Tag: career

Job of the week – Senior Purchasing Agent

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This week’s job of the week is a Senior Purchasing Agent (#600044) for the Department of Purchasing. This position is seeking an individual to use extensive knowledge and expertise to execute or negotiate complex, large dollar purchases that support multiple operations, as well as to use advanced analytics to evaluate spend and activity data and determine sourcing opportunities.

The responsibilities for this role include utilizing performance measurement tools, partnering with MSU legal and risk management offices, and developing and reviewing complex RFPs, among other duties. Other responsibilities for this role include negotiating supplier contracts, managing supplier relationships and evaluates proposals. The Senior Purchasing Agent will also develop and maintain awareness of changing commodity-related business trends in the market and their impact to the university.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a four-year college degree program in Business Administration with relevant coursework in marketing, business law, finance, public relations and computer science; five to eight years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in sales, purchasing/buying and accounting; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Job of the week – Training Program Developer

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This week’s job of the week is a Training Program Developer (#600097)  for the Associate Provost for Academic Services, specifically for the Student Information Systems (SIS) Modernization Project. This position is seeking an individual to consult with the Office of the Registrar senior leaders, managers and staff on instructional needs for technology training, as well as designing instructional development classes, seminars, and workshops. Other responsibilities for this role include producing courseware including manuals, quick reference guides, FAQs, PowerPoint presentations and web-based materials.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a four-year college degree program in Educational Systems development, instructional Technology Systems, Instructional Science or a related educational programs development area; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work in the design, development and presentation or instructional programs using software or tools related to the educational programs being conducted; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Job of the week – Chief of Staff

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This week’s job of the week is a Chief of Staff (#598922) for the College of Education. This position is seeking an individual who will be responsible for financial, human resources, and technology operations for the College of Education.

The responsibilities for this role include assisting in directing and implementing policies, procedures, and programs of the human resource function for academic and non-academic employees. Other responsibilities for this role include managing external and internal financial data requests, working with colleagues in other academic colleges and administrative offices across the university and supervising facilities and classroom managers. The Chief of Staff will report to the Dean of the College of Education.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by a four-year college degree program in Education, Business Administration, Accounting, Management or related field; five to eight related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in financial management and analysis, personnel management, and computer systems use and development; effective interpersonal skills, as well as experience with supervising professional and support staff; experience working with faculty required; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Job of the week – Business Operations Manager

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This week’s job of the week is a Business Operations Manager (#595096) for the Center for Regional Food Systems in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This position is seeking an individual to manage daily operations, financial and personnel procedures, processes and management activities of the center.

The responsibilities for this role include setting up new operational systems, supporting the director in the annual review process and supporting operational procedures. Other responsibilities for this role include maintaining systems to track award income and calculating and preparing cost distributions.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge acquired by completing a four year college degree program in a business-related field or in a field which corresponds to the particular department of employment; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in-office procedures and administration, or in performing responsible related to the financial and operational activities of the employing unit; experience in a supervisory role; experience with word processing, database, spreadsheet, presentation software; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Are You Ready to Lead?

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This post was written by Jennie Yelvington, Sr. HR Professional for Organization and Professional Development.

Are you interested in moving into a formal leadership role, but not sure how to get there? The first step is to examine whether you have and are exhibiting the types of skills necessary to be successful in the role. That assessment can help to inform your development plan, prepare you for more responsibility, and highlight your capacity to others.

The following behaviors will help you demonstrate leadership ability no matter your current role:

  1. Identify your goals, discuss with your supervisor, and actively work toward them. Leaders need to be continually learning and developing themselves to maintain self-awareness and deal effectively with change and complexity.
  2. Take on stretch assignments. Look for opportunities to lead projects or initiatives, serve on committees, suggest improvements, and provide value added service.
  3. Learn about the university and how it functions. Leaders need to consider how issues impact not only their unit, but also their department, college, and the university. Familiarize yourself with issues impacting higher education, attend events that allow you to hear other leaders speak, and network broadly to better understand the landscape. While it is normal to think about how a situation impacts you personally, leaders place a priority on what best suits the mission, goals, and values of the organization.
  4. Strengthen your “people” skills. Effective leaders know how to engage and motivate their team, work collaboratively with their peers, and influence the leaders above them. Being empathic, listening for understanding, communicating effectively, and handling difficult conversations are baseline skills that every leader needs.
  5. Be a problem solver. Rather than complaining about issues you see (or ignoring them), develop and share ideas for addressing them. Ask good questions and get input from others who are involved and impacted as you attempt to identify possible solutions. Even if your ideas aren’t implemented, you build your capacity to solve problems and demonstrate that you are capable and proactive.
  6. Understand your biases and demonstrate inclusion. It is easy to always turn to our “go to” people who think like we do, but that isn’t generally the best approach. We all have biases, but once we understand them we can consciously work to include others who might offer valuable, different perspectives.
  7. Model professionalism. Dress in appropriate attire for the role you would like to secure, handle problems and disappointments with grace and maturity, move quickly from venting to sound action, keep up on skills necessary for your role, avoid engaging in gossip and redirect others who do, consistently follow through on commitments, be respectful of the others’ time and opinions, be actively supportive and helpful to your colleagues and leaders.

Talk with your supervisor to get their perspective on how you are doing in the above areas. HR Organization and Professional Development offers several instructor-led courses that can help you strengthen capacity in these areas. Find all current courses on the HR website and consider taking the following courses:

  • Honing Your Emotional Intelligence
  • Communicating and Influencing Up
  • Essentials of Project Management
  • Process Mapping and Analysis
  • Crucial Conversations
  • Crucial Accountability
  • Sustainable High Performance
  • Thriving Through Change
  • From Distracted to Productive
  • Everything DiSC: Behavior Styles at Work

In addition to instructor-led courses, current staff and faculty have access to elevateU, which offers free access to eBooks, videos, and online self-paced courses to help build your leadership skills. Learn more about elevateU on the HR website and try these leadership-focused learning opportunities through elevateU:

For more career advice, read this interview with Sharon Butler, Associate Vice President of Human Resources. Butler shares lessons she’s learned about becoming a great leader and, more specifically, addresses how women can get ahead in the workplace.