Administrative Assistant 2

The City of Kent is seeking an experienced administrative professional to provide support to the city’s Finance department. This Administrative Assistant 2 position is a highly visible and primary point of contact for residents, employees, and others who have business with the City. The incumbent in this position will be responsible for performing a variety of specialized, technical and administrative duties.  

This is not an entry-level position; the ideal candidate will have at least two (2) years of increasingly responsible administrative experience, including at least one (1) year of experience performing administrative support for an administrator, division director/manager, a commission, council, or special group with extensive public contact. 

The ideal candidate will have the ability to work effectively with minimal supervision and to appropriately handle confidential information. Being skilled at managing frequent interruptions during daily work with a pleasant and customer-focused demeanor is also required. This position opens and closes the office each day (Monday- Friday, 8:00 am- 5:00 pm) which requires the successful candidate to be dependable, punctual and on-site. Currently, this position is not eligible for a hybrid work schedule.

This employment opportunity is covered by the AFSCME union.  An unranked eligibility list may be established at the conclusion of the selection process that would be in effect for up to 12 months.

**Please note that a cover letter and resume must be attached to your on-line application in order for your application to be considered complete.  You cannot add these items to your application after you have submitted it.  If you experience technical difficulties while filling out your application please call our office at (253) 856-5270 and we will do our best to assist you.**

This position is open until filled with a first review date of September 22.

For a listing of benefits, please use the following link: Employee Benefits | City of Kent (kentwa.gov)

Additional information may also be found in the AFSCME contract, which you can access at Human Resources | City of Kent (kentwa.gov)

SALARY:

$5,631.00-6,863.00/month, depending on qualifications?

GENERAL PURPOSE:

Under the direction of the Finance Director or designee, incumbent in this position is responsible for performing a variety of technical and administrative duties in support of the Finance Department by coordinating, implementing and maintaining office procedures and filing systems, preparing reports and correspondence, coordinating communication with other departments, outside agencies and the public, maintaining accurate financial records and implementing special projects.

Work is characterized by administrative and technical support to the various divisions within Finance requiring in depth understanding of the Finance department and its functions. Duties and responsibilities generally include, but are not limited to, processing and maintaining payroll records, processing purchase orders, monitoring division financial records; preparing and distributing meeting notices, agendas and minutes.

Work is performed under limited supervision. Supervisor sets the overall objectives and resources available. Incumbent and supervisor work together to develop the deadlines, projects, and work to be completed. Incumbent is responsible for the work, plans and carries out the assignment, resolves most conflicts that arise, coordinates work with others, and interprets policies on own initiative in terms of established objectives. Incumbent keeps supervisor informed of progress, potentially controversial matters, or far-reaching implications. Work is reviewed in terms of feasibility, compatibility with other work, or effectiveness of results.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Serve as confidential administrative assistant to the Finance Director to relieve the Director of clerical, technical and administrative duties; serve frequently as liaison between the Director, management and other City employees.

Perform customer service duties that include welcoming and assisting visitors to the department as well as assisting callers on the phone, diplomatically responding to citizen inquiries and/or complaints, including irate walk-ins and/or unusual or complicated requests, on behalf of the Director; monitor and follow-up on inquiries and/or complaints as assigned.

Conduct independent research and analysis concerning administrative assignments; exercise independent judgment and initiative; evaluate information and recommend alternative courses of action.

Monitor and control purchases and expenditures; prepare and process requisitions and purchase orders, bills, expenses, transfers and other forms and documents.

Collect, compile, and coordinate statistical data, financial data, staff input, and other information for inclusion into periodic and special reports; assemble and prepare special reports and agenda items as necessary and back-up materials; research and analyze information; and establish appropriate report formats.

Prepare a variety of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and other material including materials of a confidential nature; record and prepare minutes from a variety of meetings, as requested; and review and proof documents, records, and forms for accuracy, completeness, and conformance to applicable rules and regulations.

Confer with Director to receive assignments and engage with Director, managers and staff as needed for instructions and related information.

Maintain and update the Director’s calendar and assigned City staff’s calendars; arrange, prioritize, coordinate and schedule meetings and appointments, presentations/appearances, tours, conferences, staff meetings along with purchasing of longevity gifts; notify Director, and/or staff of meetings and events.

