Administrative Assistant - Social Services (Temporary, Full-Time)

The Corporation of The City of St. Thomas•St. Thomas, ON

7d•Onsite

About The Position

This non-union position, reporting to the Director of Social Services, provides senior-level administrative support to the Director and all management team members within the department. This position will interact with corporate leadership team members, the public and all various other levels of City staff. The Administrative Assistant will be a significant contributor to supporting the team in building a vibrant community that supports our vulnerable population while providing compassionate customer service. In this role, the Administrative Assistant will manage a high volume of confidential documents, communications, and related administrative processes, ensuring they are handled in a professional, consistent, and timely manner. Superior organizational skills with a focus on continuous improvement to enable a high-performance culture will be essential in this role. Responsibilities include preparing correspondence and information documents, scheduling and taking meeting minutes, including management and external committee groups, preparing payroll, coordinating administrative and support functions for the department including purchasing, budget and financial activities, and completing special projects as assigned.

Requirements

A minimum accredited 2-year College Diploma in Office Administration, Public Administration, Business Administration, Communication/Public Relations or a related discipline
Minimum 5- years’ experience in senior-level administrative support
Considerable experience in preparing and drafting standard and executive level correspondence and reports, editing the layout and formatting of complex reports, presentations, correspondence, charts and tables
Experience taking meeting minutes
Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.
Considerable knowledge of municipal operations that may include, but not limited to, council and committee proceedings and information requests.
Highly organized with a demonstrated ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
Exceptional communication skills both written and verbal.
Highly developed customer service and interpersonal skills to address public inquires and maintain effective working relationships with management, vendors, the general public and various other levels of City staff.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher) or related software.
Demonstrate knowledge of social media platforms for an organization.
Ability to manage and effectively respond to stressful and emergency situations.
Must possess a valid Class "G" Ontario Driver's Licence and access to reliable transportation.
Satisfactory Police Record Check.

Responsibilities

Provides senior-level confidential administrative support in relation to the Director’s priorities, documents, and projects.
Assists to organize the Director’s calendar, including coordinating registrations for conferences, travel arrangements and accommodations.
Schedules and attends bi-weekly department management meetings with the department’s leadership team, including preparing, managing, recording, and circulating supporting documents (ie. agendas, meeting minutes).
Maintains records and files specific to the Director, some of which are highly confidential, including employee relations matters, legal documents, and closed session reports.
Communicates with department’s leadership team and other departmental staff to help manage and track issues and tasks assigned by the Director.
Supports the Director with department specific projects such as preparing public facing reports, organizing/coordinating employee workshops, etc.
Monitors and maintains purchasing records, banking reconciliations, invoices and items requiring Director’s signature.
Assists the Director to request minor building repairs, maintenance and IT support, as required.
Acts as a liaison and point of contact for external and internal stakeholders when the Director is away.
Performs other related duties, responsibilities and functions as assigned by the Director.
Provides administrative support to the entire management team within the Social Services department.
Supports departmental leadership with the onboarding and offboarding of employees, including items related to human resources, IT, Property and parking. Sets up workspace and completes Dayforce orientation.
Coordinates arrangements for department special events (ex. team- building activities, retirement parties, staff lunches, holiday events, etc.) including preparing and sending invitations, collecting and recording RSVPs, making catering arrangements, ordering materials, etc. as well as providing day-of event support.
Provides support and technical guidance to other departmental administrative positions (ie. front desk, finance clerk, etc.) harmonizing administrative practices, developing administrative support guidance documents, etc.
Maintains departmental attendance and leave records, banked time tracking, and prepares accurate payroll submissions including employee status forms. Troubleshoots employee timesheet and payroll errors and problems.
Requests, receives and organizes bi-annual vacation requests from unionized staff for management review.
Issues monthly transit passes to clients, liaisons with Roads and Transportation department and maintains supporting financial documentation.
Performs other related duties, as assigned by the management team.
Arranges and attends partnership meetings with senior external stakeholders, including managing all external communications, RSVP lists, preparing the agenda and transcribing meeting minutes.
Monitors, records and distributes encampment cleanup requests to other department teams (ex. Street Outreach, By-law, Parks, CN Rail, etc.)
Schedules and attends Housing Stability Alliance committee with external stakeholders, including managing all external communications, membership inquiries, preparing the agenda, transcribing meeting minutes and circulating applicable supporting documents and information.
Acts as the support lead to the management team during emergency events. Duties include shopping/picking up supplies, arranging services and food, maintaining invoicing records and other duties as assigned.
Composes, formats, proofreads, edits or revises correspondence, reports (including Council reports), public information packages, spreadsheets, presentations, including application of accessibility standards (AODA) where applicable.
Participates in the development of communication strategies, prepares and coordinates communications material within the department for both staff and the public.
Creates and maintains content on the department’s social media platforms.
Requests updates for department’s content on the City’s web page.
Creates, designs, and distributes blast email notifications for clients of the department.
Prepares for approval and produces monthly staff calendars for distribution to department staff.
Completes registrations for staff training and conferences and arranges payment.
Forwards approved ergonomic requests to HR and orders all required items. Monitors and orders all departmental stationery and supplies including supplies for fax machines, photocopiers, and printers within approved budget guidelines, as required. Initiates maintenance requests and liaises with service contractors, including follow up.