People & Culture & Office Assistant

People & Culture and Office Assistant

Position Summary

The People & Culture and Office Assistant is an 18-month term-limited full-time position, expected to last through October 2026, with the possibility of extension based on business needs. Reporting to the Associate Director of People & Culture (ADPC), this role combines support for People & Culture maintaining employee records, supporting recruitment efforts, assisting with the onboarding process of new hires with providing cross-departmental administrative support in the organization and coordination of logistics within our office space on the Seattle Waterfront. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented, possess excellent communication skills, and be proactive and adept at multitasking in a fast-paced work environment.

About Friends of Waterfront Park

Friends of Waterfront Park (Friends) is a 501c3 non-profit. Through a public-private partnership with the City of Seattle, Friends is leading fundraising and programming, deepening public safety investments, and ensuring long-term stewardship of Waterfront Park now and for generations to come. The organization works closely with the City of Seattle, through Seattle Center, who provides park maintenance and public safety services. This model of a nonprofit managing and ensuring the success of a park is common across major U.S. cities, including Friends of the Highline and Brooklyn Bridge Parks Conservancy in New York and Friends of the Underline in Miami.

Over 15 years in the making, Waterfront Park project represents a grand community vision for reimagining Seattle’s waterfront in the footprint of the old viaduct, a 1950’s infrastructure; creating a new kind of civic and cultural space. Seattle is a city known for innovation and Waterfront Park represents that spirit – it is so much more than simply a park. Waterfront Park is creating 20-acres of green space, inviting locals and visitors to reconnect with the water, downtown, and each other. It will run from Belltown to Pioneer Square, and has a large urban footprint for programming, activation, and other park uses. Opening in 2025, Waterfront Park will serve as a fresh cultural anchor for downtown, offering free public programming co-curated with communities from across the region.

Friends’ vision goes far beyond the park’s 20 acres. Alongside the City of Seattle, we envision a common space that is truly safe and welcoming to everyone; a space that is centered in equity. Friends has an opportunity and an inherent responsibility to disrupt patterns of exclusion and serve as a model for public spaces in Seattle and around the country. We have already made progress by working to establish strong community ties and trust and delivering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community led programs at Pier 62, the first piece of the park to open to the public.

Land Acknowledgement

Waterfront Park is situated on the land of the Coast Salish peoples, who have resided here since time immemorial and continue to thrive. With respect and humility, we acknowledge the history of the waterfront, the dispossession of land from the Coast Salish people, and, most importantly, the strength and resilience of Native people and their culture through this history and to the present.

Equity Commitment

Friends recognizes and acknowledges historic and existing systemic racism embedded in our city. We are committed to becoming an anti-racist organization by prioritizing racial equity within the organization and in the public spaces we operate.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with and support the Associate Director of People & Culture.

• Administrative and Clerical
  • Revise, organize, set up SharePoint file system for People & Culture
  • Compile and track metrics (e.g., staff surveys, annual reflection process, professional development, community engagement, etc.)
  • Track and maintain Employee Handbook updates and distribute to staff.
  • Support benefits enrollment process; prepare new employee benefit files, update materials as needed and forward new/updated information to insurance broker.
  • Assist Associate Director of Accounting and Finance with payroll backup and accounts payable, as needed.
  • Distribute meeting agendas, take and disperse accurate meeting notes, as needed.
  • Track, triage and respond to hiring@waterfrontparkseattle.org email inbox.
  • Maintain the integrity of all HR issues, data, and employee information in a confidential manner.
• Recruitment
  • Support the needs of Friends’ staff, hiring panel members, and job applicants in an effective and professional manner.
  • Assist in posting positions in BambooHR applicant portal and relevant job boards.
  • Respond to applicants in BambooHR.
  • Schedule and arrange necessary logistics for interviews, such as room setup and printing candidate materials and feedback forms.
  • Order, monitor and record background checks, as necessary.
• Onboarding/Offboarding Staff
  • Track, delegate and maintain onboarding/offboarding tasks in BambooHR.
  • Proactively ensure new employees have equipment, supplies, Orca card, uniform, building keycard, first day info, door code and office information.
  • Welcome, provide office tours and conduct initial orientation for new employees.
  • Record and audit organizational assets assigned to new, current and outgoing employees.

Office Coordination

• Provide administrative support to ensure a highly functional, welcoming and collaborative working environment at Friends
• Assist with office logistics, maintenance, organization, FFE (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment).
• Order, track and update office inventory ensuring adequate stock of supplies, coordinating with vendors for supply procurement and maintain organized supply spaces.
• Track and update systems to ensure function of shared spaces, desk spaces, and meeting rooms.
• Maintain relationship and coordination with sub-landlord (Mithun), as well as building management, and maintenance/cleaning services.
• Create, publish, and maintain a logistical office guide/handbook.
• Coordinate tech projects with IT support services consultant, including; meeting room tech, inventory systems, etc.; troubleshoot and manage office tech including printers, polycom, owl, monitors, TV.
• Research and implement efficient shared organizational systems in collaboration with departmental teams.
• Maintain accounts, access, and usage of internal tech platforms including; Microsoft Suite, Ring Central, Orca, Asana, Bamboo, Zoom and LastPass.
• Enter invoices through Beanworks and reconcile monthly admin spending, our online accounts payable portal.
• Track, triage and respond to info@waterfrontparkseattle.org and office@waterfrontparkseattle.org email inboxes.
• Lead Fun Time Committee; manage and execute internal events.
• Maintain online staff information hub.

