Administrative Spec III

The University of Florida’s School of Art + Art History (SAAH), College of the Arts invites applications for the Administrative Specialist III position. This highly responsible position serves as the administrative lead for the School of Art + Art History, which houses 37 full-time faculty, 9 staff, 320 undergraduate students, and more than 120 graduate students across five academics programs and the University Galleries. Reporting to the School Director, this position functions as a key member of the School’s leadership team, working to ensure that the School’s daily and long-term goals are met in all mission-critical areas. The Administrative Specialist III optimizes all aspects of the school’s administrative functioning. The position provides leadership support and operational guidance, establishes priorities and workflows, maintains confidential information, and may act on the Director’s behalf in designated administrative matters.

The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating foundational shifts in the arts and beyond. As business and academic professionals, artists, scholars, advisors, and teachers, we, the staff of the College, embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our colleagues, students, and faculty to respond to and shape that experience fearlessly through critical thinking, creativity, constructive questioning, and respectful dialogue. We seek a colleague who engages with openness and enthusiasm for the work and the mission of the college. We seek a colleague who possesses skills in designing and facilitating work that advances curiosity, respect, open intellectual discourse, and the welcome incorporation and well-being of all in an environment of complex differences. We seek a colleague who identifies as a trusted steward of resources, balancing institutional requirements and the demand for innovative solutions.

The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Acts as the administrative lead for the School of Art and Art History (SAAH), working closely with the School Director, leadership team, and advising staff to support the School’s daily operations and long-term goals. Serves as a member of the School’s leadership team and on the School Advisory Committee, ex officio.
• Assists the School Director in supporting and optimizing the School’s operational and administrative functions, including curriculum implementation, budgeting, faculty onboarding and support, arts programming, accreditation, and strategic planning initiatives. Provides leadership with operational guidance, recommendations on administrative policies and procedures, and data to support planning and decision-making.
  
  
• Establishes priorities, deadlines, and workflows for the School’s administrative functions in alignment with the Director’s vision, ensuring continuity across personnel transitions and communicating decisions and information to the appropriate faculty and staff for implementation.
  
  
• Supervises the Administrative Assistant II full-time TEAMS position and any graduate students or OPS assigned to the SAAH Office.
  
  
• Coordinates and approves expenditures within delegated authority and approved budgets, including payroll and operating expenditures. Tracks and manages expenditures for all school and gallery funding sources (state, student fees, grants, and foundation funds).
  
  
• Communicates and manages faculty funding awards internal to the School.
  
  
• Serves as proxy effort certifier and Property Custodian.
  
  
• Serves as back-up to the Administrative Assistant II for faculty search committee support.
  
  
• Coordinates graduate student travel. Serves as approver for all faculty and student travel.
  
  
• Coordinates and manages faculty committee assignments, the promotion and tenure and post- tenure review processes, and the annual faculty evaluation process, including drafting annual review letters.
  
  
• Manages the School Director’s calendar and books their travel. Approves time as a proxy for the School Director.
  
  
• Organizes faculty orientation and other annual events. Serves as point of contact for faculty absences.
  
  
• Works with the leadership team to complete course scheduling and graduate student work assignments. Coordinates adjunct hiring and onboarding.
  
  
• Prepares materials and reports for accrediting bodies (such as National Association of School of Art and Design and SACSCOC) and university/college administration. Manages materials and information related to these efforts. 
  
  
• In the University Galleries, hires and schedules gallery sitters, and provides back-up to the supervisor of the gallery sitters, including approving time. Arranges catering for exhibition openings, including alcohol permits; receives catering deliveries; and oversees setup. Assists with communications and logistics for annual student exhibitions. Works with University Galleries Director and artists on payments and travel as necessary.

$80,000 annually with a comprehensive and competitive benefits package

Bachelor’s degree and five years of appropriate experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant higher education administrative experience, preferably within an arts or academic environment.
  
  
• Experience supporting faculty affairs, curriculum processes, accreditation, budgeting, and academic administration.
  
  
• Demonstrated organizational, project management, and analytical skills.
  
  
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a complex academic environment.
  
  
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  
  
• Strong interpersonal skills with an ability to work effectively with a wide range of colleagues and perspectives
  
  
• Experience supervising staff and/or student employees.
  
  
• Experience working collaboratively with faculty, students, administrators, and external stakeholders.
  
  
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, university administrative systems, and web/content management tools. 

Location and Schedule

Located in Gainesville, FL at UF’s Main Campus within the School of Art + Art History.

The position typically works Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., with occasional evening or weekend responsibilities related to events, deadlines, or School activities.

Application Deadline:
All application documents must be submitted by June 15^th 11:59pm EST    

Application Process:
Applications must be submitted via the University of Florida’s online application system.  Online applications must include the following: (1) a detailed letter of application that explains how you match the particular qualifications of this position and how your work and perspective will contribute to and enhance our transformative community; (2) a resume; (3) names and contact information of three professional references. The Search Committee may request additional materials at a later time, including obtaining UF Engaged and/or other personnel files from UFHR for current or previous UF employees.

Inquiries may be sent to:
Elizabeth Ross
Director of the School of Art + Art History
Chair, Administrative Specialist III
Email: elizross@ufl.edu

The selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an educational institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call +1 (352) 392- 2477or the Florida Relay System at +1 (800) 955-8771 (TDD). Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law.

THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The College of the Arts is an engine of transformation that generates paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond, while nurturing adaptability, innovation, and excellence. We foster an environment where novel creative practice, leading research, and experiential learning thrive. Our students, faculty, and staff interrogate and respond to the ever-changing relationship between technology and the human spirit. We prepare future leaders in artistic professions and creative industries, while developing student capacity for interdisciplinary scholarship that serves and engages local and global communities.  The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,600 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 150 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida.

In addition to salary, the University of Florida (UF) offers low cost State Health plans, a number of Dental plans to fit you and your family’s needs, and Vision. Domestic partner coverage through GatorCare is also available. Optional plans such as life, disability, legal and accident insurance are also available.

UF provides a variety of leave programs including vacation, sick leave, 11 paid holidays, personal leave days, and family medical leave. TEAMS employees accrue approximately 22 vacation days annually, 13 sick days annually, and 4 personal leave days, typically used during the holiday closing period (accruals based on full-time employment). UF also provides you the flexibility to deal with life’s challenges by offering paid family leave, eight full weeks of leave over a 24-month period.

Build a retirement roadmap with competitive pension plans, investment accounts and a host of voluntary add-ons, such as 457 deferred compensation and 403(b) plans.

UF Employees are also eligible for the GatorPerks discount program, which provides big savings at various business and retailers!

Explore UF’s plethora of benefit options here: TEAMS Benefits