Project Support Specialist

MPR Associates•Alexandria, VA

About The Position

MPR Associates, Inc. (MPR), a thriving multi-discipline, specialty engineering services and consulting firm, is seeking a Project Support Specialist for MPR’s Alexandria, VA office. This is a unique, challenging, and rewarding career opportunity, working on some of the most important projects affecting our society. Founded in 1964, MPR has a wide and growing client base in the fields of power and energy, federal services, and health and life sciences. We work throughout the United States as well as internationally. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, we also have offices in East Lyme, Connecticut, Burlington, Massachusetts, and Salt Lake City, Utah . We hire the best and brightest, which results in a high-performance culture built on trust and respect, making MPR an exceptional place to work. This position provides project, technical, and administrative support to the company, to a group of engineers providing technical services to clients, and to clients. The ideal candidate is highly self-motivated to accomplish assigned tasks while simultaneously seeking out additional ways their individual skills can support the engineering organization. The candidate enjoys working in a dynamic environment and possesses strong skills in organization, task switching, written and verbal communication, and adapting to the various personalities and dynamics of a team. The candidate should be a flexible team player who is highly adaptable and solution oriented. This individual will also embrace technology and leverages it frequently to improve efficiency and outcomes. The ideal candidate will find technical, analytical, and engineering work interesting, and exhibit engagement in the industries in which MPR works.

Requirements

This position must meet Export Control compliance requirements, therefore a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R § 120.15 is required. “US Person” includes US Citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee.
College degree desired.
Four (4) years’ experience in a professional services, technical environment or similar fast-paced environment preferred.
High degree of proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) with advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word.
Intermediate proficiency in Adobe Acrobat Professional or similar PDF software.
Strong self-leadership, with the ability and motivation to identify areas where they can be of assistance and where process improvements can be made.
Strong time management and customer service skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Persistent, questioning attitude and the ability to accept that in others.
Attention to detail with a high degree of accuracy while working independently with minimum supervision.
Demonstrated capacity to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and quickly adjust to changing priorities and deadlines.
Outstanding organizational and interpersonal skills with the ability to interface with multiple levels of management.
Consistently and proactively interact with project teams to complete necessary work.
Ability to multi-task across teams of engineers and managers on various projects.
Ability to work collaboratively across functional teams.
Ability to follow both written and verbal instructions while taking ownership of the task at hand, asking for clarification, and communicating regularly.
Ability to accept and grow from constructive feedback.
Ability to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, Solution oriented with a goal of enabling our client’s success.
Flexible, motivated, resourceful, and organized in a multi-functional role.
Motivated to expand skills and knowledge, as well as tackle new problems and take on new responsibilities.
Solid proofreading skills.

Nice To Haves

Basic proficiency in Visio preferred.
Basic proficiency in Microsoft Project, P6, or similar scheduling software a plus.
Experience using AutoCAD, Python, and/or SharePoint a plus.
Experience using Photoshop or similar image manipulation program a plus.
Ability to leverage technology and software to effectively prepare and review complex reports.
Advanced scheduling and calendar management.
Ability to learn new software rapidly.

Responsibilities

Collaborating with project teams in the drafting and research of written technical deliverables (proposals and technical reports) as well as curating, reviewing, proofreading, and formatting correspondence, proposals, reports, emails, internal memos, meeting minutes, agendas, presentations, and other deliverables.
Formatting includes extensive work with advanced Word and Excel, including but not limited to templates, styles, macros, pivot tables, etc.
Supporting and coordinating activities across all levels of the organization, including corporate and project-specific monthly meetings, project administration and coordination, business materials, and yearly business planning.
Interfacing with clients to ensure smooth progression of projects.
Working closely with senior personnel regarding oversight of projects within the technical area. This includes tracking and reviewing project status, maintaining detailed records, and formatting any project-related data.
Archiving, managing, and entering data into MPR’s in-house opportunity and project management database.
Interfacing with MPR’s in-house electronic document management system.
Providing occasional reception coverage answering telephone calls, greeting visitors, directing calls to the appropriate person, and requests for information.
Working with peers as a team to accomplish large and small tasks requiring support beyond a single person.
Providing support for corporate business needs such as developing procedures, templates, forms, and other internal corporate documentation.
Basic administrative functions to include photocopying, scanning documents, shipping, maintaining schedules, coordinating travel, preparing expense reports, and other duties as assigned.
Some after-hours or overtime work likely required based on project and client needs.