Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

Protecting Washington State’s environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We have a culture that is invested in making a difference. If you want to join a team that is highly effective, collaborative, has leadership that embraces the value of people, Ecology is a good fit.
 
The Office of the Columbia River (OCR) is looking to fill an Administrative and Project Assistant to the Director of the Office of the Columbia River (Administrative Assistant 4) position. The position will be located in our Central Regional Office (CRO) in Union Gap, WA.

The Administrative and Project Assistant to the Director of the Office of the Columbia River position supports the mission of Ecology by serving as the confidential, administrative assistant to the Director, Office of the Columbia River (Office Director). The position exercises judgement, initiative, and discretion in performing higher-level administrative duties of a substantive nature for the Office Director. This position also provides support/guidance to OCR staff and administrative support staff.

Office of Columbia River (OCR) is looking for applicants who possess excellent people and customer service skills, the applicant must have the ability to quickly assess a situation and make a decision, and the ability to communicate with a diverse audience.

As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism and accountability. Maybe you’ve seen some of our recent stories on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.
 
To learn more about our agency, please visit our website at www.ecy.wa.gov.

Local efforts… Diverse people… Statewide impacts

• Provides administrative assistance for major projects being managed by the Office of the Columbia River and OCR Director such as: the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project, Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, Icicle Creek Workgroup, Walla Walla Partnership, Columbia River treaty, Columbia River Mainstem Off-channel Storage Study, Methow Valley Irrigation Management Program, and various Aquifer Storage and Recovery projects.
• Has responsibility delegated by OCR Director for the preparation of legal notices and certain SEPA documents such as MDNS’s, DNS’s, Notices of Availability, Notices of Adoption, and Addendums.
• Coordinates placement of legal notices and display ads in newspapers.
• As may be necessary, coordinates with CRO’s SEPA coordinator.
• Provides administrative assistance in support of OCR sponsored federal and state legislation and legislative tours and site visits in support of achieving OCR’s mission and objectives.
• Coordinates with legislators, legislative staffers, various watershed workgroup members or committees, Columbia River Policy Advisory Group (CRPAG) members, local government officials and tribal representatives in developing tour agendas, necessary logistical assistance and development and production of tour materials and handouts.
• Coordinates and assists in the development of reports and briefing materials necessary for meeting with state legislators, staffers and our congressional delegation and federal officials in Washington DC.
• Provides administrative and logistical support for YBIP workgroup meetings, YBIP executive committee meetings and CRPAG quarterly meetings.
• Secures meeting space for stakeholder and/or outreach meetings with sister state agencies facilities and/or outside facilities.
• Manages the OCR Director’s schedule using Microsoft Outlook and calls attention to meetings and deadlines.
• Provides weekly the upcoming week’s schedule with necessary materials and contact information and locations for scheduled out-of-office meetings.
• Arranges and manages OCR Director appointments, meetings, and conference calls via email and telephone, often with high level officials.
• Prepares meeting agenda, ensures that all necessary attendees are notified, assist with follow up, takes meeting notes as necessary, and prepares minutes.
• Screens OCR Director’s phone calls and visitors. Maintains OCR Director’s contact lists using Microsoft Outlook.
• Arranges OCR Director’s, and at times other OCR staffers, travel plans per agency policies.
• Reviews travel and expense vouchers to ensure accuracy before signature by OCR Director. Maintains operational continuity in the absence of OCR Director.
• Screens, prioritizes, and distributes OCR Director’s mail. Prepare correspondence for OCR Director’s signature.
• Proofreads and edits correspondence, memorandum and reports generated by OCR Director.
• Maintains files for OCR Director including those relating to confidential personnel issues.
• Prepares OCR specific documents and tracks executive correspondence.
• Acts as liaison between OCR Director and CRO and ERO Regional Director and CRO/ERO Water Resource Section Managers.
• Manages OCR cubicle and storage office space in coordination with CRO/ERO regional business administrators.
• Provides administrative support and assistance in coordination with OCR Director, management team and assistance for CRIT operations and CRIT budget bi-weekly meetings, annual or biennial strategic planning documents or reports, quarterly legislative contact report tracking and monitoring, out-of-state travel planning, safety planning and documentation with OCR CRO safety committee members, coordination with CRO Commute Trip Reduction efforts, and eTime implementation and compliance assistance.
• Works with OCR Director, OCR Operations Manager and OCR Technical and Policy Lead to provide OCR administrative organizational tracking and compliance status reports for achieving agency objectives for CORE Training and Ecology LEAN activities.

Required Qualifications:

A High School Diploma or equivalent and four (4) years of administrative or office managerial experience. 
  
Desired Qualifications:

Accountability: Accepts personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of the work. Can be relied upon to achieve results with little need for oversight.

• A cover letter describing how your experience, skills and abilities meet the required/desired qualifications of this position.
• A resume outlining your professional Administrative and Office Management experience.