Business Support Specialist

Business Support Specialist

Location: Richland, WA
Company: Columbia Energy & Environmental Services
Salary: Competitive, based on experience

About Columbia Energy

Columbia Energy & Environmental Services, headquartered in Richland, WA, is a well-established small business with a strong track record of delivering comprehensive solutions in engineering, design, fabrication, instrumentation and controls, and other specialized services. With expertise in fixed-price design/build/test projects, we serve both federal and commercial clients, consistently delivering high-quality results through innovation and technical precision.

Our collaborative and experienced team is committed to providing practical, client-focused solutions tailored to address a wide range of challenges. Recently, we expanded our operations to Idaho Falls, ID, reflecting our ongoing growth and dedication to broadening our capabilities. We take pride in maintaining a strong reputation for quality and integrity while ensuring compliance with rigorous industry standards.

Why Join Columbia Energy?

At Columbia Energy, we foster a supportive and innovative environment where team members can thrive. As a growing small business with ambitious goals, we value initiative, teamwork, and a dedication to quality. This role offers the opportunity to work on impactful projects while advancing your career in a company that values precision, efficiency, and collaboration.

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly adaptable, detail-oriented, and organized professional to provide broad support across various business functions, including Human Resources, Accounting, Compliance, and General Business Operations. This role requires exceptional multitasking abilities, strong prioritization skills, and a keen eye for detail to ensure smooth coordination of tasks across multiple departments.

The ideal candidate is someone who thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment and is comfortable wearing multiple hats—shifting between HR, administrative, operational, and accounting tasks seamlessly. They must be able to track and manage multiple ongoing projects, proactively anticipate needs, and identify opportunities for process improvement while maintaining structure and organization in a dynamic work environment.

This role involves a mix of routine administrative tasks and higher-level responsibilities that require strategic thinking and problem-solving. Some tasks may be repetitive, process-driven, or detail-heavy, requiring patience and precision, while others may involve higher-level coordination, problem-solving, and direct interaction with leadership. The ability to approach both types of work with equal diligence and a proactive mindset is essential. Regardless of the nature of the task, this role plays a critical part in keeping operations running smoothly and ensuring efficiency across multiple areas of the business.

Key Responsibilities

Human Resources & Compliance Support

• Assist with employee-related processes such as benefits enrollment, HRIS updates, and record-keeping, ensuring accuracy and proper documentation at all times.
• Support the coordination of recruiting activities, including interview scheduling, applicant tracking, and communication with candidates to ensure a smooth hiring process.
• Help refine and manage onboarding, offboarding, and compliance documentation, ensuring consistency and adherence to company policies.
• Track and maintain employee training records, ensuring that compliance and certification requirements are met within specified timelines.
• Manage and coordinate reporting obligations to government agencies, ensuring all required documentation is accurately prepared and submitted on time.
• Assist in updating and refining company policies and procedures, ensuring their proper implementation and compliance across departments.
• