Assistant TO CHAIR, Civil and Environmental Engineering

ASSISTANT TO THE CHAIR, Civil and Environmental Engineering - Staff

Position for full‑time Assistant to the Chair within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Primarily responsible for managing all aspects of Academic Personnel Faculty (APF) in close collaboration with the department administrator and chair. This includes support for faculty searches, academic appointments, hiring and onboarding of adjunct and affiliate faculty as well as post‑doctoral research associates, annual merit reviews, visa processing, promotion and tenure, professorships, faculty leave, and sabbaticals. The position also provides executive support to the chair, including calendar management, scheduling and management of departmental meetings and votes, and organization of departmental events in collaboration with other department and college staff.

Requires independent judgment, handling sensitive and confidential materials in a timely and supportive manner. Frequent substantive interactions both within and outside the University are required. Must possess thorough knowledge of AHR and the functioning of University, College of Engineering (COE), and departmental policies and procedures and understand departmental administrative and business activities. The role reports to the department administrator and works closely with the department chair.

The Civil and Environmental Engineering department maintains an internationally recognized research program, multiple academic programs, and several research laboratories across five buildings. It offers two ABET‑accredited undergraduate engineering degree programs and multiple graduate programs. The department has approximately 35 full‑time faculty and over 80 affiliate faculty and lecturers, including online programs and growing international exchanges.

• Manage all departmental academic human resources processes for tenure and tenure‑track faculty, teaching faculty, research faculty, lecturers, and short‑term academic appointments such as research associates, acting instructors, visiting scholars/scientists, and VISIT/VISER interns.
• Create appointment packets, maintain personnel files, administer faculty voting and independently follow through on necessary APF actions.
• Interpret University and COE policies and procedures, serving as subject‑matter expert on APF, International Scholars Operations (ISO), and associated Workday processes for academic appointments.
• Work closely with the Administrator, HR Manager, and the COE HR office to resolve AHR administrative issues.
• Coordinate visa applications and renewals, including J‑1 and H‑1B, and troubleshoot issues with International Scholars Operations (ISO) and/or COE HR.
• Manage promotion and tenure process, collecting required documents and assembling dossiers.
• Exercise confidentiality and follow policies when communicating with reviewers and preparing evaluation materials.
• Coordinate faculty searches, including independent correspondence with candidates, preparing interview schedules, logistics, and travel itineraries.
• Provide administrative support with position requisition, advertisement placement, search committee support, search closing, and hiring packet preparation.
• Coordinate with the department administrator for recruiting, offers, and all financial portions of APF.

• Manage the chair’s schedule, organizing activities and ensuring that priorities and obligations are met.
• Prepare background materials for meetings and draft/ edit correspondence, memos, and reports that are often confidential and sensitive.
• Meet regularly with the chair to plan and coordinate departmental initiatives.
• Organize and track department initiatives, communicating deadlines to relevant parties.
• Apprise the chair of priorities and deadlines, formulating recommendations.
• Schedule and coordinate faculty meetings, prepare minutes, track and document faculty votes.

• Plan and manage special events, including endowed lectures, with other university offices and COE/CEE staff.
• Provide administrative support…