Collaboration, Values, and Culture

• Collaboration
  • Collaborate as a member of the Friends team, providing thought partnership and support as needed.
  • Work collaboratively with and learn from the entire organization, and with external partners, stakeholders, and community.
• Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI)
  • Contribute to an inclusive workplace culture and adhere to Friends’ Community Agreements.
  • Engage in regular conversations about race and equity through all-staff meetings, trainings.
  • Incorporate values of DEAI in all facets of this job and when collaborating across teams.
• Community
  • Incorporate the org-wide value/ethos of centering community throughout work (e.g., attend community events, seek out and listen to diverse communities and perspectives).
• Culture
  • Contribute to organizational culture by participating in team building activities to help build a fun, welcoming, and productive workplace.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least 1-2 year(s) of administrative experience.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office software applications; ability to pick up new software easily.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to multitask and prioritize work
• Attention to detail and problem-solving skills
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills and the ability to use good judgment in working independently, showing initiative, and responding to inquiries.
• Tact and professionalism when it comes to handling confidential information and addressing employee concerns
• Able to work productively with minimal supervision, as well as collaboratively in team settings
• Thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment where priorities can shift quickly
• An interest in propelling Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Inclusion, and anti-racism to the forefront of your work.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with accounting software.
• Experience with Asana, applicant portal and financial recordkeeping/expense reports and related software (Beanworks) a plus.
• Proficiency with Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams.
• Previous experience implementing new organizational software tools.
• Experience or exposure to HR-related tasks and duties a plus.
• Lived experience and cultural competency with underrepresented communities, including Black, Indigenous, Latine, disabled, and/or LGBTQ+ communities, and the ability to bring this lens to conversations about anti-racism, anti-oppression and embedding equity in all aspects of work.

Other Requirements

• This position is contingent on passing a criminal background check.

Compensation and Benefits

This is an 18-month term-limited full-time position through October 2026, with the possibility of extension based on business needs. The full salary range for this position is $67,000$74,000

Friends has created a compensation philosophy and salary framework to set compensation organization-wide. The final salary offer is dependent on how the candidate’s skills, abilities, and experience align with Friends’ salary framework: Level: Assistant II, Tiers 1-3.

Benefits include (but are not limited to): Paid time off, health and dental coverage for employees and dependents, defined contribution retirement plan with 3% match and ORCA regional transit pass (does not include Washington State Ferries).

Working Conditions

This role is based in Seattle, WA. Friends has office space located at Pier 56. The job requires significant on-site engagement in office and at Waterfront Park sites. Typical office hours are Monday – Friday, 9 – 5 pm.

• This position is an on-site role with a minimum of 80% of the work being in-person at Friends’ office. There may be flexibility for more remote work in the future.
• The office on Pier 56 is accessible via stairs or elevator. The office is on the second/top floor.
• The office building contains a parent’s room, wellness room, kitchen, and several meeting rooms. Restrooms have braille labels.
• Weekend and evening work required depending on season and events; staff flex their work schedule to accommodate while maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
• Friends follows King County Public Health guidelines regarding COVID-19.

The physical requirements of this role listed below are representative of those that may need to be met by an employee in this role:

• Operating a computer and other office equipment.
• Strong verbal and written communication capabilities – ability to interact with customers through phone, in-person and email communications.
• Ability to work in an open office format with a fluctuating noise level – Friends' office is an open floor plan and teams often meet in person to collaborate. Noise levels can be low to moderate. Music and ferry horns can often be heard from the office. However, noise cancelling headphones and other accommodations may be provided.
• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds; however, reasonable assistance with lifting or moving items can be provided.

How to Apply

Click the Apply link to submit your application. You will be asked to upload a resume and portfolio and answer the following questions as part of your application:

1. Do you understand this is an 18-month, term limited position expected to last through September 2026, with the possibility of extension based on business needs?
2. In one paragraph, please describe your administrative experience?
3. How do you organize yourself to be proficient?
4. How would you describe your journey to understand anti-racism and anti-oppression? And what does it currently mean for you to embed equity into your work?

Friends is committed to improving hiring practices to be more inclusive and anti-ableist. We have reviewed the job requirements and only include physical abilities when completely necessary. During the interview process, we email the panel questions ahead of time. We are also able to provide captioning and/or interpretation (e.g., ASL) if requested. If you need specific assistance and/or accommodation during the application or recruiting process, please let us know by emailing our People & Culture team at hiring@waterfrontparkseattle.org.  

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but priority will be given to applications received by Friday, March 28, 2025.