Program Assistant 3, Counseling and Psychological Services

Department: Counseling & Psychological Services
Salary/Grade: NEX/11

Job Summary:

Program Assistants at Northwestern University's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) report to the Office Manager and coordinate administrative functions and processes for the department's Evanston, Sport Psychology and Chicago campus offices. Core tasks of these positions include office reception and administrative support to departmental leadership and clinical staff.

Reception duties include answering and directing calls on a multi-line phone, greeting and checking in students for appointments, scheduling, and responding to routine non-clinical inquiries.

Administrative support duties may include managing the calendars of members of the CAPS leadership team, clerical support to CAPS committees and/or working groups, data entry and records management, tech support, website and social media management, and development of promotional items for CAPS events and services.

Pay: The pay range for the Program Assistant 3 position is $23.00 - $25.54 per hour, depending on experience, skills, and internal equity.

Work Location: Program Assistants are assigned to a primary office location upon hire but will occasionally be expected to work in one of the other two offices as determined by the Office Manager. Advance notice will be provided.

Department Overview:

CAPS is a unit within the Division of Student Affairs at NU and is highly utilized by students and other campus community members seeking consultation. CAPS has offices on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses with an embedded Sport Psychology office at Walter Athletics Center supporting Northwestern Student Athletes. NU has a total student population of approximately 21,000 students across both campuses, with approximately 18,500 of these students attending classes in the Evanston campus. The Chicago office serves primarily graduate and professional students while Evanston office serves both undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to our clinical services, CAPS reaches over 10,000 NU community members through outreach and educational programming on both campuses. CAPS also has a training program, including an APA-accredited Doctoral Internship in Psychology at our Evanston office and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Walther Athletics Center. CAPS is a learning organization, in that our strategic planning, priority setting, clinical services, and professional development are informed by local data collection as well as benchmarking with national trends and peer institutions. CAPS also identifies very closely with the vision, values and guiding principles of our umbrella organization, the Division of Student Affairs.

Department Website: https://www.northwestern.edu/counseling/index.html

About Student Affairs: Nearly 30 departments make up the Division of Student Affairs, from housing to food services, career services to counseling, the student center to student org advising, and so much more. Student Affairs enriches the Northwestern experience outside of the classroom. This division engages students in activities and culture in both the campus and surrounding community. Student Affairs offers support to students in need and creates an environment that makes Northwestern students Wildcats for life. Learn more about the Division of Student Affairs here: https://www.northwestern.edu/studentaffairs/

Specific Responsibilities:

Coordination

• Manages calendar - supervisor's and/or department
• Organizes and coordinates events which may include creating timelines
• Management of both internal and external online appointment scheduling for >40 clinical staff; making sure both match, requiring high attention to detail.
• Assists with preparing materials for outreach programs, registrations, and marketing
• Daily input of after-hours on-call contact information; notifies after-hours counseling service of on-call schedule changes
• Makes recommendations for improving processes and efficiency
• Provides basic interpretation of policies and procedures

Student Services

• Answers multi-line phone and coordinates flow of information to clinicians, administrators, on-call counselors, and staff as needed
• Uses discretion and tact to appropriately direct crisis calls from students, faculty, parents and contacts on-call counselor/schedules appointments, as necessary
• Greets visitors, responds to inquiries, requests, and provides routine information
• Provides a variety of administrative support for students, such as:
  • sending out paperwork links and appointment reminders to students
  • assisting students with appointments scheduled online

Contacts

• Responds to inquiries related to CAPS services
• Researches information to resolve problems or issues
• Contacts and coordinates with the Student Affairs IT team regarding department IT issues
• Contacts facilities management for department work orders

Documents and Databases

• Independently responds to and composes correspondence
• Prepares queries, reports, statistics, tables, charts, etc. based on information compiled from various sources
• Digital scanning and filing of confidential documents to client charts; maintains confidentiality of sensitive documents; ROIs, healthcare provider reports; DOS documents
• Distributes incoming mail, faxes and other documents

Website

• Maintains websites and/or blogs
• Prepares social media posts and marketing materials

Accounting

• Monitors supplies - uses iBuy NU as a shopper to maintain department supplies
• Creates and maintains financial records as necessary
• Verifies appropriateness and accuracy of department transactions

Minimum Qualifications:

• A high school diploma or equivalent required
• 4 years of administrative support or other relevant experience required

Minimum Competencies:

• Intermediate knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, email, and database software programs is required
• Proficient in managing high volume inbound/outbound phone calls including routing calls and professional communication

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• Experience working in a clinical office or setting

Preferred Competencies:

• Commitment to providing a high level of service and working in a team environment
• High degree of professionalism with excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills
• Familiarity with general business practices
• Attention to detail
• Ability to handle confidential information with utmost discretion
• Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and under tight deadlines
• Ability to be flexible and adjust to the changing priorities of the office
• Project management skills and organizational skills
• Decision-making skills and critical thinking skills
• Efficiency; dependability; initiative-taking

Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth and Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.

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