Program Assistant - Washington State Ferries

State of Washington • King County - Seattle – Belltown, WA

13h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is seeking a Program Assistant to provide critical support to the Director and Quality, Health, Safety & Environment (QHSE) team within Washington State Ferries (WSF). This role is important for supporting safe and reliable ferry operations by ensuring efficient coordination of administrative functions, departmental communications, reporting, and office operations. The position helps maintain organized and effective daily operations that contribute to WSF’s mission of public service. The role supports the QHSE program and the ferry system during a significant transformation to decarbonize the system, guided by core values and strategic priorities.

Requirements

• Ability to manage a high-volume administrative workload in a professional office environment, including scheduling, correspondence, document processing, records management, and tracking tasks across multiple concurrent priorities.
• Skill in organizing workflows, setting priorities, and meeting established deadlines.
• Ability to produce clear, professional written communications including correspondence, reports, and other business documents.
• Skill communicating effectively — both orally and in writing — with a diverse range of employees, external organizations, and members of the public.
• Ability to use productivity software to support office operations, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Adobe Acrobat, to prepare documents, maintain records, manage information, and support team workflows.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment in handling sensitive information, applying discretion appropriately in situations involving personnel matters, organizational decisions, or other confidential content.
• Demonstrates trustworthiness and professional integrity.
• Ability to establish and sustain productive working relationships with colleagues, internal departments, public agencies, and external partners.
• Demonstrates professionalism, responsiveness, and a collaborative approach across diverse stakeholders.
• Actively demonstrates a commitment to learning and growth — seeks out feedback, adapts to changing priorities and organizational needs, and contributes to a culture of continuous improvement.
• Demonstrates a willingness to take action to meet the needs of others — anticipates needs, responds reliably, and approaches the support role with initiative and a focus on enabling the success of the team.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with the operational environment of a public agency, including awareness of administrative procedures, public records obligations, and the conventions of government or publicly accountable organizations.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support to the Director, including managing the departmental inbox, coordinating approvals, tracking deadlines, and maintaining confidentiality.
• Prepare and distribute correspondence, reports, presentations, and departmental communications.
• Track budgets, invoices, expenditures, and payments; coordinate issue resolution with Accounting.
• Serve as departmental timekeeper by reviewing timesheets, monitoring leave usage, ensuring payroll compliance, and resolving discrepancies.
• Coordinate meetings, events, travel arrangements, office operations, purchasing, inventory, and visitor access.
• Maintain departmental files, databases, records, website content, and vehicle and equipment documentation.
• Support personnel functions including onboarding, separations, interviews, service awards, and employee reimbursements.
• Conduct research, prepare reports and data summaries, respond to inquiries, and support department programs and records management.
• Uphold WSF’s strategic priorities (Service Excellence, Improved Communication, and Empowered People) and values (Serve, Grow, Trust, Respect, and Navigate), ensuring they are embedded in WSF’s culture through leadership actions.

Benefits

• Paid Leave – In addition to 12 paid holidays, full-time employees may earn up to 25 paid vacation days per year!
• Tuition Assistance – Permanent employees have several options for assistance with education expenses, including tuition reimbursement programs, government discounts at participating colleges throughout the state, and eligibility for federal student loan forgiveness.
• Plan For Your Future – WSDOT offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes a variety of healthcare options. Employees also have their choice of state retirement programs, and much more.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed