Job Details

Administrative Coordinator: Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development - UTK

Position Number: 6530945
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Position Type: Economic and Business Development

Administrative Coordinator: Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development - UTK
Knoxville, TN, United States

Job Identification: 4887
Job Category: Administrative
Posting Date: 09/02/2025
Job Schedule: Full Time
Locations: 1331 Circle Park, Knoxville, TN, 37996, US (Hybrid)

Job Description
This position is part of the Shared Administrative Services (SAS) team in the Office of Research, Innovation, & Economic Development (ORIED), at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), which is organized under Research Finance & Administration (RFA). The work of administrative coordinators is performed within established guidelines under the general supervision of the SAS team lead. SAS provides executive-level administrative support to members of the ORIED leadership team. This support includes general administrative services as well as event planning and execution. Each administrative coordinator is assigned to provide this support to multiple individuals in ORIED leadership positions, using a workflow model based around core services and overflow assignments. Because SAS takes a shared approach to managing administrative and event work, the team has the flexibility to refocus support to respond to current and emerging work needs and priorities across the ORIED leadership team. SAS administrative coordinators operate in a dynamic environment and are committed to supporting the workload of the entire team in a positive, equitable, and flexible manner. This position is primarily in person, with some hybrid (work from home) flexibility.

Responsibilities
General administrative support: Each SAS administrative coordinator provides support to multiple individuals in ORIED leadership positions for the following:

Scheduling support: Includes calendar/time management, scheduling meetings with multiple executive attendees, communicating with attendees about the purpose and goal of meetings, updating and monitoring schedules, prioritizing between meeting requests, following up to ensure timely responses, and similar functions.

Meeting support: Work with ORIED leadership team members to plan, coordinate, and manage logistics of meetings, including internal meetings for staff within another ORIED division or team, meetings with a focus on UT faculty, staff, and students, and meetings for external audiences, such as interviews and advisory, community, or industry groups. meetings may be small (2-5 people) to large (50+), and in person or virtual. Meeting management may include recurring, division-wide meetings. Meetings may take place virtually, in person at various locations across campus, or offsite. For in-person meetings, manage administrative details including catering orders, room reservations, parking arrangements, technology set-up and troubleshooting, set-up and take-down, and similar functions.

Travel support: Includes planning and scheduling, completing registrations and reservations, processing travel reports for reimbursement, ensuring travelers have received all essential details, and similar functions.

Communication support: Includes initiating and drafting correspondence on behalf of the supervisor, obtaining information from multiple sources needed to provide context and guidance to meeting attendees, delivering promised or scheduled information on time, serving as a point of contact for attendee questions and responding in a timely manner, providing guidance and direction to visitors, preparing agendas and itineraries, drafting memos and letters, submitting requests for interviews, and other correspondence for distribution.

Team support: Coordinate routine tasks and shared administrative work that supports the entire office, including database entry, report updates, shared resource management, and similar functions.

General office support: Liaise with other members of the RFA team to complete basic office functions, such as preparing budgets for AVC impact areas, tracking integrated accounts at the AVC level, managing contracts for functional areas on a macro-level, ordering supplies and promotional items, managing human resource issues, reviewing budget charges, and similar functions.

Event Planning and Execution: Each SAS administrative coordinator provides support to multiple individuals in ORIED leadership positions for the following. Many assignments in this space may include providing overflow support for events coordinated by other administrative support personnel serving the leadership team.

Work with ORIED leadership team members to plan, coordinate, and manage logistics of events, including internal events for staff within another ORIED division or team, events with a focus on UT faculty, staff, and students, and events for external audiences, such as advisory, community, or industry groups. Events may be small (10-15 people) to large (50+), and in person or virtual.

Includes identifying and reserving event venues and meeting spaces; coordinating catering or restaurant reservations; organizing campus tours; securing transportation and/or parking; providing directions to meeting locations; proactively identifying and coordinating audiovisual needs and technical support; and keeping event expenses within budget.

Provide on-site, day of event/meeting management and assistance.

Team improvement: Each member of SAS is expected to be an active participant in meeting team objectives and goals, and improving work outcomes. Under the general supervision of the SAS team lead, administrative coordinators analyze information and interpret situations to determine how to solve a problem or complete an assignment effectively, and share these solutions and best practices with other members of the team. They also make recommendations to the team lead to create and change office-level procedures.

Other duties as assigned. Includes (but is not limited to) temporarily assuming additional administrative duties (especially scheduling and time management needs) in the event of a job vacancy on the team, until the position can be filled.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications

Education:

High School diploma or GED

Experience:

Five years of experience as an administrative assistant in an office environment;
any level of event planning experience.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

Exceptional customer service approach to all interactions with UT faculty, staff, and executives, as well as external guests;
Commitment to supporting the workload of the entire team in a positive, equitable, and flexible manner;
Strong personal initiative to proactively manage assigned tasks and meet deadlines under minimal supervision;
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail;
Ability to multi-task and prioritize assignments;
Professional writing and proofreading skills;
Proficiency with the Microsoft Office software suite, especially Outlook;
Professional integrity, including a thorough understanding of confidentiality.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

Associate's or Bachelor's Degree
Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) credential

Experience:

Any of the following: Associate's degree; Bachelor's degree; experience supporting executives or senior administrators; experience working in an academic environment; Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) credential.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

Any of the following: Associate's degree; Bachelor's degree; experience supporting executives or senior administrators; experience working in an academic environment; Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) credential.

Work Location

Location: Knoxville, TN
Onsite, Hybrid

Compensation and Benefits

UT market range: 05
Anticipated hiring range: 05
Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments.

Resume
Cover Letter
List of 3 Professional References

About The Division

Here at the University of Tennessee, thousands of world-class faculty, staff, students and postdoctoral fellows are engaged in research, scholarship and creative work on a daily basis. With a shared commitment to creating a more just, prosperous, and sustainable world for the citizens of Tennessee and communities far beyond, the UT community is creating new knowledge and generating solutions to some of the most challenging issues of our time.

The Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development is here to support you, our community of researchers, scholars and creatives, from ideation to impact. Our dedicated team is here to help you develop competitive proposals and sources of support for your work, seed investments in promising new areas, nurture new and established multidisciplinary communities of scholars and support and sustain a strong culture of research integrity.

The university's strategic relationships with corporate, venture, community, non-profit and government partners help extend the impact of our community's work across the state and around the world. In collaboration with these partners, we are working to establish Tennessee as a go-to destination for cutting-edge research, innovation and a skilled workforce.

We understand that a creative, productive, and empowered community of researchers, scholars, and creatives is critical to the university's future as a world-renowned research institution.

About Us
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees-the Volunteers-who uphold the university's tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service.

UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee's flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy's largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service.

UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices that attract and retain a diverse community and that support a culture where everyone matters and belongs.

The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as "Best Employer for New Graduates," "One of America's Best Large Employers," and "Best Workplace for Women," and has been designated as "Best Place for Working Parents" by Forbes Magazine.

Apply today and join the Tennessee Volunteer community!

To apply, visit https://fa-ewlq-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/job/4887/?mode=location