Administrative Assistant III-II, Business Support Services

Position Title: Administrative Assistant III-II, Business Support Services

Reports To: Business Support Services Lead

Description of Position:

The Business Support Services Administrative Assistant III-II provides advanced, centralized administrative services across the Delaware Department of Education through the Shared Administrative Services model. This position independently coordinates complex, confidential, and time-sensitive support for multiple teams, workgroups, leaders, programs, projects, and agency initiatives. The position handles advanced financial, purchasing, travel, meeting, document, records, and project coordination; resolves non-routine administrative issues; performs quality review; develops standardized tools and procedures; and provides technical guidance and cross-training to other administrative staff. The position may coordinate defined workstreams or serve as an operational point of contact within delegated authority but does not have formal supervisory responsibility.

Major Responsibilities:

      Advanced Agency Wide Administrative Support

• Provide advanced, confidential, and time-sensitive support to Department leadership, teams, workgroups, programs, projects, and cross-agency initiatives.
• Manage complex calendars, meetings, events, travel, correspondence, records, and workflows involving multiple leaders, partners, priorities, and deadlines.
• Clarify ambiguous requests, anticipate needs, develop work plans, coordinate dependencies, and independently resolve non-routine issues within established authority.
• Prepare, synthesize, edit, and quality-review complex correspondence, reports, presentations, spreadsheets, meeting materials, and executive documents.
• Coordinate committees, interviews, public meetings, conferences, trainings, and special projects, including communications, minutes, action tracking, and follow-through.
• Represent Shared Administrative Services in routine interactions with internal and external partners and facilitate resolution or escalation of service issues.

     Advanced Financial Management

• Process complex, confidential, or high-volume First State Financials transactions, including purchase orders, vouchers, reimbursements, travel, purchase cards, contracts, and related documentation.
• Perform detailed pre-submission review for completeness, accuracy, coding, approvals, supporting records, and alignment with established requirements.
• Research and resolve discrepancies, rejected items, vendor issues, missing documentation, and processing delays in collaboration with Finance and requestors.
• Analyze transaction logs, expenditure information, deadlines, and outstanding items; prepare status summaries and alert the Lead and stakeholders to risks or required action.
• Provide technical assistance on routine FSF, purchasing, travel, reimbursement, and documentation requirements.

     Service Coordination and Lead Worker Support

• Serve as a senior resource and assist the Lead with complex assignments, urgent requests, coverage, and continuity of critical functions.
• Provide peer guidance, coaching, cross-training, quality review, and corrective feedback to other administrative staff without exercising formal supervisory authority.
• Develop and update procedures, templates, checklists, job aids, trackers, and training resources.
• Identify recurring issues, process gaps, workload trends, and opportunities for standardization or automation and recommend solutions.
• Lead defined administrative projects and workstreams, establish timelines, coordinate stakeholders, track deliverables, and report status and risks.
• Serve as a designated operational contact or backup to the Business Support Services Lead when assigned and within delegated authority.

     General Duties

• Collaborate with office staff to ensure appropriate office and phone coverage is available during business hours.
• Provide professional customer service and support to both internal and external partners.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Essential Qualifications:

Education: Minimum high school diploma or GED; some college coursework preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum two (2) years of progressively responsible administrative, secretarial, office-management, financial-processing, project-coordination, or related experience.
• Demonstrated experience independently coordinating complex administrative activities for multiple leaders, offices, programs, or stakeholders.
• Experience with First State Financials (FSF) and financial, purchasing, procurement, travel, purchase-card, and/or reimbursement processing strongly preferred.
• Experience providing technical guidance, peer training, quality review, or lead-worker support preferred.
• Experience developing procedures, job aids, tracking tools, or administrative process improvements preferred.
• Experience in government, education, or another complex organization preferred.

Skills:

• Advanced knowledge of administrative and office-management principles, practices, procedures, and service-delivery standards.
• Strong working knowledge of First State Financials (FSF), financial processing, purchasing, procurement, travel, reimbursement, purchase-card, and documentation requirements.
• Ability to independently coordinate complex and confidential assignments involving multiple stakeholders, priorities, deadlines, and dependencies.
• Ability to analyze administrative information, identify discrepancies and risks, resolve non-routine issues, and recommend practical solutions.
• Skill in reviewing work products and transactions for accuracy, completeness, consistency, and compliance with established procedures.
• Ability to provide technical guidance, peer coaching, cross-training, and constructive quality feedback without formal supervisory authority.
• Skill in developing procedures, job aids, templates, tracking systems, and process improvements.
• Strong project coordination, planning, organizational, written communication, interpersonal, and customer-service skills.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment, maintain confidentiality, and communicate effectively with Department leadership and internal and external partners.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint; ability to learn and support other Department systems and technology tools.

Salary:  
Salary Range: $51,995.60-$76,209.00 annually. The final salary will be determined based on the candidate's education and experience in accordance with the Department of Education's compensation policy.  The position includes a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance, participation in the state retirement program, annual, sick, and personal leave, and supplemental benefits options. Direct deposit of payroll checks is a condition of state employment, and employees are paid on a lag pay schedule with the first payment made after approximately one month of employment.

Notes:  
A criminal background check is required. The successful candidate must demonstrate during the interview process an understanding of diversity, educational equity and multicultural education. This job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. The selected candidate should expect to perform any other related activities needed to deliver the position's key duties and responsibilities and follow any other instructions as defined by his/her supervisor.  

The Delaware Department of Education is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment practices or educational programs, services or activities based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, veteran's status or any other legally protected category. Inquiries should be directed to the Human Resource Office, 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901.  Phone: 302-735-4030.

Salary : $51,996 - $76,209