Montgomery County Government

About the Position

The salary range above represents this position’s earning potential. The anticipated hiring range for this position will be $76,742 to $110,000, based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

WHO WE ARE

Montgomery County Office of Human Resources (OHR) is committed to building a talented and skilled workforce; enhancing the employee experience; and assuring service excellence for County residents. OHR recruits and selects, administers benefits, manages performance, promotes, and delivers professional development, health, and wellness programming to 10,000 employees. OHR is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and values diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and cultures. OHR encourages BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

OHR is seeking an experienced administrative professional to serve as Assistant to the Director. The Assistant to the Director will be responsible for direct administrative and operational support to the OHR Director, and management and coordination of customer service and executive assistance to the Director’s Office Cluster.

What You'll Be Doing

The Assistant to the Director will:

• Handle highly sensitive and confidential tasks and collaborate with others to research and prepare responses to constituent complaints, grievances, and other matters.
• Coordinate the OHR Director’s scheduling, outreach, and communications needs, assuring seamless logistics for meetings and events within the department and involving the OHR Director while working around conflicting schedules and priorities.
• Address inquiries from the public, agencies of government and legislative bodies, researching and preparing materials in response to complaints, grievances.
• Plan, coordinate and prioritize meetings, and assist with agenda setting.
• Plan, coordinate and prioritize meetings, ensuring timely and efficient communication with all parties; prepare and distribute meeting agendas, documents, and other materials as needed.
• Maintain accurate and organized records, files, and documentation.
• Collaborate with OHR leaders and other administrative professionals to streamline processes and improve efficiency.
• Assist in the organization and execution of departmental events, programs and activities.
• Serve as the Department’s human resource liaison, process personnel transactions and support onboarding activities for new employees in OHR.
• Maintain and reconcile the Director’s Office P-card.
• Research and assist in problem-solving by gathering information and providing support.
• To be a successful Executive Administrative Specialist, you must:
• Have demonstrable, successful experience managing the operations of a busy department/office and supporting a senior official.
• Possess strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Have ability to prioritize tasks effectively and manage multiple, often competing, responsibilities concurrently.
• Exhibit excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to safeguard confidential information and to handle sensitive issues with discretion and professionalism.
• Have ability to communicate clearly and concisely with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Pay meticulous attention to detail in all tasks, ensuring accuracy and precision.
• Be resourceful in finding information and solving problems independently.
• Possess proficiency in relevant software, including Microsoft Office Suite.
• Have ability to adapt, troubleshoot, and use problem-solving skills, independent of direct supervision, to create solutions.

Additional Information:

This position requires the ability to attend meetings or perform work at locations outside the office.

The Office of Human Resources offers a hybrid work environment that allows for some teleworking opportunities.

For information on benefits and our total rewards policy Check out our competitive benefits here!

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree.

Experience: Three (3) years of progressive professional experience providing high-level administrative support, specifically within the fields of Human Resources administration, executive support, or business/research analysis.

Equivalency: An equivalent combination of experience and education may be substituted.

Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

The applications of those individuals meeting the minimum qualifications will be reviewed to determine the extent, relevancy of training, and experience in the following areas. Be sure to include applicable experience in your resume.

• Experience providing executive level administrative support including managing complex and constantly changing calendars; planning, preparing and obtaining materials for meetings; and considerable knowledge of general Government operations, procedures, and policies.
• Experience managing time-sensitive correspondence for a large department or business including providing excellent writing, editing, formatting, and proofreading skills, scrutinizing documents composed by other staff for procedural and grammatical accuracy; and organizing and maintaining official records and files, including confidential material.
• Experience serving as liaison between a Director, Division Chief, or Manager and key staff, other government employees, private organizations, elected officials, and the public; and serving as a point-of-contact for the Director involving department staff, County managers and other government employees at all levels, private organizations, elected officials, and the public; communicating tactfully and ensuring discretion and confidentiality.
• Advanced skill in Microsoft products and applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and SharePoint.
• Experience in purchasing, reimbursements, filing records, tracking data, and ensuring confidentiality and accuracy of administrative tasks.
• Experience preparing reports, executive-level communications and materials, including emails, memos, press releases, and letters.
• Experience coordinating meetings, events, and travel logistics while working around conflicting schedules and priorities.

Preference for interviews will be given to qualified candidates with experience in the following areas. Be sure to include applicable experience in your resume.

• Organizing and Planning
• Research and Data Collection
• Decision Making/Problem Solving
• Customer Service
• Executive Level Administrative Support
• Ability to communicate professionally in writing and orally, free of typos and grammatical errors.
• Ability to work independently and within a team environment.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at Hiring@montgomerycountymd.gov. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.

Leave Benefits

Our generous leave package starts with non-MLS permanent and term employees earning 15 days of sick leave and 15 days of annual leave in their first year, as well as up to three additional personal days each calendar year. Positions in MLS earn 35 days of paid time off each year. In addition, we offer all employees 10 paid holidays. Our leave policies adhere to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, and we provide six weeks of paid parental leave for new parents.

Retirement Benefits

All permanent and term positions are eligible for robust retirement plans. Public safety positions are eligible for a defined benefit pension plan in which they are vested after only five years. Employees in non-public safety positions can participate in retirement plans that contribute up to 12 percent of their annual salary. All employees can also participate in a supplemental retirement plan, the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, to contribute even more to their retirement goals.

Tuition Assistance & Student Loan Forgiveness

Montgomery County employees are eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Participants who meet all requirements may qualify for forgiveness on the remaining balance on their Direct Loans after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time in a qualifying public service position. To learn more about PSLF, please visit the Student Loan Repayment Benefits page. Our tuition assistance program allows you to receive up to $2,130 annually in tuition assistance to help you achieve a degree that supports your career path.

Free Mass Transit Benefit

County employees are entitled to use the RideOn Bus service for free with a valid County-employee ID. This benefit can be used any time of the day or evening, including weekends. We also offer a pre-tax flexible spending account to reduce the cost of other mass-transit options such as MARC trains and Metro.

Reduced Child and Health Care Costs

Working for Montgomery County also entitles permanent and term employees to participate in healthcare and childcare Flexible Spending Accounts. These plans allow eligible employees to save on a pretax basis for healthcare and dependent care costs incurred during the plan year.

Employee Wellbeing

We deeply care about your holistic wellness. Our award-winning wellness program, LiveWell, will support you in improving and maintaining your physical, mental, financial, social, and intellectual well-being.

Learn more about our wonderful benefits available to you once you join our team. Montgomery County Benefits

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