Bennington College invites applications for a highly organized and student-centric administrative assistant to join a dynamic and fast-paced Counseling and Psychological Services team. The Administrative Assistant of Health and Psychological services is responsible for supporting all administrative activities within the Offices of Psychological Services and Health Services.  In addition to providing general administrative support to the Directors of Psychological Services and Health Services, the Assistant also supports the work of all staff members within these offices to ensure effective and efficient coordination of duties and operation of these departmental services.   

The position works full-time during the academic term (28 weeks/year) and offers a comprehensive (pro-rated) benefits package.

Key Responsibilities 

1. Assist in the coordination of all operational and administrative activities of the Psychological and Health Services Offices. 

2. For Health Services: Meet and greet patients, schedule appointments, schedule and organize meetings, and departmental activities.  Provide daily overview of days’ activities and schedule. Prepare appropriate materials to support the office's scheduling of meetings and patient visits.  Establish and maintain patient charts as required.

3. For Psychological Services: Schedule intakes into available therapists’ schedules.  If the Administrative Assistant is concerned that there is a crisis, s/he will review the protocol in place. If s/he determines that there is a crisis, contact the on-call staff member. If not, the Administrative Assistant will place the student in the next available slot.

4. For Health and Psychological Services: Prepare documentation for processing of student insurance claims; liaising with contracted insurance billing agency and adjusting internal procedures as needed for efficient processing.  Rectify discrepancies in claims processing, and assist students and their families with claims' processing.  

5. Receive and answer telephone calls, determine priority of call and as appropriate, take accurate messages and/or respond to routine inquiries.

6. Receive and handle incoming departmental mail; time and date stamp each item, determine the level of priority of the mail, and route it to the appropriate staff for handling.

7. Accept and respond to routine inquiries in a timely, professional manner.  Determine nature/urgency of request and facilitate the appropriate response.  Take direction and initiate actions to ensure effective and efficient work.

8. Draft/type general correspondence, memos, tables, graphs, statistics, and related documents.  Proofread copy for spelling, grammar and layout, making appropriate changes.  Responsible for the accuracy and clarity of final copy.

9. Manage effective office filing system.  Maintain records and organize filing and archive system to facilitate the expeditious retrieval of information.  Adhere to all Federal and State regulations regarding the privacy and handling of health information.

10. Maintain and monitor office supplies, office equipment and related materials.

11. Act as a liaison with other departments and outside agencies.  Promote a positive and congenial atmosphere and working relationship with students, employees, supervisors and other individuals.

12. As needed, coordinate, train and/or guide the work of interns, volunteers, and/or temporary personnel.

13. Use proper judgment to ensure efficiency of assigned duties on a daily basis and recommend improvements in work efficiency.

14. Perform other special projects or duties as required to support the work of the Health Services and Psychological Services.

Bennington serves a diverse student population inclusive of members of ethnically/racially minoritized, international, LGBTQIA+, and disability communities as well as diverse gender identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and political beliefs. Our staff and faculty also reflect diverse and intersecting backgrounds and identities. All employees are expected to be respectful and responsive to these differences in the service of building community that promotes student and employee success and community cohesiveness. Each individual (faculty, staff and students) will be accountable for upholding these values. The College’s approach to pluralism and inclusivity—both as fields of inquiry and practice—is to prioritize flexible thought, and to invite the examination of access, value, power, and privilege through its institutional policies and areas of study. We encourage applicants from diverse realms of interest, backgrounds, experience, and accomplishment to apply.

Qualifications

• Minimum education of high school graduate or GED equivalent; degree preferred.

• Administrative experience and knowledge with a minimum of 1-3 years of general administrative experience.  Experience in a healthcare setting with some knowledge of insurance/billing practices is essential. 

• Proficient in use of Microsoft Office Suite (Word and Excel required), Gmail/Google docs and calendars.

• Must be able to work with limited direction, handle multiple tasks and produce accurate and timely reports.  Must have the ability to pay attention to detail.

• Must have excellent communication skills, and appreciate the need for confidentiality. 

This position requires successful completion and acceptable results of a background check.

The College