Administrative Aide - NCSA

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides supercomputing and advanced digital resources for the nation’s scientific enterprise. At NCSA, faculty, staff, students, and collaborators from around the globe leverage advanced technologies to address complex challenges that benefit science and society. For more than 40 years, NCSA has partnered with researchers, industry leaders, and students, including one third of Fortune 50 companies, to accelerate innovation at scale.

NCSA is seeking a highly motivated professional to provide high-level administrative and operational support with a primary focus on executive operations and the administrative work of the NCSA Human Resources team. This role serves as a key liaison for complex search coordination, HR‑related administrative processes, and front‑office operations. The successful candidate will exercise independent judgment, discretion, and initiative to ensure efficient and effective operations across the Center.

This position requires regular on-site presence. A hybrid work arrangement may be considered in alignment with business and operational needs.

Provide high-level administrative and operational support to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), with a primary focus on supporting executive operations and the administrative work of the NCSA HR team. Serve as a key liaison for complex search coordination, HR‑related administrative processes, and front‑office operations, exercising independent judgment, discretion, and initiative to ensure efficient and effective operations across NCSA.

• Human Resource Administration:
• Support multiple concurrent searches, serving as the primary point of contact for committees, applicants, and internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain recruitment materials and advertisements, including drafting and editing job postings, identifying outreach sources, and tracking posting status through approval workflows.
• Lead the planning and execution of executive‑level, multi‑day finalist visits. Oversee end‑to‑end logistics such as candidate communications, itinerary development, travel coordination, and stakeholder scheduling.
• Prepare, distribute, and track evaluation materials, stakeholder feedback, and candidate reimbursements with discretion and efficiency.
• Contribute to process improvement by creating and refining templates, forms, and tracking tools to ensure consistent, transparent, and timely search administration.
• Provide high‑level administrative and operational support to the NCSA HR team, often acting independently to anticipate needs and ensure continuity of HR services across multiple research units.
• Monitor and triage incoming communications to the HR general inbox, resolving inquiries within scope and escalating items requiring specialist review.
• Coordinate and maintain calendars for HR staff, proactively arranging meetings with internal and external stakeholders and balancing multiple priorities.
• Assist in facilitating visa and employment authorization processes, coordinating with employees, units, and central HR offices to track documentation and deadlines.
• Prepare and reconcile financial transactions (P‑Card, T‑Card, Emburse) and maintain audit‑ready documentation.
• Monitor unit‑wide compliance activities (e.g., performance reviews, Ethics, ANCRA, and Title IX training), maintaining accurate tracking systems and reporting metrics to HR leadership.
• Manage the lifecycle of Shout Out Awards, encompassing award validation, payment authorization, reconciliation, and compliance with institutional financial and payroll procedures.
• Develop and maintain shared electronic filing systems, ensuring security and accessibility of confidential information.
• Executive & Front Office Support:
• Provide high‑level administrative assistance to the NCSA HR Office, including coordinating complex travel arrangements, reimbursements, and event logistics; occasionally assisting other directorates when needed.
• Serve as a professional, welcoming first point…