Administrative Assistant – Park Experience

Administrative Assistant – Park Experience

Position Summary

The Administrative Assistant for Park Experience is a full-time role reporting to the Director of Park Experience that will promote a work culture and supports timely, clear communication and coordination to ensure operational efficiency for the department. This position involves a variety of tasks, including administrative, clerical, and organizational responsibilities that provide direct support to the Director, Events Sales Manager and Park Experience team. The successful 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, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in San Francisco, and Friends of the Underline in Miami.

Nearly 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, the mountains, 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.

Position Responsibilities

Communication & Correspondence

• Support Park Experience team with ongoing internal communications needs on behalf of the department to the organization and interdepartmental communications.
• Serve as a contact for callers and public inquiries.
• Respond to requests for information and complaints; interpret and explain guidelines, procedures, and so on in response to inquiries and complaints; research and gather information to provide accurate answers and information; refer technical issues to appropriate staff.
• Draft and proofread emails, memos, and other documents.
• Handle incoming and outgoing mail and packages.

Meeting Coordination

• Coordinate calendar for Director and schedule appointments for Director and Events Sales Manager.
• Schedule and coordinate team meetings.
• Prepare meeting agendas, take and distribute accurate meeting notes.
• Arrange necessary logistics for meetings, such as room setup and catering.

Event Rentals & Vending Support

• Assist Event Sales Manager in scheduling customer meetings.
• In coordination with Event Sales Manager and Park Experience team, produce internal event production schedules, floorplans, and source event supplies.
• Prepare, send and process event rental and vending invoices.
• Follow up on invoices submitted to ensure prompt and timely payment.

Record Keeping and Other Support

• Input and update data in Salesforce and spreadsheets.
• Maintain accurate and organized records for easy retrieval including: documentation of and authorization for expenses; project file requirements; contacts and correspondence. Follow established filing, inventory and record-keeping systems with a high degree of accuracy.
• Generate reports as needed.
• Support creation of SOPs, MOAs, and other evergreen Park Experience documents to establish ongoing institutional standards.
• Reconcile Director’s and personal monthly spending through Beanworks, the online expense portal.
• Coordinate ordering and receipt of departmental supplies and equipment at direction of Park Experience team.
• Maintain and organize stock of staff uniforms, track inventory, and order new uniforms as needed.
• Assist in signage coordination.

Collaboration, Values, and Culture

• Collaboration
  • Collaborate as a member of the Park Experience 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.
• Strong communication skills and coordination, including emailing and calendar management
• Comfortability with data entry and using databases/CRMs
• 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
• 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

• 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.
• Strong collaboration and problem-solving abilities
• Experience with Salesforce or other CRMs, Asana, Microsoft Suite (Excel, Teams, SharePoint)
• Experience with customer service.
• Experience with financial recordkeeping/expense reports and related software (Beanworks) a plus.

Other Requirements

• This position is contingent on passing a criminal background check

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time exempt position with a salary range of $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.

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, in Waterfront Park or in community.
• 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 customer 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.
• Ability to travel the length of the park, stand for long periods of time and interact with park visitors; reasonable accommodation can be provided.

How to Apply

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

1. In one paragraph, please describe your administrative experience?
2. How do you organize yourself to be proficient?
3. 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, January 31, 2025.

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.