Senior Administrative Specialist

Position Title: Senior Administrative Specialist

Department: Aleshire Ctr for Leadership & Comm

Advertised Pay: Base $16.69/hour with potential for a higher entry rate commensurate with experience

Campus Location: Washburn University

Application Deadline:  Application review will begin as applications are received and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants can be assured of full consideration if submitted by May 14, 2026.

Position Summary: The Senior Administrative Specialist provides administrative support to the Aleshire Center for Leadership and Community Engagement. The employee must maintain the confidentiality of all privileged/sensitive information.

About Washburn University: Washburn University is a teaching-focused, student-centered, public institution located in the metropolitan setting of Topeka that has earned national recognition for its high-impact programs for first-generation students. Washburn has a student body of just over 7,000 students, a significant and growing number of whom are first-generation and Pell-Grant eligible. The University has created educational pathways for all students to be successful and achieve their educational goals.

Washburn is dedicated to recruiting and retaining a dynamic faculty, staff, and student body and cultivating a robust learning and working environment and curriculum. We employ more than one thousand faculty and staff on our campuses throughout Topeka and strive to offer competitive wages, an excellent benefits program, and a supportive culture and a healthy work/life balance. Washburn seeks to create an environment that reflects our core values for creating positive IMPACT: inclusion, modernization, partnership, achievement, community and transformation. In 2024, Washburn was recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to Great Colleges to Work For® program.

Essential Functions:
• Serve as primary receptionist: greeting and directing visitors, answering telephones, transferring calls, and/or taking and relaying messages. Monitor and review all incoming email messages to the departmental email account, responding to inquiries and requests as appropriate or forwarding/referring messages for response as appropriate, confirming responses as needed. Distribute office mail. Maintain the supply of office supplies for the Aleshire Center's use. Monitor the use and function of office equipment, assisting users with equipment operation, planning for repairs and maintenance as necessary. Update website as needed and submit Aleshire Center events to the Washburn calendar. Draft and format correspondence, reports, etc. as directed. Record, type, and distribute meeting notes as requested. Update email list and email listserv each semester to have the most accurate list of students involved in the Aleshire Center to receive information on activities of the Aleshire Center. Inventory, organize, and track the use of items in the storage room to better utilize the resources available.
• Serve as primary support for the recruitment efforts of the Aleshire Center by providing communications through email, social media, and printed promotions. Track students that are interested in programs of the Aleshire Center for outreach. Provide support for the Learning Community, including preparing materials and mailings for recruitment of students to participate, tracking student participation in Aleshire Center activities, and acting as a resource for the Learning Community RA. Prepare materials for scholarship recruitment, provide email and mailings for schools for scholarship promotions. Provide logistics for Scholarship Interview Day. Provide support for the Aleshire Center at NSO’s and other Admissions events by preparing needed materials, organizing student involvement, and being available to give presentations or table as needed.
• Track students involved in the Aleshire Center through Banner coding each semester. Promote Leadership Studies and Community Studies courses to current Washburn students who have completed prerequisite courses. Determine the continued scholarship eligibility of students receiving Aleshire Center scholarships according to the current Scholarship Acceptance Form.
• Assist with semester planning and preparations for Leadership Studies, Community Studies, and MACNLE courses: Enter class schedules into Banner, coordinate adjunct instructors and contracts using FLAC, compile information from faculty and submit textbook adoptions, and order instructor textbooks.
• Provide support for the Leadership Washburn Transformational Experience and Community & Civic Engagement Washburn Transformational Experience. Track students who have declared a WTE through coursework and project management. Provide information for the recognition of students. Produce and update WTE materials for promotion through the Aleshire Center as needed.
• Provide primary assistance for student event coordination efforts, as directed, including but not limited to Scholarship Interview Day, end-of-year celebrations, Leaders of Tomorrow activities, and other All-Center events. Prepare and distribute promotional materials to fully publicize Aleshire Center events. Schedule student meetings and activities/events on Aleshire Center faculty and staff calendars as needed.
• Advise and direct students throughout major events to provide support and a learning experience. As needed, schedule student meetings; locate and reserve meeting space; arrange for refreshments or catering; contact and invite participants; develop, type, copy, and distribute meeting materials, if needed; and guide students to consider and prepare for all details in preparation for meetings and activities. Review and assess completed events to identify opportunities for change and improvement for future events.
• Establish and maintain files to document students’ attendance and activities for reference and reporting purposes.
• Assist with the Washburn Leadership Challenge Event® by taking the lead on promotion to schools, team registration, participant information, including waivers, hotel rooming assignments, and food orders. Complete other WLCE® tasks as requested.
• Provide support for the Aleshire Center Advisory Board, including setting dates, reserving rooms, gathering RSVP’s, ordering lunch, providing materials as needed, tracking RSVP, setting up technology, and meeting other needs as they arise. Record, type, copy, and distribute meeting notes. Update Advisory Board contact information.
• Perform additional job-related duties as assigned or as appropriate.

Required Qualifications:
• High School diploma, GED, or equivalent.
• One year of full-time relevant work experience or post-secondary education or a combination equal to one year.
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal, communication, analytical, critical thinking, organizational, and time management skills.
• Proven proficiency with Microsoft 365 programs, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams, with the capacity to learn key functions in essential software.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively individually and collaboratively as part of a team.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Successful completion of college coursework.
• Previous related experience in a higher education environment.

Special Instructions to Applicants: All applicants should submit a cover letter expressing interest and relevant qualifications, as well as a resume.

Hourly, Full-time, Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm   
Background check and driving history are required