The Administrative Assistant - Travel role is part of the Pod 2 Basic Science Research Group at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual responsible for assisting faculty and their labs within the Pod with booking travel and completing expense reports. This position supports the faculty and their staff of Pod 2 Basic Science Research. Reporting directly to the Administrative Officer (AO) for transactions in Pod 2.

About the Work Unit:

About Pod 2:

Basic Science Research Administrative POD2 is a group of professionals who provide administrative support to the following departments and centers: Biochemistry Department, Cell & Developmental Biology Department, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Center for Structural Biology, Mass Spectrometry Research Center, and Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology. POD2 is comprised of two teams, each with expertise focused in one of the following areas: sponsored research and finance.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

• Help faculty and their labs complete their expense reports and correct any errors on that are found.

• Ensure that proper documentation is attached to each charge and comments are made on the report if necessary to understand the charge on the expense report.

• Communicating with faculty and labs about policies and processes and keep them up to date on any changes in them.

• If faculty member is a speaker at a conference, verifying if the conference will pay for any of their travel expenses. If so, ensuring that Vanderbilt does not also reimburse the traveler for these expenses. If by any chance this does happen, ensure that Vanderbilt is refunded the duplicate payment via a check from the traveler.

• Educating faculty and their labs on the correct method to use when purchasing non-travel expenses such as Oracle Procurement or department CORES. If items have already been purchased by the employee, guiding them on their explanation on why this was done so that the charge will be reimbursed via expense report.

• Guide card holders on what cannot be purchased with their One Card and advise them on the correct process to use.

• Guide employees on how to use Concur for booking flights, especially international ones. Plus making sure the traveler knows they must book all travel within Concur and World Travel

• Help faculty member book travel for a guest for their lab.

• Communicating with departmental FUMS on any unusual issues that may arise.

• Be an expense delegate for several faculty members to assist in the preparation of travel reimbursement.

• Ensure that all cardholder submits their One Card charges on an expense report within a rolling 30 day time frame per expense transaction.

• Serve as backup Procurement Requester for faculty members in various labs as needed; place orders for equipment, lab supplies and other items as needed to sustain research functions

• Other duties as assigned by Pod 2 Leadership

  Supervisory Relationships:

  This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.

  Education and Certifications: Profile of an Ideal Candidate

• Associate’s degree is preferred

• At least three years of relevant experience is necessary.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community is strongly preferred.

• Skill in organizing resources and establishing priorities is strongly preferred.

• Vanderbilt experience is preferred.

  Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

  At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

  Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

  Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.