Public Affairs and Communications Assistant

Housing Opportunity Com•Silver Spring, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC) was established in 1974 to better respond to the County’s need for affordable housing. HOC is authorized to acquire, own, lease, and operate housing; to provide for the construction or renovation of housing; obtain financial assistance from any public or private source to assist its housing activities; and arrange for social services, resident services, and daycare. This is a professional providing confidential administrative/secretarial support work for the Public Affairs and Communications Division under the direct supervision of the Vice President (VP) of Public Affairs and Communication. An employee in this class must have extensive experience in office operations and be able to handle a variety of different situations and/or tasks ranging from non-standard to routine. This position independently plans, carries out and performs secretarial/clerical tasks in support of the VP. This position has full responsibility to assure that work quality, processes, etc. conform to standard operating procedures. Guidelines and procedures are available and generally applicable; however, work in this class requires extensive knowledge of the organization and operations of a complicated and busy work environment as well as experience to handle assignments not covered by established procedures. Assigned duties require that the employee be able to resolve difficult problems and situations through the collecting, examining, and analyzing information, and subsequent appropriate action. The work performed in this position has a substantial impact on the workflow of the Division and the Directors in terms of accuracy, coordination and implementation of the directives of the office. Personal contacts include many diverse stakeholders including HOC leaders and staff, HOC Commissioners, Government officials and their staff, outside agencies, business organizations and community at large. These contracts are generally for the purpose of receiving and exchanging information/suggestions, often of a critically sensitive nature, facilitating actions that may affect agency-wide programs, coordinating information and schedules, setting up meetings and communicating information. The work environment is in the normal office setting. Work is sedentary in nature. Production typing may be required. Knowledge of a variety of automated software systems may be helpful.

Requirements

At least four years (4) of secretarial/clerical experience in an office environment
Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Business Administration, Communication or related fiel
An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted.
Extensive knowledge of office management principles and procedures
Extensive knowledge of large and complex filing systems
Skill in operating personal computer and peripheral equipment
Working knowledge of MS Office Suite
Familiarity with Google (G-Suite) environment for email, file storage, form creation, spreadsheet developments, etc
Ability to compose concise, accurate correspondence
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Good interpersonal skills with people with varied backgrounds
Ability to exhibit discretion and sound judgment when dealing with confidential matters

Responsibilities

Plan, initiate, and carry to completion executive level secretarial/administrative duties
Operate personal computer and peripheral equipment to produce correspondence, expense reports, charts, and other materials.
Maintains a supply cabinet with adequate stock.
Sort and route all incoming correspondence to include letters and telephone calls
Schedule meetings and appointments for the VP (and staff) as needed
Attend team, supervisory and all staff meetings
Assist in the preparation of the Division’s budget submissions, as well as budget and PO Tracking
Assist the VP in preparing meeting agendas and taking notes during meetings.
Maintain meeting calendars to include scheduling appropriate date/time, ensuring notice and agenda formation, room reservation and setup, meal orders, and resolving meeting conflicts
Install new and modify existing divisional procedures to ensure most efficient use of time, labor and accurate output; assemble and summarize information from files
Proof incoming and outgoing correspondence for VP’s signatures
Develop and compose letters, memorandums, special reports, forms, presentations, templates, etc
Coordinate preparation of Commission packet items and other Commission reports in preparation for Commission meetings, workshops and committee meetings
Assist in the preparation and coordination of special functions such as luncheons, events, etc
Attend support staff function meetings and events.
Serve as Division’s intranet admin, working to ensure all content is up to date.
Provide full committee support to the Administrative and Regulatory Committee including scheduling meetings, develop packets, taking notes etc