60 Temple Place
Boston, MA
United States
Description
Position Overview:
The Operations Specialist I is a core member of the Operations team, whose shared goal is to support the work of the agency and organize the physical space of the agency. To be successful in this role, a candidate must be comfortable working independently, prioritizing and multitasking activities, and gaining an understanding of the agency’s mission and work. Excellent customer service and communication skills are required as the role involves working with both internal staff and external constituents regularly. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who is interested in developing office-management and administrative professional skills in an intermediate-level role with room to grow.
About the Department:
The Operations Department is an integral part of the agency’s administration & finance team which includes Finance, Human Resources, and Legal. The work of this operational A & F team is to create and maintain the structures, systems, and tools that support the functioning and growth of the agency and provides the foundation to allow MAPC to effectively support its mission.
The Operations Department performs the administrative functions necessary to support the staff, keep the agency running, and to manage the physical space. Responsibilities of the Department include mail operations, purchasing, catering, coordination with the Digital team and Finance to provide digital tools for processing contracts and purchase requests as well as providing executive support to the Executive Director and the Deputy Director and project support to planning staff. The Operations Manager also provides support to the MAPC Officers and Executive Committee.
About MAPC:
MAPC is the Regional Planning Agency (RPA) serving the people who live and work in metropolitan Boston. Our mission is to promote smart growth and regional collaboration. We are guided by MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region, our regional policy plan for a more sustainable and equitable future, which was adopted in 2008. We are currently working on a successor regional plan, MetroCommon2050: Shaping the Region Together, which we expect to complete by 2020. MAPC’s staff includes approximately 100 full-time employees located in downtown Boston in a transit-accessible and bike-friendly office.
We encourage all our staff to develop new ideas to make MAPC’s planning and policy work more relevant and impactful, and to adapt to changing times. We strongly support the professional development of each and every staff person, believing their growth to be consistent with the best interests of MAPC and the region. This is an opportunity to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and innovative environment with professionals who are committed to building a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone who lives and works in Greater Boston. For more information about MAPC, MetroFuture, and MetroCommon, please visit www.mapc.org.
During the COVID emergency, almost all staff are working from home. MAPC is deeply committed to on-boarding new staff in ways that integrate them fully into our team of professionals, and maintaining close contact among existing staff, new staff, and external stakeholders.
Examples of Duties
Reception
- Provide support to the Operations Coordinator
- Greet all MAPC visitors to the 6th floor reception area, and make sure they are assisted in a prompt and professional manner.
- Handle telephone inquiries and direct calls to the proper staff member or department.
Office Operations
- Manage and maintain MAPC’s CRM database of contacts; assist staff in updating departmental contacts in CRM; prepare large mailings using this and other MAPC databases. Familiarity with CRM and Microsoft Outlook contacts helpful and strongly desired.
- Manage MAPC’s digital workflow for processing contracts and assist staff in getting contracts signed in an expeditious manner. Coordinate with Digital Services Manager on technical support to staff.
- Support Community Engagement Team in maintaining centralized meeting materials and storage area. Materials include banners, easels, staff and Council member name tags, etc.
- Provide administrative onboarding to new staff with on-the-job training of new employees and interns concerning office procedures and use of office equipment;
- Post MAPC meetings and events to MAPC website calendar and post meeting notices and agendas as required by the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.
- Assist Operations Manager in preparation for Council Meetings, Executive Committee Meetings, and Officers Meetings.
- Support external meetings by providing general event assistance; may involve travel to locations in Metro Boston
- Assist Operations Manager with inter-office moves.
- Assist Operations Coordinator as needed
- Other duties as assigned.
Agency Wide Support
- Assist with special projects for the HR Manager, General Counsel, and Operations Manager as required. Past examples include:
- Conducts recruiting support activities including posting jobs externally, placing jobs on online sites, and scheduling multi-person interviews.
- Provide research support to General Counsel as needed.
- Assist Operations Manager and General Counsel with records retention and publics records requests programs.
- Assist with cross department special projects as assigned by Deputy Director.
- Assist planning staff with miscellaneous administrative projects, including creation of surveys and short-term research tasks.
Administrative Support to Deputy Director
- Provide administrative support for the Deputy Director.
- Manage Outlook calendar, schedule appointments, meetings, and travel.
- Consult with the Deputy Director to set priorities, to resolve scheduling conflicts, and to ensure preparation for upcoming meetings and events.
- Prepare itineraries and processes travel expenses.
- Respond to requests for meetings from external parties in a timely manner.
- Maintain an orderly office environment, including organizing office files.
Typical Qualifications
Requirements:
Candidates must have either:
- Associate degree or
- Three years minimum of professional office experience in administration, operations or reception preferred.
The successful candidate will demonstrate most or all the following:
- Excellent customer service skills and strong oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to originate and complete assigned tasks independently, and to ask for help when needed.
- Ability to identify, streamline and make recommendations to improve policies, processes and procedures.
- Ability to work on multiple tasks, determine priorities among competing deadlines, and shift gears when last-minute requests arise.
- Excellent attention to detail and strong organization skills and extensive web-based calendar experience required.
- A passion for working in a mission-driven agency and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Preferred:
Knowledge of databases and customer relationship management (CRM) tools. Content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal or similar preferred. Experience formatting documents such as flyers, labels and reports helpful; ability to work in Adobe Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, etc.) a bonus.
Supplemental Information
Compensation and Benefits:
This is a full-time non-exempt position. MAPC offers excellent Massachusetts state employee benefits as well as a flexible, supportive, and family-friendly work environment and a commitment to continued professional development.
The workday is from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. The position will involve occasional early morning/evening meeting assistance. Hourly salary range $25.64 - $28.21 depending on qualifications.
Visit www.mapc.org/about-mapc/employment-opportunities for a full list of benefits and perks.
How to Apply:
Apply online at www.mapc.org/jobs. The position is open until filled. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume. Candidates selected to interview will be asked to submit three (3) references plus a sample of relevant writing or work product. Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the USA and a valid driver's license and/or the ability to arrange transportation to meetings in different parts of the region.
Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the USA and a valid driver's license and/or the ability to arrange transportation to meetings in different parts of the region. A Criminal Offenders Records Information (CORI) request must be completed if offered this position. A criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment but will be reviewed in relation to the position sought.
MAPC participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is the verification of employment eligibility.
MAPC is an EOE/AA Employer. We take pride in the diversity of our workforce and encourage all qualified person to apply.