Computer Information Specialist

The Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation (OEIE) at Kansas State University seeks a team player to provide full-time technical expertise for a fast-paced and growing professional evaluation office. The ideal candidate is an excellent communicator, works well with diverse individuals, is passionate about technology, and is a life-long learner.

This position is an integral part of our growing OEIE technology team and primarily provides desktop software and hardware technical support in a Microsoft Windows PC environment to a staff of 30+. In addition to technical support, our technology team designs and develops web applications and specialized databases to meet the needs of local, state, and national clients. Depending on skills and experience, this position will work with other team members to plan, develop, test, and provide technical support for several of these systems. The successful candidate has the ability to efficiently troubleshoot both software and hardware issues and effectively communicate solutions to novices; experience configuring and maintaining desktops and laptops; learns and adapts to new systems quickly; and has strong problem solving skills. Specific qualifications and position responsibilities are outlined below.

OEIE is a growing office with opportunities for professional development. Since its inception, OEIE has provided more than 90,000 hours of technical assistance and capacity building services in evaluation and program development to various state and federal agencies, universities, foundations, and businesses. OEIE has conducted research and evaluation services for over 200 projects totaling $200 million sponsored by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity, Kansas Board of Regents, Kansas State Department of Education, and Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Health Foundation, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, to name a few. Additional details about funded projects and services can be found on the OEIE website at http://www.k-state.edu/oeie/.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field, or 4 - 8 years related coursework or employment experience in information technology
Excellent verbal, interpersonal, and written communication skills
Experience working with teams in a dynamic, professional environment
Experience configuring and providing technical support for desktop and laptop computers running Windows 7, Microsoft Office, and various related software applications
Experience troubleshooting and providing technical assistance and training for a variety of systems and devices such as smart phones, video conferencing equipment, projectors, printers, and digital recorders, to name a few
Experience that demonstrates proficiency with various types of applications or services such as Microsoft Office, Mozilla Thunderbird, Zimbra, Adobe Acrobat Professional, Microsoft Access, Adobe Photoshop, ArcGIS, SPSS, R, Filemaker Pro, Qualtrics
Experience that demonstrates a proficiency in solving technical problems quickly and learning and adapting to new systems

Preferred Qualifications:

Knowledge of sysprep and methods of deploying customized Windows OS images
Experience configuring and updating Windows Server 2008 running IIS, MySQL, and PHP
Expert knowledge of Microsoft Excel including building complex formulas and charts
Ability to build or modify complex Microsoft Access databases that utilize extensive Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code
Web development experience using any of the following technologies: PHP, Javascript, JQuery, Highcharts, AJAX
Database development using Microsoft Access or MySQL with an understanding of sound principles of normalized database construction
Experience creating geographic representations of data using ArcGIS

Core Job Responsibilities:

Provide friendly and responsive technical support both in person and via phone, email, and instant messaging (Skype)
Purchase, configure, and update desktop and laptop PC’s for entire office
Proactively assess future technology needs; plan and implement software and hardware updates
Create and manage user accounts and permission groups using the campus ADS
Maintain up-to-date inventory of hardware and software
Set up technology in meeting and presentation rooms
Move computers, monitors, battery backups, and other technology between offices as needed
Provide training and assistance for Microsoft Office applications, Adobe Acrobat, Mozilla Thunderbird, Mozilla Firefox, and others.
Update public-facing office website
Explore new and innovative uses of technology that may enhance our evaluation efforts
Test web applications and log bugs using internal tracking system
Clean and prepare data sets for import into databases and analysis using Microsoft Excel

Additional Responsibilities Dependent on Skill Level:

Build simple maps using ArcGIS
Maintain and develop Microsoft Access databases with extensive VBA code
Create queries to extract data from various databases for data analysis and reporting
Work with web developers to build online data management systems using PHP, MySQL, and libraries such as JQuery, Highcharts, PHPExcel, and others

Salary: Competitive salary commensurate with skills and experience.

Appointment Conditions: Contingent upon continued availability of funding and need for these services.

To apply:

Submit a cover letter addressing how your qualifications and skills relate to the position
Submit a resume or curriculum vita listing education, employment history, and other relevant professional information
Submit the names, phone number, and email address of three professional references
Unofficial transcript (if bachelor’s degree has been completed)

Email application material to: oeie@ksu.edu Subject Line: Computer Information Specialist

Mail to:

Craig Bourne, Executive Assistant
ATTN: Computer Information Specialist
Office of Educational Innovation & Evaluation
Kansas State University
2323 Anderson Avenue, Suite 220
Manhattan, KS 66502

Screening Applications: Screening of applications will begin on March 18^th and continues until position is filled.

For more information about our office and related projects, please visit our web site at: http://www.ksu.edu/oeie/.

Kansas State University is an equal opportunity employer and actively seeks diversity among its employees. Background check required.