Program Administrator

The University of Southern California is one of the world's leading private research universities.   An anchor institution in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, technology and international business, USC’s diverse curricular offerings provide extensive opportunities for interdisciplinary study and collaboration with leading researchers in highly advanced learning environments.

About Student Life:

Student Life at the University of Southern California works to provide the university’s over 47,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students the opportunity to reach their educational, personal, and professional aspirations. The mission of USC Student Life is to strengthen a culture driven by student well-being. To do this we:

• Support the individual student and student communities through the development of environments, services, and policies that reinforce shared strengths.
• Educate students to discover a deeper understanding of themselves and become change agents in the world.
• Engage students in transformative experiences to challenge their perspectives and become global citizens.

The Opportunity:

The Program Administrator is responsible for designing and facilitating staff professional development, engagement, and recognition opportunities for employees throughout Student Life. This role works closely with Student Life senior leadership to ensure the staff learning and development offerings meet the current and future needs of the organization, and is a core member of a team that supports organization-wide priorities and initiatives. They will establish, measure, and communicate program priorities, manage schedules, create documentation, and ensure program deliverables are completed on time and within budget.

The ideal candidate:

• Has experience developing a people-centered strategy that nurtures, enhances, and advances a positive employee culture.
• Has a passion for empowering colleagues with tools, resources, and networks that boost their professional development.
• Has experience communicating to senior management, functional managers and/or consultants; building relationships and communicating with diplomacy.
• Knows how to synthesize large amounts of information, interpret and deduce current and future needs and create executive reports and briefs. Will be able to organize projects; create order and expedite completion and implementation.
• In addition, the successful candidate must also demonstrate, through ideas, words and actions, a strong commitment to USC’s Unifying Values of integrity, excellence, diversity, equity and inclusion, well-being, open communication and accountability.

Application Procedure: 

• Please include a cover letter with your CV/resume.  It can be added to the application at the same time/place you add your CV/resume.

Job Responsibilities:

• Assist senior leaders by facilitating functions related to initiatives and projects such as planning, organizing, coordinating, scheduling and implementing meetings; taking meeting notes; shepherding action items to completion; developing stakeholder communications; and creating mechanisms for information exchange.
• Create and manage staff professional development offerings by developing workshops, coordinating speakers, and curating the training and development resources available throughout the university community and professional organizations.
• Lead staff engagement event planning, scheduling and execution, including but not limited to leadership meetings, retreats, and seasonal celebrations.
• Organize and facilitate an exceptional onboarding program for Student Life employees that will promote community, connection and support.
• Develop and implement a staff recognition program that utilizes best practices and creates a culture where employees feel valued, motivated and accomplished.

• Develop a positive and inclusive communication strategy, which includes but is not limited to the management of the Staff Resources website and Staff Newsletter, and creation of marketing and promotional materials that inform staff of the various learning, development, and engagement opportunities available to them and their teams.

• Communicate project portfolio vision and roadmap to various audiences to demonstrate how the programs contribute to the overall business goals of the university. Create status reports on project plans, progress and results of activities. Prepare reports, correspondence, other materials and analysis according to project schedules or on an ad hoc basis or instructs others to do so.
• Research, gather, organize, and summarize data for project and/or executive reports and/or activities. Analyze project data to identify overall program trends and forecast future dependencies and risks. Communicate analysis to appropriate stakeholders; escalate risks and issues. Make recommendations to senior leadership based on data analysis.
• Assist in developing and updating department policies and procedures and/or project procedures and coordinating implementation. Communicates and/or documents. Develops forms, flow charts and system requirements. Develops and maintains electronic databases and/or other records for reporting purposes.
• Maintain currency with relevant technology, standards, and leading practices. Identify and implement innovations to streamline, automate or improve existing program management processes. Adjust working style based on project team to maximize value added.
• Contribute to a positive and inclusive environment that values differences by building and maintaining collaborative relationships with team members, peers, and partners.
• Perform other related responsibilities as requested and when necessary. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or combined experience/education as a substitute for minimum education.
• Three or more years of experience in one or more of the following fields: talent management, employee engagement, talent acquisition, onboarding, communications, human resource management, learning and organizational development, training, change management, project management, or other relevant fields.
• Substantial experience in event planning.
• Knowledge of traditional and current training methods (mentoring, coaching, on-the-job or in classroom training, eLearning, workshops, etc.).
• Experience developing status reports and producing project plans and schedules.
• Adept at problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing complex situations, and absorbing data to identify key themes and identify actionable insights.
• Ability to build relationships and communicate with diplomacy and experience planning and executing collaborative initiatives.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, able to provide concise information and guidance as needed with attention to detail.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, able to think strategically and creatively.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential information.
• Demonstrated experience to successfully use a variety of computer software applications (e.g., Microsoft Suite incl. MS Project, Visio; Qualtrics; etc.).
• Substantial experience in event planning.
• Knowledge of traditional and current training methods (mentoring, coaching, on-the-job or in classroom training, eLearning, workshops, etc.).

• Experience developing status reports and producing project plans and schedules.
• Adept at problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing complex situations, and absorbing data to identify key themes and identify actionable insights.
• Ability to build relationships and communicate with diplomacy and experience planning and executing collaborative initiatives.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, able to provide concise information and guidance as needed with attention to detail.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, able to think strategically and creatively.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential information.
• Demonstrated experience to successfully use a variety of computer software applications (e.g., Microsoft Suite incl. MS Project, Visio; Qualtrics; etc.).

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in communications, education, business, or related field.

• Five years’ experience in talent management, employee engagement, talent acquisition, onboarding, communications, human resource management, learning and organizational development, training, change management, project management, or other relevant fields.

• High-level of proficiency in problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing complex situations, and absorbing considerable amounts of data to identify key themes and identify actionable insights that lead to effective solutions and recommendations.
• Demonstrated success in working strategically across a complex, distributed organization and leadership team including the ability to influence and coach leaders.
• Ability to provide input on developing and evaluating program policies and procedures.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and relationship-building abilities.
• Experience in higher education.
• Experience with project portfolio management tools.
• Experience communicating with project sponsors, senior management, functional managers and/or consultants.
• Demonstrated sound judgment, able to work independently and proactively and make decisions with minimal supervision.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

The annual base salary range for this position is $82,791.57 - $88,000. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

USC is an equal-opportunity educator and employer, proudly pluralistic and firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for outstanding persons of every race, gender, creed and background. The university particularly encourages members of underrepresented groups, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply. USC will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship. Further information is available by contacting uschr@usc.edu.

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Bachelor’s degree or combined experience/education as a substitute for minimum education. Three or more years of experience in one or more of the following fields: talent management, employee engagement, talent acquisition, onboarding, communications, human resource management, learning and organizational development, training, change management, project management, or other relevant fields.