ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Relieves the Director or other supervisor of operational or administrative details by

planning and coordinating the implementation of policies and decisions, recommending
changes in policies or procedures, and making administrative decisions on behalf of the
supervisor when appropriate and within established guidelines or policy.

2. Helps the department to achieve its mission by coordinating complex processes

associated with work specific to the department, such as independently managing
processes involving vendors and complex financial transactions, regularly organizing
and leading projects involving other units, regularly hiring, scheduling, and providing on-
site supervision for pools of workers, independently administering University processes
or departmental services requiring the use of discretion and independent judgment in
making decisions that affect employees or students, managing multiple, complex, and
active financial accounts, communicating sensitive information on behalf of the
supervisor, etc.

3. Serves as administrative assistant to the Director or other supervisor by providing or

overseeing reception services, scheduling appointments, meetings, and travel,
maintaining the supervisor’s calendar, preparing and proofreading correspondence,
reports, and other documents prepared by the supervisor, organizing and maintaining
paper and electronic filing systems, initiating recurring administrative processes,
coordinating projects, and assisting in the completion of reports by researching and
gathering required information and preparing reports.

4. Serves as the communication hub of the department by communicating information

from the supervisor to others, collecting and organizing information requested by the
supervisor from others, making information available to others by mail, email, telephone,
and the web, and providing more complex information on processes specific to the
department to faculty, staff, students, other departments, and/or the public.

5. Obtains equipment, services, and supplies needed by the department by maintaining

an inventory of office supplies, purchasing computers, furniture, office supplies and
equipment, determining the appropriate method to pay for goods or services purchased
by the department following University policy and procedures, and utilizing the
appropriate process.

6. Bills internally or externally for goods or services provided by the department by

determining the appropriate method and utilizing University processes.

7. Manages multiple departmental accounts with active purchasing activities by

reconciling accounts monthly, maintaining running balances of sub-accounts
established within the department, and preparing financial reports which are relied on by
the supervisor for making financial decisions.
 8. Coordinates financial reporting of programs or accounts of subsidiary units by
collecting required financial information, performing appropriate analysis, and preparing
reports for the supervisor.

9. Organizes, coordinates, plans, and conducts departmental events by securing space,

equipment, food, preparing invitations, announcements, agendas, brochures, and
packets, purchasing awards, making travel arrangements and reservations, and
overseeing the event as it occurs.

10. Assists with employment processes by monitoring and maintaining credential files of
applicants, preparing master files for search committees, preparing correspondence to
applicants, entering required information into the applicant database, preparing position
authorization forms and personnel action forms and monitoring their approval, and
assisting new employees with processes associated with employment (completion of
Form I-9, obtaining access to network resources, arranging orientation, office space,
equipment, services, and supplies, etc.)

11. Supports the administrative business functions of the department by maintaining the
departmental website and databases, scheduling the use of conference rooms, and
maintaining security of equipment, files, and records.

12. Contributes to a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and
development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.

13. Remains competent and current by attending professional development courses,

software training classes, and courses and/or training sessions as directed by the
supervisor or required by the University.

14. Supports the department by performing all other duties as assigned by the
supervisor.

 Read incoming memos, submissions and reports in order to determine their significance and plan their distribution

 correspondence (e-mail, letter, package, etc)

 Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email

 Greet visitor and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals

 Make travel arrangements for executives

 Provide Administrative and clerical support to the office

 Facilitate office facilities (stationery and other supplies) of the office

 Organize/arrange meetings, take minute and prepare reports of the meetings

 Schedule or follow-up appointment

 Manage documents and fields based on catalogue

 Maintain polite and professional communication via phone, e-mail and mail

 Perform related duties as assigned

Question 1
A shredder is there to;

A.     Destroy paper documents by cutting them into small pieces.

B.     Staple pieces of paper together.
C.     Fax documents.
D.     Open envelopes.

Question 2
A photocopier is used to;

A.     Take photos the way a camera does.

B.     Screen unwanted phone-calls.
C.     Make paper copies of documents.
D.     Correct spelling and grammar mistakes in documents.

