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.

About Friends of Waterfront Seattle

Friends of Waterfront Seattle (Friends) is a 501c3 non-profit. Through a public-private partnership with the City of Seattle, Friends is leading operations, fundraising, programming, public safety investments, and long-term stewardship of Waterfront Park now and for generations to come. 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. 

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. 

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. 

The Role 

Reporting to the President and CEO, Friends is looking for an experienced Executive Assistant to perform a wide range of administrative duties, including executive support, project management, and Board relations and coordination. This role requires an organized, detail-oriented, multitasker who can handle many diverse projects at once and meet tight deadlines.

Responsibilities 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Center and embed the Friends’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) values and goals into every aspect of data systems management.
• Contribute to an inclusive workplace culture; adhere to and help evolve Friends’ Community Agreements.
• Propel a culture of inclusion while collaborating cross departmentally within Friends.
• Work with the philanthropy team to incorporate Community-Centric Fundraising Principles into fundraising efforts, recognizing that this will take time and continue to evolve.
• Engage in regular conversations about race and equity through all-staff meetings and trainings.
• Identify and address barriers to employment with Friends for historically marginalized communities 

Executive Support

• Assist in facilitating open communication and support an efficient, agile work environment for the organization’s President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer.
• Provide high-level administrative support to the President & CEO including, but not limited to, handling internal/external scheduling requests and meeting arrangements, preparing materials as assigned, and managing meetings.
• Attend Senior Leadership meetings 
• Manage travel and conference planning/coordination across the organization, including expense reporting needs.
• Triage all incoming meeting requests and liaise with members of the senior leadership team to evaluate time management decisions on behalf of the President & CEO.
• Proactively manage organization-wide, Board and committee meetings, and senior leadership team calendar with the utmost attention to accuracy and coordinate advance planning.
• Schedule and coordinate meetings involving the President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer including logistics planning, distribution of meeting materials, creation of proposed agendas, note/ minute taking, and communicate outcomes, decisions, and actions to all relevant stakeholders as per instructions.
• Prepare the President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer for internal and external appearances and speaking engagements, including managing the timeline of support needed from others organizing or reviewing briefing documents, agendas, emails, memos, presentations, and reports. Ensure that all corresponding office files are maintained.
• Provide other operational and administrative support as assigned.

Board Relations and Support

• Under the direction of the President & CEO, manage Board relations and, where appropriate, bring other team members in to support Board meetings and Board committee meetings, including meeting/event planning, note taking, reports, hospitality, and implementation. Specific tasks will be assigned and reviewed periodically among the President & CEO, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Philanthropy Officer.
• Support and oversee on-boarding of new Board members.
• Facilitate annual Board conflict of interest disclosure process. 

Event & Project Management

• Lead, manage, and collaborate on recurring events, meetings and special events for the organization. This includes arranging venues, catering, event staffing and audio/visual needs; drafting supporting agendas, emails, and memos; assisting with briefings, presentations, and surveys/evaluations; and coordinating and planning events from start to finish according to requirements, target audience, and objectives. 
• Manage and support projects for the President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer; other program support as assigned. This includes writing reports, issuing RFPs and tracking deliverables 
• In partnership with the President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer, create and manage the project timeline for fulfilling objectives related to the organization’s strategic framework, park opening workplans, and future strategic plan.
• Manage event and project-related materials including, but not limited to: timelines, project plans and budgets; proactively anticipate and manage project issues and risks as needed.
• Act as the liaison/point of contact for projects and communicate status updates to project participants and stakeholders.
• Coordinate complex project and stakeholder meetings related to organizational initiatives, including venue arrangements, scheduling, agenda creation, materials coordination, action items follow up, task assignments, and meeting facilitation. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Minimum of five years of progressively complex administrative experience, advanced project management, event planning, communications, or equivalent experience required.
• Bachelor’s degree or other relevant equivalent educational attainment or certification preferred or equivalent experience 
• A commitment to incorporating the practices and ethos of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) in all facets of your work 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint) and online meeting tools, such as Zoom and Teams 
• Exceptional writing skills and comfortability with writing reports 
• Interest in and ability to build relationships on behalf of Friends 
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to support the needs of leadership to carry out the initiatives of the organization 
• Advanced project management skills and comfortability with managing multiple ongoing projects 
• Ability to handle sensitive information in a confidential manner 
• Must have the ability to work independently, be resourceful, and take initiative in an agile environment.
• Must exhibit excellent dependability, judgement and flexibility in dealing with changing priorities.
• An understanding of Board governance.

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 
• Experience with Beanworks or other expense report software 
• Salesforce experience 
• Nonprofit experience 
• Experience with project management tools (e.g., Asana) 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS 

This is a full-time, exempt position with a salary range of $77,400 to $92,880. Benefits include employer paid medical, dental, life, and vision insurance, paid time off, WA PFML and additional supplement, ORCA card, and a 3% retirement account match. 

Working Conditions 

• This position is a hybrid role with at least 60% of the work being in-person at our office on the waterfront. The hybrid nature of this position, and the required days in person are subject to change based on the needs of the organization. 
• While typical office hours are Monday-Friday, 9-5, Friends is an event-based, seasonal organization. During event season (roughly May-September), many employees work a higher percentage of their time in-person. Friends has a dedicated onsite team and during the event season, office employees are invited to assist onsite employees for events at the Waterfront. 
• Exempt employees are asked to work a flexible schedule as determined by volume of work; however, the organization works hard to ensure proper work-life balance and to prevent burnout. 
• Friends follows King County Public Health guidelines regarding COVID-19.

About the office space:

• Our office is on the second floor. There is elevator access at the front entrance.
• Most separate rooms and offices have braille labels.
• The office building contains a parent’s room, a wellness room, a kitchen, as well as several quiet meeting rooms.

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. 
• Ability to work in an open office format with a fluctuating noise level – Friends' office is located on Pier 56 on the waterfront. Music and ferry horns can often be heard from the office. However, noise cancelling headphones and other accommodations are provided. Noise levels are low to moderate in the office.
• Occasionally lifting up to 20 pounds; however, assistance with lifting or moving items can be provided. 

How To Apply 

Please upload a cover letter that answers the following: 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 dei@waterfrontparkseattle.org.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.