ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (Contract Compliance Division)

POSITION OVERVIEW

Applications Accepted From: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED
Division: Contract Compliance
Reporting Location: 611 Walker Street, 7th Floor
Workdays & Hours: Monday – Friday; 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. *Subject to Change*

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES / ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
The Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) is committed to creating a competitive and diverse business environment in the City of Houston by promoting the growth and success of small businesses, with special emphasis on historically underserved groups, by ensuring their meaningful participation in the government procurement process. OBO's objective is to significantly increase the number, capacity, and success of businesses in Houston. OBO also provides business assistance to start-up companies and helps businesses navigate services that support growth and sustainability. Additionally, the department coordinates educational, legal and financial resources, as well as facilitates certification of Minority, Woman-Owned, Small, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MWSDBE) and historically underutilized firms.

This role falls under OBO’s Contract Compliance Division. The Contract Compliance Division is charged with monitoring and enforcing City of Houston ordinances related to MWSDBE participation, auditing certified payrolls submitted by contractors, and monitoring whether the contractors are performing the work as required (commercially useful function). These functions are carried out using project site visits, desk audits, field audits and formal audits.

OBO is seeking an Administrative Assistant for its Contract Compliance Division. The successful candidate’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following tasks:

• Providing administrative support to the Division Manager and team
• Monitoring City Council contract awards and create new or amended electronic and physical contract files for Construction, Professional Services, Goods & Services projects
• Writing and editing letters, documents, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other correspondence
• Performing initial verification of MWSDBE company certification status for listed subcontractors on projects
• Creating and sending correspondence to contractors throughout the life of each contract
• Processing contract wage underpayment penalty payments
• Creating weekly, monthly and ad hoc divisional activity reports utilizing Excel and a contract compliance management database
• Routinely fielding and addressing customer inquiries, including serving as the subject matter expert for support services on OBO’s contract compliance and labor standards monitoring systems as well as any related databases
• Serving as a key point of contact for City departments for general information and project-specific details
• Archiving contract files of closed Construction, Professional Services, Goods & Services projects in accordance with City policies.
• Performing special projects, as needed, and other position related duties as assigned.
• Purchasing and tracking purchases pursuant to City purchasing requirements.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Requires a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Liberal Arts, or a related field.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
One year of administrative experience is required.

Professional administrative experience may be substituted for the above education requirement on a year-for-year basis.

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
None

PREFERENCES

Preferences shall also be given to those applicants with the following:

• Written and oral fluency in Spanish.
• Track record of working in a professional environment.
• Effective time management and organization skills, with an ability to multitask.
• Considerable skill in oral and written communications with the ability to analyze complex information succinctly for varying audiences.
• Ability to gather and synthesize information for reporting purposes.
• Good judgment and an ability to make recommendations to superiors.
• Ability to work independently within established guidelines.
• Multi-tasker with the ability to prioritize and quickly adapt to a fast-paced and changing environment while meeting strict deadlines.
• Detail-oriented.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including relationship building and “roll-up the sleeves” type of collaboration within a diverse, cross-functional team.
• Resourceful and action-orientated, with experience getting things done and overcoming obstacles.
• Strong computer skills, with an ability to be trained to use new programs and systems.

GENERAL INFORMATION