Faculty Support Unit Supervisor (7374U), Berkeley Law - #84543

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We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, Principles of Community, and Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

Departmental Overview

The Faculty Support Unit (FSU) has as its mission to serve the administrative operations needs generated by the teaching, research, and public service activities of faculty members in residence.

The FSU is responsible for performing a broad range of administrative responsibilities which include: legal word processing; editing, research; special events coordination; course material compilation and preparation; initiate purchasing, payment, and reimbursement financial transactions; exam administration and proctoring; and training and development.

Position Summary

This Faculty Support Unit Supervisor oversees the day-to-day administrative management of Berkeley Law's Faculty Support Unit (FSU), ensuring administrative support for the entire faculty at the School of Law. The position supervises a large group of administrative staff in support of these activities and provides direct administrative support to members of the faculty assuring high quality and time sensitive support services to approximately 100+ faculty members and lecturers.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: 03/10/2026.

Responsibilities

STAFF SUPERVISION:

• Responsible for the employment, selection, training, development, performance management and evaluation, counseling, and discipline of assigned staff and student employees:
• Oversees the Faculty Support Unit (FSU) and supervises the work of faculty support staff and student employees in accordance with University of California policies and procedures.
• Develops metrics for assessing successful execution of job responsibilities and holds direct reports accountable for achieving goals.
• Establishes and maintains handbooks, manuals, onboarding guides, orientation materials, etc. that outline key policies and practices unique to the FSU for staff to reference.
• Monitors performance of staff members according to established monitoring standards.
• Conducts regular check-in meetings/conversations with direct reports and delivers performance reviews in accordance with campus policies.
• Develops and implements performance improvement plans, including execution of disciplinary actions, as needed; in consultation with the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer and Human Resources staff, recommends personnel-related actions.
• Trains, mentors and develops direct reports; develops professional development and related training to support the education of the team and enhance retention efforts; provides opportunities for individualized and team-wide professional development.
• Sets work schedules and project priorities.
• Consults with HR to address accommodations-related requests.
• Mediates disagreements among staff and faculty, and consults with the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer and the Director of Human Resources as needed to resolve issues.

FACULTY SUPPORT UNIT (FSU) MANAGEMENT:

• Oversees day-to-day management of FSU in the fast-paced and high-demand environment of a leading law school.
• Consults with faculty and staff to determine and coordinate support needs; arranges for back-up assistance during staff absences and peak periods; redistributes and delegates work projects among staff to assure equity in workloads while meeting client needs.
• Collaborates with other managers and administrators to establish and improve business processes and to deliver excellent results on critical cross-departmental projects.
• Coordinates and assigns the allocation of work to FSU with other managers for large projects (e.g. Career Development Office for clerkship processing, Student Services for final examination management, Appellate Advocacy Competitions to plan travel and reimbursement for student teams, HR to assist faculty with GSR hiring processes. etc.).
• May perform the full set of administrative operations duties the FSU team is responsible for when direct reports take leaves or intervention is otherwise required.

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT:

• Uses good judgment with limited guidance to prioritize tasks and direct routine operation of the FSU.
• Supervises and follows internal policies and procedures.
• Analyzes and interprets changes in campus policies and labor contracts to set internal business processes and best practices.
• Approves time cards and addresses issues with reporting.
• Works directly with faculty, vendors, Business Services offices, and campus buyers to set up and pay out service order contracts, each with unique terms.
• Partners closely with Business Services to meet fiscal close deadlines.
• Trains FSU staff on campus systems, such as BearBuy, BFS, CalTime, UCPath, etc. and provides troubleshooting assistance when necessary.
• Documents internal business processes to ensure consistent application across a large team and to provide up-to-date training.
• Provides direct administrative support and performs additional duties as needed.

PLANNING AND ANALYSIS

• Provides short-term and long-term budget planning and analysis for a budget of over $1M.
  Advocates for necessary resources by analyzing the impact of changing faculty headcount, support for additional programs, and shifting policy requirements on the overall workload and service levels of the FSU team.
  In consultation with the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, recommends and approves FSU budgetary expenditures.
  Reviews data to assess productivity and make recommendations for process improvements.
  Identifies key issues (such as seasonal staff shortages or changes in FSU:faculty ratios as a result of hiring) and make recommendations to address or avoid these.
  Meets regularly with the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer to discuss general unit issues, to identify problems in need of resolution, and to develop long-range strategic planning goals, as well as develop training opportunities across key areas of competency within the unit.

QUALITY CONTROL:

• Distributes and assigns work to FSU team members, and monitors the progress and quality of work in the unit.
• Researches and resolves issues and discrepancies.
• Reviews, processes, and approves transactions to ensure accuracy.
• Assesses, edits, and intervenes on specific projects or events to ensure the quality of the work produced is consistent meeting expectations and established standards.
• Responds to client-satisfaction issues and engages in collaborative problem-solving to reach resolution.
• Deploys a strong awareness of the fundamentals of research, event planning, legal education, etc. such as is required to understand the nature of the department's work and the unique needs to the clients it serves.
• Understands, interprets, communicates, and ensures adherence to complex policies.
• Identifies issues, trends, and challenges, and suggests solutions for greater efficiency and effectiveness of the FSU overall.
• Takes initiative to develop mechanisms to improve awareness of the FSU and maintain staff morale in an higher education environment.

Required Qualifications

• Solid knowledge of budgeting and expense tracking; human resources and risk management planning; accounting, payroll and timekeeping procedures.
• Excellent organizational skills to work on multiple projects with competing deadlines, establish goals and workload priorities, and meet project deadlines within budget and time constraints.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including active listening, customer service orientation, critical thinking, ability to multi-task effectively, persuasion / negotiation, mentoring, leadership/supervision, problem solving, operations analysis and quality control analysis.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively in a variety of environments.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Demonstrated analytical skills to evaluate issues, identify solutions and negotiate and/or advocate for resolution.
• Strong computer skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Suite, database applications, and videoconferencing platforms.
• Ability to learn new software systems and computer programs.
• Demonstrated skills and ability to effectively motivate, inspire, train and coach others to achieve exceptional results.
• Strong service orientation and excellent customer service skills to deliver quality results in a timely manner.
• Critical thinking skills to quickly evaluate complex issues and identify effective solutions.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities and manage the critical balance between supporting the needs of faculty and the resources a unit.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize daily activities effectively and resolve customer problems/concerns in a timely manner.
• Ability to work effectively with a variety of constituencies and to lead a large team possessing a broad range of skills and from a variety of backgrounds, toward a common goal.
• Ability to develop and implement policies and procedures to meet evolving needs and a continuous improvement of services.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and work effectively with individuals and groups from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment that promotes collaboration and mutual respect among all members of the UC Berkeley community and its stakeholders.
• Must demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to engage with and understand individuals from varied academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Direct leadership and/or supervisory experience.
• Bachelor's degree in related area and/or equivalent experience/training.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of and/or can quickly learn campus processes, protocols and procedures, preferably with a focus on budget, account and fund management, personnel management of labor contract(s), personnel policies, and rules and regulations.
• Familiarity or experience working with and/or can quickly learn campus systems (BearBuy, BFS, CalTime, UCPath, etc. such as to be able to use these tools effectively.
• Experience supervising a large team of 6 or more employees.
• Experience working or supervising in a unionized environment.

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $93,500.00 - $109,000.00.

• This is a full-time (40 hours/week), career position that is eligible for UC Benefits.
• This is an exempt monthly-paid position.

How to Apply

• To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Other Information

• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
• This position is eligible for up to 20% hybrid work. Exact arrangements are determined in partnership with your supervisor to meet role responsibilities and department needs, and are subject to change.

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Misconduct

SB 791 and AB 810 Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.