Question 3
In an office, for safety reasons it is important to:

A.     Make sure that the windows are kept open throughout the day.
B.     Say good morning to your colleagues in the morning.
C.     Keep the office temperature at a low level, no matter what the weather.
D.     Keep all emergency exits, stairs and walkways clear of any obstruction.

Question 4
A devise that is connected to a laptop and which prints out information
onto paper is called a;
A.     Printer
B.     Scanner
C.     Diary
D.     Switchboard

Question 5
To run an effective filing system you should;

A.     Avoid saving unnecessary documents.

B.     Keep all filing cabinet doors closed at all times.
C.     Drink lots of coffee when filing away paperwork.
D.     Make sure that all cables in the office are hidden and not exposed.

Question 6
Excel is used to create;
A.     Drawings
B.     Presentations
C.     Spreadsheets
D.     Infographics

Question 7
What does faxing a document mean?

A.     Transmitting or receiving a document by a fax machine.

B.     Proofreading a document.
C.     Printing multiple copies of a document.
D.     Throwing a document away.

Question 8
To properly receive, process, file and report all official documents, you
should;
A.     Keep a copy of every document the company has ever produced, no matter
how trivial it is.
B.     Have an effective Document Management system.
C.     Photocopy all documents and then take one copy home for safekeeping.
D.     Run an effective Diary Management system.

Question 9
What is Microsoft Outlook used for?

A.     To keep a track of office expenses.

B.     It’s part of the diary management system.
C.     Used to assist with company audits.
D.     The management of emails and personal information.

Question 10
One practical way to bring down office expenditure is to;

A.     Keep the office windows open throughout the day.

B.     Send everyone home one hour early from work.
C.     Get staff to send out letters rather than emails.
D.     Turn off unused lights and computers or laptops at the end of the day.

Question 11
To create effective presentations and correspondence you should;

A.     Have good knowledge of Microsoft Office packages like Word & Excel.
B.     Be able to file away paperwork properly.
C.     Be prepared to plagiarise and copy other people’s writing.
D.     Know how to add and subtract.

Question 12
Screening calls is a way of;
A.     Finding out the number of the person calling you.
B.     Identifying unwanted sales or nuisance phone calls.
C.     Getting vital information and statistics from callers.
D.     Giving callers the information they are looking for.

Question 13
Diary management helps you to:

A.     Book hotels for the company.

B.     Complying with all legal, regulatory and best practice guidelines.
C.     Participate in meetings.
D.     Keep track of appointments and events.

Question 14
What does touch-typing mean?

A.     Typing using all of your fingers and without looking at the keys.
B.     Using your typing skills to quickly find and obtain information.
C.     Communicating clearly with work colleagues using emails.
D.     Being able to handle large amounts of paperwork and data.

Question 15
Good online password protection for computers will help to protect your
company from:

A.     People trying to physically break into your office.

B.     Online hacking and corporate sabotage, both from inside the company and
out.
C.     Unnecessary office expenditure.
D.     Computers and associated IT equipment malfunctioning.

 
Question 16
In an office, which of the following is it most important to know the
location of;

A.     Coffee and snack vending machines.

B.     Bathroom and locker-rooms.
C.     Emergency exits, first-aid kits and fire extinguishers.
D.     Where the office stationary supplies are kept.

TRUE OR FALSE QUESTIONS

Question 17
Filing cabinets should be loaded from the bottom up to maintain stability.
True or false

Question 18
Shorthand is a method of rapid writing by means of abbreviations and
symbols.
True or false

Question 19
To save money office equipment should be left ON when not in use and
outside of normal working hours.
True or false

Question 20
Colour coding files and categories of paperwork is commonly used to
organise filing systems.
True or false