Process mail and e-mail including the Finance Department email box; open, sort, route and distribute incoming and outgoing mail; maintain discretion and confidentiality with the mail and e-mail information; denote important sections of mail for the attention of the Director; prepare preliminary responses to correspondence for approval; determine action to be taken; implement action as authorized.

Maintain a variety of confidential information, complex files and records; prepare and maintain payroll and personnel records as assigned.

Order, receive, store and distribute office supplies and forms; develop office forms and procedures as needed.

Assist with data entry as needed.

Assist with the Finance Department’s record retention and storage needs. This duty may include organization of records in accordance with current records retention requirements, the monitoring of destruction dates, and secure disposal of records as required by state statute.

Assist with coordinating and updating content on the Finance website.

Arrange travel itinerary, reservations, credit card use, and reimbursement of business expenses.

Attend meetings, seminars, conferences and training as appropriate, maintain a current understanding of City and department functions and programs; participate as a representative of the department on a variety of committees.

Provide assistance to special projects or other departments as assigned.

Actively support the vision, mission, values and goals of the department and the City.

PERIPHERAL DUTIES:

Perform related duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• Applicable local, state and federal laws, codes, regulations and ordinances

• Organizational structure, policies, procedures, objectives, functions and activities of municipal government

• Record keeping techniques

• Basic principles and practices of governmental budgeting, accounting and purchasing, including preparation, monitoring, transferring, and reporting

SKILLED IN:

• Effective use of interpersonal skills including tact, patience and courtesy

• Performing research and analysis

• Use of oral and written communication skills

• Correct usage of English grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary as it pertains to the job

• Proper use of telephone etiquette and techniques to properly assist a diverse assortment of inquiries and persons

• Effective use of modern office practices, procedures, and equipment including personal computers and related software such as word processing software and its graphic related functions, and spreadsheet programs

ABILITY TO:

• Provide difficult, complex and confidential administrative assistance to the Director and others as necessary.

• Assemble diverse and complex data/material and independently compose, proofread, and edit reports and general and complex business correspondence

• Understand and work within scope of authority to work independently with minimal supervision

• Exercise independent judgment  and work confidentially with discretion

• Assemble, prepare, monitor and maintain department budget and accounting, as required

• Maintain a variety of complex filing systems and records

• Plan and organize work to meet schedules and timelines

• Establish and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with others

• Read, comprehend, and explain rules, regulations, policies and procedures

• Type at an acceptable rate of speed

• Speak and effectively present information and respond to questions from small groups of volunteers, public groups, or employees

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide; compute rate, ratio, and percent; and to create and interpret graphs and charts

• Apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form

SKILLS FOR THE POSITION MAY BE GAINED THROUGH EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION, RELEVANT JOB EXPERIENCE or a COMBINATION, SUCH AS:

Education:   High school diploma, general education degree (GED), or equivalent, supplemented by some college level course work or vocational training in business, office management,  or a related field; and

Experience:  Two (2) years of increasingly responsible administrative support experience including at least one (1) year of experience performing administrative support for an administrator/director, a commission, council, or special group with extensive public contact.

LICENSES AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• None

MACHINES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED:

Typical business office machinery and equipment including, but not limited to, personal computer, including spreadsheet and word processing software, printers, multi-line telephone, fax machine, copy machine, and calculator. May also be required to operate a digital camera.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods of time; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; talk; and hear. The employee frequently is required to type on keyboard for extended periods of time; reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds with or without assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, distance, color, and peripheral vision; depth perception; and the ability to adjust focus.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Work is performed in an indoor office environment subjected to multiple interruptions by walk-in citizens, employees, telephone calls and interoffice activities. While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently comes into contact with elected officials, City management, employees, and the general public. Because of the nature of work, the incumbent may be required to deal with difficult and/or irate individuals, requiring the effective use of conflict management skills. Incumbent is required to maintain professional composure and demonstrate diplomacy, tact, patience and courtesy at all times. Incumbent may be required to work flexible work schedules including evenings, weekends, and varying schedules to accommodate various meeting and the workflow of the position. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.