Assistant Director, Business Administration

Company: University of Chicago
Location: Chicago
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

Department BSD DEV - Operations - Human Resources About the Department Medicine and Biological Sciences Development’s mission is to inspire and facilitate philanthropy at the University of Chicago Medicine by building relationships with those who share its goals of advancing excellence in research, education, community, and patient care. We accomplish this mission through expertise, integrity, creativity, and collaboration. Job Summary The Assistant Director, Business Administration provides specialized operational, administrative and financial support to Medicine and Biological Sciences Development (MBSD). They will provide confidential and high-level office and location support activities. May ensure the correct functioning of facilities, office and/or business support services. This role requires an in-office presence of at least three days per week. The job provides professional support and solves straightforward problems for a broad range of business operations and academic activities. May develop and implement office procedures and policies and ensures compliance. May prepare and monitor the budget for a unit. MBSD is a fast-paced, high-performing department, raising up to and over $130M annually for programs supporting research, medicine, and education at The University of Chicago and University of Chicago Medicine. We are seeking an individual who can deliver high-quality work and maintain a calm, professional demeanor under evolving priorities. The ideal candidate demonstrates strong personal effectiveness, including sound judgment, accountability, and the ability to prioritize competing demands with minimal oversight. Success in this role requires the ability to manage up proactively anticipating needs, communicating progress and risks early, and providing thoughtful, solutions-oriented recommendations to leadership, while fostering strong collaboration across teams. Responsibilities Collaborates across a department of 90 to ensure all Medicine & Biological Sciences Development (MBSD) staff have the tools and resources needed to perform their jobs efficiently and effectively. Assist with office-related budget management. This includes submitting invoices, submitting and approving expense reports, and providing support to the Senior Associate Director, Operations and Finance, on cyclical budget-related responsibilities (i.e. year-end closing, fiscal year budget planning). Processes personal reimbursements and corporate card reconciliations for MBSD, including serving as a departmental approver. Works in partnership with the Senior Associate Director, Operations and Finance to ensure all GEMS credit card transactions are reconciled prior to the 60-day policy-permitted timeframe; communicates with and provides guidance to support staff who require assistance to meet this deadline. Contributes to making adjustments to support staff assignments to ensure MBSD staff are reimbursed in a timely manner. May be responsible to monitor and reconcile accounts in the Operations budget and prepare financial and/or administrative reports. Maintains a tracking log of financial transactions and ensures payment has been successfully posted to the vendor, via data reporting tools, following up with Procurement, or by other means. Assists other MBSD teams with urgent payment resolution as needed. Reviews invoices to ensure accuracy of charges to the MBSD general supply budget. Submits contracts for Procurement’s legal review, including all information and documentation, and sees through to successful completion. Requests updates from Procurement, communicates regularly throughout the review process with stakeholders, providing updates, and escalating as needed. Creates Standing Purchase Orders for approved contracts; appropriately files all executed contracts in digital library. May serve as a backup departmental approver to the Senior Associate Director to ensure all contracts, and purchase requests for goods and services, are seen through to successful completion for the unit. Serve as a primary point of contact for employee and office-related questions, escalating issues as needed. Partners with the BSD People Services team and hiring managers across MBSD to support department recruitment, on-boarding, off-boarding and employee experience activities and events. Responsible for maintaining well-organized and accurate confidential records, both hard copy and electronic files to ensure compliance with University-wide legal procedures. Tracks and facilitates a variety of internal employee recognition activities, including but not limited to service milestones and department anniversary program. Collaborates on staff retention efforts and programs, ensuring new hires are welcomed, equipped and set-up for success. This includes partnering with BSD People Services, BSD IT, MBSD Operations and other internal stakeholders to support on-boarding/off-boarding logistics. Supports the complex and varying scheduling needs of the department. Including scheduling diverse and complex meetings, events, interviews and travel arrangements, including those that involve faculty members and/or executive level staff and candidates. Contributes to the development and implementation of policies and procedures across MBSD, including but not limited to, data management, internal communications, and event logistics to ensure consistency, efficiency, and compliance with institutional standards. Assist with process improvement that enhance employee satisfaction and operational efficiency. Coordinates and supports the scheduling of sessions and events, which may include but not be limited to including onboarding, training sessions, staff meetings, staff celebrations, ad hoc gatherings, and other programs to ensure sessions support employee engagement, program success, runs efficiently, and meets organizational needs. Builds relationships with the University Advancement (ADV) Talent Management team and partners with them as well as internal stakeholders to ensure alignment of employee experience initiatives with University Advancement, including critical training procedures for new staff and other key programs. Drafts and edits copy a wide variety of for internal and external stakeholders, including all-staff announcements and procedure updates, marketing-focused copy to promote staff initiatives, and other needs as directed. May support other teams across MBSD, including but not limited to Advancement Services, Individual Giving, Principal Gifts, and Outreach, Events, and Volunteer Engagement, with special projects. Resolves and tracks all requests from MBSD staff via the Operations Services email account and other inboxes as needed. Manages the resolution of routine and complex inquiries, seeing each through to completion, while ensuring a positive outcome and maintaining the highest level of customer service. May provide backup support to the daily operation of the Front Office, serving as a point of contact for all who enter the MSBD office, greets, hosts, and assists donors, prospective donors, faculty members, volunteers, trustees, job candidates, and vendors, creating and fostering an excellent guest experience. Helps to ensure that the MBSD office areas, including all workstations, are work-ready and maintained at a high standard. May assist with the management of workstation and conference room setup and configuration requests. Submits and oversees building repair orders and tracks to successful completion. Works in collaboration to resolve basic and complex facilities issues, including issuing unit-wide communications, in partnership with building or campus services, etc. as overseen by the Senior Associate Director. May travel to the Hyde Park campus as needed to support facilities in a backup capacity. Performs some routine and complex assignments for the unit usually in the areas of finance, event planning or support services. Initiate the hiring process of students and staff for a unit, which includes the processing of payroll. Responsible for training office staff on office procedures and compliance protocols. Coordinates special projects. Performs other related work as needed. Minimum Qualifications Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field. Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline. Certifications: Preferred Compe t encies Strong verbal and writing s k ills, high at t ention to det a il and fol l ow-up, and excel l ent organizational skills. Abili t y to m a nage confidential infor m a t ion with discretion and tact. De m onstra t ed skill and knowledge of, or abili t y to le ar n quick l y , the internal workings of t h e University as well as the technolo g y t ools available to Medicine & Biological Sciences Devel o pment, inclu d ing b u t n o t l i mited to Microsoft Windows co m p uter enviro n ment, Microsoft Outlo o k , Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Strong leadership qualities, including the abili t y to ex e cute, thereby leading by w o rd and by exa m ple. Abili t y to work collegial l y and collaborative l y in a team setting. An exceptional work ethic and track record of personal initiative. Outstanding i n terpersonal and com m un i cations skills charac t erized by the abili t y to listen, to s p eak and to write well. Flexibili t y and adaptabili t y to new prog r a m s in an emerging and changing e n vironment. Willingness and abili t y to t ravel to on and off-campus locations for University business Abili t y to pr i o ritize work and m eet deadlines. Application Documents Resume (required) When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application. Job Family Administration & Management Role Impact Individual Contributor Scheduled Weekly Hours 37.5 Drug Test Required No Health Screen Required No Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required No Pay Rate Type Salary ? FLSA Status Exempt ? Pay Range $60,000.00 - $75,000.00 The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting. Benefits Eligible Yes The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook . Posting Statement The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination. Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form. All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position. The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu . Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

Keywords: University of Chicago, Chicago , Assistant Director, Business Administration, Administration, Clerical , Chicago, Illinois