Disability Support Specialist / Office Specialist 2

POSITION SUMMARY:

Date application must be received for priority consideration by: October 8, 2026

Anticipated Appointment Begin Date: October 26, 2026

Closing Date or if blank, Open Until Filled:

Job Family Group: Support Staff

Division/Department: Academic and Student Affairs/Disability Resources/UCAM

Compensation Range (commensurate with experience) SR 17, Steps 1-3, $19.36-$20.98 hour / $3,355-$3,636 monthly

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Appointment Basis: 10-month (July and August off)

Time Type: Full-time

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Renewable/Non-renewable/Grants/Limited Duration: Renewable

This position must possess and maintain a current, valid Driver License: No

This position is designated as a critical, security-sensitive or safety-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a

Criminal Background Check: Yes

Lead Work/Supervisory Responsibilities: No

Work Location Type: On-campus

Work Hours: M-F (8:00a - 5:00p) Hours are subject to change with notice.

Worker Status: Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANT:

• Each applicant is required to provide (as attachments to the online application) the following supplemental documents: (1) a letter providing some detail of the applicant's qualifications and interest in the position; and (2) current resume/CV. - PLEASE NOTE - during the application process, you will be prompted to attach these documents in the area titled "Resume." Please either combine ALL documents into ONE attachment, OR upload each item separately in this section. Failure to upload ALL of the required documents may disqualify application from consideration.
• For inquiries and additional information, please contact Human Resource Services via email at hrs@sou.edu or by phone at (541)552-8553.
• To view SOU's very generous benefits and pension programs available to eligible positions, please visit https://inside.sou.edu/assets/hrs/Benefits/Benefit_Flyer/2024_Prospective_Candidate_Benefit_Overview_012024.pdf
• Our benefits package is an important complement to the offered salary and our Total Compensation Calculator, https://inside.sou.edu/hrs/comp-calc.html, demonstrates our value and commitment to our employees.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Disability Resources office collaborates with the university community to increase awareness, remove barriers, and promote an inclusive environment for students with disabilities.

The Disability Support Specialist will provide administrative support for all aspects of exam and classroom support, including exam accommodation services, coordination of lecture note-taking services, collaboration with Facilities Maintenance and Planning to place accessible classroom furniture for individual students, and assist with representing the department during registration and orientation and preview days. The position draws on a skill set that comprises database operations, nuanced interpersonal communication, policy implementation, student development, and ability to provide effective consumer service and support in a fast-paced environment with occasional high stress.

This position has been identified by Federal Law (Jeanne Clery Act) as a Campus Security Authority (CSA), with significant student and campus responsibilities. CSA 's are obligated to report crimes reported to them which occurred on campus, in public areas bordering campus and in certain non-campus buildings owned or controlled (leased) by the University.

Minimum Requirements

• Two years of general clerical experience. One year of which included typing, word processing, or other experience generating documents; OR
• An Associate's degree in Office Occupations or Office Technology; OR
• Graduation from a private school of business with a Certificate in Office Occupations or Office Technology and one year of general clerical experience.

College courses in Office Occupations or Office Technology will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in human service, social sciences, communication, education, or related field.
• Experience with student services in a post-secondary setting.
• Experience in the provision of testing accommodations and its associated technology.
• Knowledge of the applicable policies and procedures governing areas related to the responsibilities of the job.
• Demonstrated experience with disability accommodation administration databases, such as Accessible Information Management

Essential Functions

Duties - The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be all-inclusive or restrictive:

(50%) Duties Include

• Administration of accommodated exams for Southern Oregon University at the Ashland campus, and for distance education students. Uses independent judgment and action in explaining testing procedures to students and faculty, serving as liaison between them as needed, and organizing and scheduling testing times and dates. Serves as proctor for exams and maintains test security and integrity. Ensures availability of any required assistive technology for accommodated exams. Trains, schedules, and monitors readers, scribes, or proctors as needed for accommodated exams.

(25%) Duties Include

• Answers inquiries from students, faculty, staff, and the public regarding Disability Resources and campus departments and programs. Schedules appointments for appropriate Disability Resources staff. Routes inquiries to appropriate personnel or departments. Handles check-out and check-in of accommodation-related equipment with students.

(10%) Duties Include

• Assists students in following procedures necessary to gain accommodations, including learning how to use the accommodation database. Uses judgment in determining when student concerns are urgent and require immediate escalation to other staff.

(15%) Duties Include

• Coordinates the administration of: notetaking accommodations via the designated platform; flexibility accommodation tracking and communication; implementation of seating and room accommodations as requested by students, in cooperation with facilities. Assists with maintenance of Disability Resources website. Maintains confidential records of student accommodations. Supervises and directs student workers, ensuring adequate break/ lunch coverage and overseeing front office operations.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated customer service experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist.
• Expressed ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, under pressure of deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and research skills; demonstrated ability to gather, evaluate, and to develop well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement

strategies for preventing/resolving problems.

• Great ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information. Must

be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy.

• Takes initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines.
• Excellent computer skills and proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, online systems, social media platforms, Internet as well as online calendaring and email.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
• Willingness to and work effectively in a heavily bureaucratic environment which requires regular interaction with a number of levels within the organization and multiple outside agencies.
• Working knowledge or ability to quickly learn, university infrastructure, policies, and procedures.
• Demonstrated skills in an institutional/educational environment utilizing a customer-oriented and service-centered attitude.

Physical Demands

• Normal office activities such as sitting/standing at a desk, using a computer, answering phones, and communicating in person both in writing and via phone with others.
• Ability to visit classrooms

Special Conditions

• Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development.
• Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
• Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
• This position classification has been defined as non-exempt and is subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• The person holding this position is considered a mandatory reporter under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

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SOU is an equal access AA/EOE committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Southern Oregon University will provide, if requested, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of accommodation in order to provide access to the application, interviewing, and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on this application. If, however, you require a reasonable accommodation in the application and/or interview process due to disability, requests must be made in a timely manner to Human Resources.

Diversity Statement:

Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity, our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity, we strengthen and enrich our role as learners, educators, and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity, to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.

SOU Land Acknowledgement

We want to take this moment to acknowledge that Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, the discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together - who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return, they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (www.ctsi.nsn.us) are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.

Notice to Prospective Employees

Section 485 of the Higher Education Act, and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the "Clery Act"), require that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOU's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on the use, possession, and sale of drugs/alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.

An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR) can be accessed at the following link: https://cps.sou.edu/clery-act-annual-security-report/. A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy, please visit the Office of the General Counsel located in Churchill Hall, 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland, Oregon 97520. For more information, call 541-552-7095, or email clerycoordinator@sou.edu.