Career Opportunity: Center Operations Assistant

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage employs a staff of talented, motivated individuals with experience and interest in the nonprofit and/or arts and culture sectors. We are currently seeking candidates for the open, full-time position of Center Operations Assistant.

Welcoming each visitor to the Center and providing key logistical support is crucial to the Center. You'll ensure that the day-to-day operations of the Center proceed smoothly and efficiently. You must be comfortable quickly switching between duties, which include reception, operations, administration, facility maintenance/management and AV/IT responsibilities. You'll respond to callers, greet guests, accept deliveries, and work with Center staff in a polite, helpful, and professional manner. Smoothly coordinate Center daily operations including facilities management, mail service, reception, office supplies, equipment maintenance, purchasing and resource coordination. Support Associate Director for Administration and the Senior Program Associate.

Under the direction of the Associate Director of Administration and in close cooperation with the Senior Program Associate and staff from across the Center, you'll provide the following key support:

Reception: Answer all incoming calls to the main switchboard politely and pleasantly and direct calls to the appropriate person; answer incoming calls not answered directly by staff; take accurate messages and forward them as appropriate. Maintain sufficient knowledge of the procedures, programs and meetings held at the Center to properly route calls and answer basic questions accurately and thoughtfully. Greet visitors and inform staff of their arrival; direct visitors to telephones, restrooms, coat closet and meeting locations. Maintain an orderly and clean reception area, including video monitor operation. Restock publications in the reception area. Accept all deliveries, including food and equipment for on-site events. Inform staff to pick up packages from the front desk.

Facilities: Maintain/straighten all public areas of the office. Organize and keep records of all office and file cabinet keys. Maintain and organize the file room, work room, server room, and media/storage closets. Sort and distribute internal mail and/or collect, add postage to and bag external mail. Handle outgoing packages for FedEx, couriers, etc. Manage the Center postal accounts and provide assistance when needed. Load and unload the dishwashers daily. Straighten and clear kitchen counters in mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Schedule maintenance and clean appliances. Maintain par levels of kitchen and office supplies. Coordinate stocking and maintenance of kitchen and office areas with Meeting and Events Planner, preparing for regular use as well as for special events. Conduct a daily quality check of all meeting rooms to attend to housekeeping needs. Serve as main point of contact for all facilities and technical vendors and consultants including IT/AV, phone, mail, copiers, office building and maintenance, security, off-site storage and shredding, office and kitchen supplies, and keys. Troubleshoot all office equipment (copiers, printers, postage machine, etc.) and place service calls when necessary. Serve as backup contact with building staff for maintenance and facility needs.

Meetings & Events: Assist with planning logistics as needed. If needed, assist with room preparation including IT and AV needs. Meet as needed with the Associate Director for Administration and Meeting and Events Planner to facilitate preparations and plan accordingly for upcoming meetings. If needed, at the close of a meeting, work closely with Meeting and Events Planner and other staff to handle the breakdown of the room and to ensure that meeting space is ready for future gatherings.

Employee Relations: Keep staff contact information and Center phone extension list current. Serve as back-up support for the administrative needs of Center staff. Set up email accounts, phone extensions and key fobs for new hires. Update signage, and train new employees on facility policies, and on computer, phone, and other office equipment.

IT, A/V and Telecommunications: Serve as first point of contact for IT issues for desktop and laptop computers, plus mobile devices. Forward advanced issues to IT help desk. Maintain back-up systems and cross-training with the Associate Director for Administration as appropriate to assure smooth operations during peak periods and staff absences. Liaise with IT help desk re user and email accounts on the Center network. Take responsibility for researching and implementing any software and hardware upgrades, services, or repairs. Manage Center phone system and mobile devices. Assign new extensions and move extensions as necessary. Set up temporary phone accounts as needed for staff travel. For international travel, determine mobile devices' global connectivity. Provide instruction on devices as needed. Serve as first point of contact for AV issues. Take responsibility for researching and implementing any software and hardware upgrades, services, or repairs related to AV equipment. Set up and coordinate testing of IT and AV equipment for annual adjudication meetings. Manage requests for shared Center equipment including laptops, video and still cameras.

Other Employee/Core Services: Provide logistical support to all Center staff, answering questions about events, facilities and equipment. Schedule and run weekly meetings with Associate Director for Administration and Core staff to provide updates on key issues and needs. Work with Associate Director for Administration and Meeting and Event Planner to coordinate and prepare for special events. Collaborate with Associate Director for Administration to establish best practices and policies for day-to-day Center operation. Update Operations Assistant handbook to reflect newest facility and vendor information. Collect time cards bimonthly and deliver to The University of the Arts. Participate in special projects as assigned.

To be selected, you'll need an Associate's Degree or its equivalent, with at least 2-3 years of receptionist, administrative or clerical work experience (preferred). Familiarity with IT and AV systems and experience managing technology is a plus.

You must have strong organizational skills and an aptitude for administrative work. Polished oral (in person and on the telephone) and written communication skills, including appropriate use of grammar and accurate message-taking. The job requires effective interpersonal skills to successfully interact with a variety of people, including colleagues at the University of the Arts, Pew Charitable Trusts, the arts community, consultants, grant recipients, applicants, and the general public with diverse cultures and backgrounds. You must be skilled in analyzing information and situations to define the problem or objective, identify relevant factors, formulate logical and objective conclusions, and recognize alternatives and their implications. You must be skilled in complex calendaring, travel and event planning. You must have solid composition, proofreading and editing skills to ensure accuracy, grammatical correctness, style appropriateness, formatting consistency and overall completeness of documents and web content. And you must be familiar with non-profit and university administrative functions and with the nature of artistic endeavor.

You must have the ability to ascertain caller/visitor needs and expectations in a pleasant and respectful manner, with proper sense of urgency. You'll need the ability to understand the impact of your actions on the caller/visitor, and identify ways to accommodate them. You must be able to work independently and as a team-member. You'll need to prioritize multiple projects in a busy environment accurately, efficiently, and with a high level of attention to detail, balancing and satisfying competing deadlines and personalities, maintaining professionalism under pressure and in sensitive and difficult situations. Empathy for the needs of non-profit organizations and independent artists is required. You must have the ability to exercise a high level of discretion and confidentiality in interactions with both internal and external people concerning all work-related information, and with understanding of the Center's unique relationship to The Pew Charitable Trusts. The job requires an ability to maintain detailed records in computerized and paper record keeping and filing systems. You must be able to tolerate paperwork and respect administrative procedures while remaining flexible and resilient. And you must have the ability to know when to ask questions and when to take initiative. And you must be able to learn quickly and willingness to assume tasks as needed.

For complete requirements, visit www.uarts.edu/about/jobs.

TO APPLY: Interested, qualified applicants should submit letters of application and resumes to jobs@uarts.edu. Please ensure job title is in the Subject line.

The University of the Arts is an Equal Opportunity Employer.