Administrative Assistant, Mechanical Engineering Department

Salary: $50,000.00 - $55,000.00 Annually

Location: Manhattan University, Riverdale NY

Job Type: Staff Full-Time

Job Number: FY202700114

Department: Mechanical Engineering

Opening Date: 09/15/2026

Position Description

About the Mechanical Engineering Department:

The Mechanical Engineering Department provides a rigorous engineering education emphasizing technical excellence, hands-on learning, design, experimentation, research, and professional development. The Administrative Assistant is an integral member of the department, supporting students and faculty while helping ensure efficient academic and administrative operations.

The Mechanical Engineering Department seeks a highly organized, proactive, and service-oriented Administrative Assistant to provide comprehensive support to the Department Chair, faculty, staff, and students. As a primary point of contact for the department, this position requires excellent communication and organizational skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.

This is a full-time, in-person, non-remote position.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary point of contact for students, faculty, staff, visitors, and external partners; respond to inquiries and direct students to appropriate University resources, forms, and processes.
• Provide administrative support to the Department Chair and faculty; coordinate departmental workflow, calendars, records, meetings, room scheduling, meeting minutes, and communications.
• Support ABET accreditation, program assessment, and continuous improvement by assisting faculty with collecting, organizing, maintaining, and archiving required documentation and data.
• Provide administrative and logistical support for Mechanical Engineering laboratories, senior design/capstone activities, presentations, seminars, advisory board meetings, student competitions, faculty and student research activities, and departmental events.
• Process purchase requisitions, invoices, reimbursements, travel arrangements, and check requests; assist with budget tracking and reconciliation and coordinate purchasing through systems such as Unimarket.
• Maintain inventories of departmental supplies, equipment, and furniture; coordinate facilities, maintenance, textbook, desk-copy, laboratory, instructional, and course-related requests.
• Assist with faculty advising assignments, student records, syllabi, office hours, enrollment information, and other departmental academic records.
• Support faculty and adjunct searches, including applicant files, candidate schedules, travel and accommodations, presentations, meals, interview logistics, recommendation letters, and appointment forms.
• Supervise student workers and graduate assistants, including work assignments, timesheet approvals, and related administrative processes.
• Maintain organized electronic files and paperless processes using Microsoft Office, shared drives, e-signature platforms, Banner, Coursedog, Moodle, Unimarket, and other University systems.
• Help maintain the department’s social media presence by sharing and promoting events, activities, and student and faculty accomplishments.
• Handle confidential student, personnel, search, and budget information with discretion; provide general technical and administrative support and perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Associate's degree or vocational/technical school degree and a minimum of three years of administrative experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal, customer-service, organizational, time-management, and attention-to-detail skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and work independently with limited supervision.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, shared drives, e-signature platforms, and email/calendar systems.
• Ability to quickly and independently learn currently used or new digital tools and institutional systems such as Banner, Coursedog, Moodle, and Unimarket.

Supplemental Information

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree; experience in an engineering, STEM, laboratory, or higher-education environment.
• Experience with purchasing, budgets, academic events, faculty searches, accreditation, assessment, or institutional reporting.
• Familiarity with ABET accreditation or willingness to learn accreditation-related administrative requirements.

We offer a complete benefits package to full-time employees including health care, dental, vision, retirement, deferred compensation plans, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, long-term disability, holidays, vacation, and sick leave. Part-time employees who work an average of 20 hours per week over the course of a year, receive certain benefits on a pro-rated basis. To learn more details, visit our benefits page.