Administrative Specialist (Data Science and AI Institute)

The Johns Hopkins Data Science and AI Institute (DSAI) seeks an Administrative Specialist to provide high-level administrative, operational, and program support for a growing interdisciplinary institute advancing data science and artificial intelligence across Johns Hopkins. This position will support DSAI's program management team of four Program Managers and will help coordinate the administrative infrastructure behind institute programs, funded initiatives, events, meetings, communications, and cross-university collaborations. The Administrative Specialist will work closely with institute leadership, faculty, staff, students, trainees, internal Johns Hopkins partners, and external collaborators to ensure timely, accurate, and professional execution of program and office operations.

The Administrative Specialist provides varied administrative support ranging from standard to complex for an individual, group, and/or unit requiring high level expertise and independent decision making. Works on administrative assignments that require research, initiative, independent discretion, and specialized knowledge and abilities. Leads or assists with ad-hoc or recurring projects. Responsibilities require significant collaboration and coordination with others within and outside of the unit and extensive knowledge of the organization.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Independently manage complex calendars and meeting schedules based on an understanding of shifting priorities.
• Provide preparation for meetings, presentations, and discussions by gathering critical details to facilitate timely responses and task management.
• Support staff management and team meetings, and provide follow-up on action items.
• Anticipate departmental needs by prioritizing incoming work to ensure timely and effective resolution and following up with deadlines, drafts, reminders.
• Lead or significantly contribute to recurring or ad-hoc projects, including providing support or guidance to other staff.
• Assist with planning and conduct of events as needed.
• Perform general office management necessary for efficient operations. e.g. assisting with space issues, room reservation requests, technology needs, etc.
• Ensure timely processing and submission of travel reimbursements, online payments, purchase orders, and non-employee expense reimbursements.
• Locate and compile information to format and produce reports, graphs, tables, records, and other sources of information.
• Responsible for answering questions, providing guidance, and disseminating information.
• Interpret and communicate operating policies.
• Proactively identify and assist with the resolution of administrative problems.
• Maintain high-level knowledge of the informal and formal department goals, standards, policies, and procedures including familiarity with other departments in the school/division.
• Other duties as assigned.

In addition to the duties described above

• Provide administrative and program coordination support to four DSAI Program Managers responsible for signature programs, funded initiatives, workshops, committee and advisory board activities, and other institute priorities; assist with scheduling, agendas, materials, notes, action-item tracking, and follow-up.
• Coordinate logistics for DSAI programs and events, including room reservations, hybrid meeting support, travel arrangements, catering, procurement, vendor coordination, attendee communications, registration support, and expenditure tracking.
• Support administrative and financial tracking processes for DSAI-funded programs and initiatives, including proposal intake, award coordination, collaborator meetings, compliance documentation, expenditure tracking, budget-to-actual monitoring, burn-rate reporting, deliverable tracking, and maintenance of accurate program records.
• Prepare, organize, and maintain program materials, reports, presentations, web or communications content, spreadsheets, and shared project documentation used by Program Managers, institute leadership, faculty, and internal and external partners.
• Help strengthen standard operating procedures, shared calendars, tracking tools, and administrative workflows that support consistent service, timely communication, and effective coordination across DSAI programs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree.

• Four years of progressively responsible administrative experience, with experience working on special projects and assignments.

• Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond HS diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong organizational, written communication, calendar management, meeting coordination, data tracking, and customer-service skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines across several programs and stakeholders.
• Experience providing administrative or program support in higher education, academic research, nonprofit, or complex matrixed environments.
• Experience supporting program managers, faculty, committees, advisory boards, sponsored or internally funded projects, large meetings, workshops, or events.
• Familiarity with Johns Hopkins systems and processes, including SAP, Concur, procurement, P-Card, travel, room scheduling, and web or event communication tools.
• Comfort using AI-enabled productivity tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar tools to support drafting, organization, summarization, or workflow efficiency, consistent with university policy.

Technical Qualifications & Specialized Certifications

• Highly proficient with Microsoft Office programs including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Teams, Adobe Acrobat, and collaboration or project-tracking platforms such as Asana, SharePoint, or similar tools.

• .No specialized certification is required. Training or coursework in project coordination, event planning, research administration, business operations, process improvement, or office administration is preferred.

Technical Skills & Expected Level of Proficiency

• Calendar Management - Advanced
• Financial Administration - Advanced
• Interpersonal Skills - Advanced
• Meeting Coordination - Advanced
• Office Procedures - Advanced
• Oral and Written Communications - Advanced
• Organizational Skills - Advanced
• Report Writing - Intermediate

The core technical skills listed are most essential; additional technical skills may be required based on specific division or department needs.

On call or non-standard work hour requirements

• No regular on-call requirement is anticipated. Occasional evening, early morning, or non-standard hours may be required to support major DSAI events, advisory board or committee meetings, external partner meetings, program deadlines, or other time-sensitive institute priorities.

Classified Title: Administrative Specialist  
Role/Level/Range: ATP/03/PC  
Starting Salary Range: $55,145 - $96,760 Annually (Commensurate w/exp.) 
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: M-F, 37.5 hrs wkly 
FLSA Status: Exempt 
Location: Hybrid/Mount Washington Campus  
Department name: DSAI Institute   
Personnel area: Whiting School of Engineering