EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT (Guthrie Agricultural Center, Guthrie, WV)

Job Title:  Executive Assistant

Division:  Executive

Headquarters:  Guthrie Agricultural Center, Charleston, WV

Reports To:  Commissioner of Agriculture

Supervisory

Responsibility:  None

FLSA Status:  Non-Exempt

Nature of Work:

The Executive Assistant serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external matters pertaining to the Office of the Commissioner and/or Senior Management and must be able to work under pressure to handle a wide variety of activities including sensitive or confidential matters with professionalism and discretion.

Examples of Work:

• Exercise sound judgement in a variety of situations to perform a variety of highly responsible, confidential, and complex secretarial and administrative duties for the Office of the Commissioner and/or Senior Management.
• Act as a point of contact for the Office of the Commissioner and/or Senior Management and delegate or resolve issues as needed.
• Organize and coordinate executive outreach and external relations efforts.
• Balance multiple priorities to work independently on projects, from conception to completion; oversee special projects.
• Demonstrate initiative and critical thinking to represent the Commissioner and/or Senior Management on assignments.
• Coordinate event calendars and prepare travel arrangements including hotel reservations, airfare, and meeting registrations.
• Develop and maintain databases for various documents, reports, spreadsheets, presentations, and publications.
• Purchase supplies and equipment as needed.
• Schedule conferences and meetings, contact individuals to participate, assure a convenient time for all those involved or arrange time changes convenient to all participants; arrange meeting facilities.
• Represent the Commissioner or member of Senior Management in internal and external meetings to convey information or take minutes, transcribe, and determine appropriate distribution.
• Develop and present data and information to be used in budgetary planning, decision making, and resource allocation.
• Draft, type, and edit correspondence as needed.
• Create and maintain filings systems to facilitate retrieval of essential material.
• Prepare confidential personnel documents and communications under the discretion of the Commissioner and/or Senior Management.
• Provide daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.
• Other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions:

Office environment, working extended hours as needed; sitting, walking, driving, and lifting up to 25 pounds.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Expert knowledge of modern office procedures, practices, and equipment.
• Expert knowledge of Department rules, regulations, and procedures.
• Expert skills in writing communications and administrative reports that are clear, concise, logical, and grammatically correct.
• Expert organizational skills to independently establish priorities and carry out multiple assignments in a timely manner.
• Expert attention to detail in all work products.
• Seasoned professional in handling sensitive situations with the utmost discretion.
• Seasoned professional to work independently, under pressure to handle highly sensitive, confidential information to carry out the responsibilities of the position.
• Proficient in retrieving and utilizing information from multiple sources to complete assignments.
• Proficient in multiple computer applications including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, to design databases; develop spreadsheets to track, retrieve, and compile data; and produce graphs, charts, and presentation materials.
• Proactive in taking the initiative to assemble and analyze information; determine the appropriate response to certain issues; or determine when to refer complex problems to others.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:

Graduation from an accredited college or university with an Associate’s degree in Administrative / Secretarial Science.

Experience:

Ten years of progressively complex, full-time paid administrative experience. At least five years of experience training and/or overseeing the work of lower-level administrative support staff.

Substitutions:

Bachelor’s degree may be substituted for up to four (4) years of experience.

Licenses/ Certifications: