Administrative Specialist - Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations - CCI- UTK

The Administrative Specialist serves as the primary strategic partner, financial coordinator, and executive assistant to the School Director. This position acts as the vital liaison between the Tombras School and the CCI Office of Finance, Administration, and Operations (OFAO). This role oversees internal budget allocations, verifies compliance for all school-level expenditures, manages executive scheduling, and initiates personnel/hiring workflows prior to submission to the centralized college office.

Financial and HR Coordination

• Act as the primary school-level liaison to the CCI OFAO, ensuring all departmental business complies with university and college fiscal policies.

• Track, monitor, and internally reconcile departmental operating budgets, restricted accounts, and scholarships; audit monthly ledgers prepared by the college office to ensure accuracy.

• Coordinate internal purchasing workflows and review school procurement card transactions before routing them to the college finance team for official reconciliation.

• Compile data and prepare internal financial projections, spreadsheet reports, and statistical analyses to assist the Director with long-term financial planning.

• Route undergraduate and graduate scholarship awards to the college finance office for processing.

• Review and authorize the financial transaction requests, travel reimbursements, and funding transfers for school hubs (The Orange Room), student organizations, and competition teams before sending them to CCI OFAO.

• Coordinate the school-level administrative side of faculty searches (tenure and non-tenure track), maintaining job postings in Interfolio and preparing Request for Faculty Appointment materials.

• Initiate and track internal personnel requests (such as faculty/staff hiring requests, terminations, or status changes) and route them to the centralized college HR team for system processing.

• Review, authorize, and submit student payroll/hiring paperwork for student assistants and The Orange Room (TOR) student staff to the college business office.

• Draft and track internal administrative memos regarding course overloads or additional payments each semester.

Executive and Logistical Support to the Director

• Independently manage the Director's calendar, triage scheduling requests, and coordinate administrative workflows.

• Handle a wide variety of complex administrative tasks and advise the Director on university and college policies.

• Welcome and host VIP visitors, advisory board members, and guest speakers on behalf of the Director.

• Coordinate with the Director and the CCI OFAO to initiate contracts, service agreements, and dual-service documentation.

Faculty & Researcher Fiscal Support

• Assist faculty, visiting scholars, and students with travel planning; compile and verify travel receipts and expenses before submitting them to college specialists via DASH.

• Serve as the dedicated point of contact for faculty members to track individual start-up allocations, professional development budgets, and restricted research accounts.

Other/Supplementary Duties

• Provide critical operational coverage and temporary backup for the Program and Event Coordinator during peak processing periods, absences, or vacancies to ensure continuity of operations.

• Perform other duties as assigned by the School Director.

Required Qualifications

• Education: High school diploma or GED

• Experience: Minimum of 1-2 years of professional experience with administrative or fiscal coordination responsibilities in an office or university setting.

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

  • Ability to gain proficiency in new processes and procedures in a timely manner.

  • Skilled in using Microsoft Office products (including Word, Excel, and Outlook) and Adobe Acrobat.

  • Ability to adapt to new computer software and systems.

  • Strong quantitative or analytical skills.

  • Ability to format long documents and reports.

  • Strong correspondence writing experience, especially experience with business writing and interacting via email and management of large quantities of email. 

  • Ability to maintain confidentiality.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree

• Experience: Experience with project management and Oracle. Experience working in academic/higher education setting. Experience with various UT computer systems.

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

  • Familiarity with techniques to understand, improve, and document existing workflows.

  • Knowledge of higher education operations.

Work Location 

• Location: Knoxville, Tennessee 

• Onsite

Compensation and Benefits 

• UT market range: MR06

• Anticipated hiring range: 40,000 – 45,000

• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions 

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

• Resume

• Cover Letter

• 3 Professional References

To be assured of full consideration, completed applications with all requested materials should be submitted on or before July 10, 2026

About The College/Department/Division

CCI is part of a Land Grant Institution embedded in communities to make those communities a better place. Our alumni, students, faculty, and staff strive to positively impact on the lives of people in our state through our teaching, scholarship, creative work, and through our engagement and service. CCI as a college is well poised to deliver upon all those areas to become the most nationally distinctive but locally relevant College of Communication and Information in the country.