading onboarding and offboarding efforts. The Senior Administrative Officer calculates and processes Blair School adjunct music instruction pay monthly based on collegiate and pre-collegiate enrollment. Working closely with the CBO, this position develops, implements, and leads strategy and initiatives to enhance the employee experience and promote engagement and productivity. The Senior Administrative Officer also performs essential operational and project management assignments as assigned.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Human Capital Management (HCM) Specialist (45%)

• Serves as a primary Human Capital Specialist (HCM) for the Blair School and Divinity School leading employee recruitment efforts including pre-search, search, and hiring process, costing assignment changes, supplemental payroll, terminations, and all other transactions.
• Possesses expertise in all faculty and staff HR life cycle, from onboarding to leaving/retirement.
• Maintains confidential personnel records for all staff and faculty members in Divinity School.
• Coordinates with the Assistants to the Deans to ensure maintenance of confidential personnel records for all staff and faculty members within each School and collaborate on comparison of FIS and Oracle as needed.
• Manages the Ministerial Housing Allowance submission for faculty and staff at the Divinity School to ensure all tax deductions are reported correctly.
• Manages hiring needs for VTS staff for Divinity and Blair workforce, compiling and synthesizing faculty requests for hires and terminations and acting as HR liaison to VTS hires, including Blair Course Graders, Faculty and program support in Blair and Divinity, etc.
• Advertises for student positions on HireADore as needed.
• Provides guidance, planning, and oversight for Graduate Department of Religion student stipends and employee assignments. Meets with and provides guidance to Administrative Manager for GDR to provide support and oversight of human capital management responsibilities.
• Calculates and processes Blair School adjunct music instruction pay monthly based on collegiate and pre-collegiate enrollment. Provides monthly payroll reports to Blair faculty.
• Reviews and updates personnel expense models to ensure accurate projection of all personnel expenses. Works closely with Vanderbilt Human Resources, Payroll, and Blair and Divinity Chief Business Officer to understand the various systems and processes involved in personnel expense management.
• Exhibits absolute discretion with highly sensitive and confidential HR and payroll information.
• Analyzes and processes complex transactions with forethought to implications and required communications.
• Maintains an extensive understanding of HR functions in Oracle and related connections with Oracle Financials. 
• Monitors, reviews, and analyzes Oracle HCM reports monthly to ensure accuracy and compliance. 
• Maintains an awareness of HR deadlines and related employee impact.
• Attends monthly and quarterly Oracle meetings/webinars and distributes information as appropriate. 

Employee Relations (30%)

• Advises the staff and faculty on HR processes that require their attention.
• Serves as point of contact for Blair School and Divinity School HR complaints and grievances for faculty and staff, elevating to the CBO as appropriate.
• Guides faculty and staff supervisors through performance management and disciplinary policies and processes. Serves as the primary point of contact for performance and disciplinary concerns, elevating to the CBO as appropriate.
• In collaboration with Chief Business Officer, manages Performance Review process for staff of Divinity and Blair.
• Mediates and resolves conflicts between employees, and acts as the first point of contact for employees with grievances, elevating to the CBO as appropriate.
• Prepares, with CBO input, manages and approves staff job postings in Oracle Hiring. Includes review and revision of position description and compensation as needed.
• Serves as the main point-of-contact between HR and Line Supervisor through interview process.
• Provides training and guidance on federal, university, and school policies and procedures for conducting a staff search.
• Leads onboarding and offboarding processes for faculty and staff, working with the employee, line manager, and other constituents as appropriate.
• In collaboration with Assistant to the Deans for Divinity and Blair, initiates onboarding for all new faculty hires and completes process to hire in new faculty.
• Supports the Deans' staff for Postdoc reappointments as they ensure all data, evaluations and annual reappointments are processed within the effective due date.
• Develops, implements, and leads strategy and initiatives to enhance the employee experience and promote engagement and productivity.
• Designs and conducts training on employee relations, HR laws, leadership skills, etc.
• Performs other duties on the HR spectrum as assigned.

Operations (15%)

• Assists with reminders to new faculty and staff who have not completed their COI.
• Serves as the Protection of Minors liaison for Blair and Divinity.
  • Reviews programs approved for operations in the Protection of Minors Web Application and makes updates as needed.
  • Understands best practice models for work with minors.
  • Communicates training and policy guidelines and Protection of Minors Web Application function within the School/Office/Center to specific coordinators or to general audiences.
  • Assists stakeholders with troubleshooting compliance issues.
  • Follows all policy requirements and procedures with regard to third party use of space when departments host internal to lease space to external agents for events with minors.
  • Notifies Risk and Insurance Management on discovered risk issues related to minors in any program or operation.
  • In coordination with the Divinity School Office of Admissions and Enrollment, oversees background check and Protection of Minors training completion for all matriculating professional students at the Divinity School.
• Serves as backup for Assistant to the Deans for FIS and Interfolio processes and reporting.
• Plans, executes, and manages projects as assigned.

Student Worker Liaison (65-75 students annually) - Blair School (10%)

• Coordinates student workforce during academic year, compiling and synthesizing faculty requests for hires and terminations and acting as HR liaison to student hires for completion of required paperwork. 
• Provides timesheet submission training to students and approval training to faculty and staff. Monitors timecards bi-weekly to ensure process is working smoothly and supports Graduate Department of Religion Administrative Manager on Divinity student assignments as needed. 
• Works with Student Employment as needed to maintain accurate records and compliance with University policy and Federal regulations. 
• Applies costing for all assignments, including federal work study as appropriate.
• Serves as back-up to the Divinity School Administrative Manager, Student Support for Divinity School student HCM transactions.

Supervisory Relationships:

• This position has supervisory responsibility over the Divinity School Administrative Manager. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Chief Business Officer.

Education and Certifications:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education is necessary.
• A master's degree in Business Administration or Human Resource Management from an accredited institution of higher education is preferred. 
• HR Certifications (SHRM-CP/PHR) are preferred.

Experience and Skills:

• 4-5 years of relevant professional experience is necessary.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community is necessary.
• Strong organizational skills are necessary.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills are necessary.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgments is necessary.
• Ability to perform complex tasks and to prioritize multiple projects is necessary.
• Dependable, motivated, and willing to learn is necessary.
• Ability to provide technical advice and information to staff in area of expertise is necessary.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally, both orally and in writing is necessary.
• Expert in Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe is necessary.
• Proficient in Oracle and Kronos is preferred.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are.  We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education. 

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.