Principal Administrative Coordinator

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory•Richland, WA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

This position provides comprehensive, high-level support to the Director of the Energy Innovation Sector and team in the Program Development Office (PDO) of the Energy & Environment Directorate (EED). The PDO team works to understand complex sponsor (e.g., Department of Energy) requirements and how those requirements impact PNNL’s mission objectives. With that understanding, they formulate strategy, and implementation plans to match PNNL’s unique capabilities with our sponsors’ mission needs. This valuable insight from our sponsors is used to inform and shape Lab internal investments and strategy. The Principal Administrative Coordinator provides administrative support to the Director and team in the PDO office in their research and program management activities and serves as the primary point of contact for activities and actions required to manage the Sector office, including visits, frequent travel, and a variety of engagements and review/approval actions. This position requires the ability to multi-task, prioritize, and organize work under tight deadlines and changing priorities. In addition, this position is part of a team of administrators responsible for coordinating all administrative support for the Program Development Office. The individual in this position will perform a variety of administrative and office support activities. Duties include but are not limited to managing schedules, email, and travel; planning and coordinating external visits; creating spreadsheets and presentations; and tracking actions. Additional responsibilities may include developing required documentation and responding to questions from internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

High school diploma/GED and 12 years of relevant experience in an administrative environment -OR-
AA degree or higher and 10 years of relevant experience in an administrative environment.
Experience in planning meetings and coordinating travel

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting a director-level or senior manager.
Advanced calendar management experience.
Manage day-to-day administrative processes associated with office and team coordination with little to no supervisory input.
Demonstrated ability to multi-task, prioritize and organize work under tight deadlines and changing priorities.
Ability to use good judgment to take initiative in facilitating programs, policies and procedures.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, especially Power Point and Word, internal software, and internal lab business systems.
Utilize data and applications to assimilate sector reports and information needs.
Ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and professionally with a diverse population, including high level managers and clients.
Extensive working knowledge of departmental and Lab policies, procedures and practices.
Acts as a liaison for his or her manager in the coordination of business activities such as responding to correspondence on behalf of the Director and being the “face” of the Sector.
Must possess the ability to recognize and adhere to diverse requirements, meet critical deadlines and work to resolve issues in a timely manner.
The ability to take initiative and work independently without constant supervision. This includes making decisions, responding to correspondences on behalf of the Director, and interacting with various levels of leadership both internally and externally.

Responsibilities

Serves as a strategic partner by anticipating organizational needs, proactively identifying opportunities for improvement, and taking initiative to drive actions that strengthen executive alignment, increase operational efficiency, and advance organizational goals.
Demonstrates the highest level of discretion and trusted judgment in stewarding sensitive and confidential information, ensuring absolute integrity in handling materials and decisions.
Managing tasks, action items and deadlines to ensure timely completion while staying responsive to rapidly evolving needs.
Arranging travel which often includes frequent in-travel disruptions, troubleshooting and coordination with the in-house travel representatives. Handles all aspects of the travel management process, including submission of travel requests, coordinating domestic and foreign travel arrangements, completing expense reports.
Assist with preparation and review of materials for meetings, presentations, reports, and other documents.
Assisting, planning and execution of hosting visitors, interviewees, onsite workshops, seminars and other related events.
Triaging Director’s email along with managing a complex calendar schedule.
Effectively partnering with the PDO administrative team to balance workloads across the Sectors.
Strategically partner to recommend process improvements and innovations for the Directorate or Sector.
Provide effective, executive-level communication within PNNL, including laboratory leadership, directorate colleagues, and external stakeholders.
Maintain effective working relationships with administrative counterparts across PNNL, and DOE sponsors, among other organizations, as appropriate.
Independently manages routine to complex business issues, exercising sound judgment, navigating ambiguity, and demonstrating strong follow‑through and attention to detail while advising, monitoring, and coordinating activities across the organization.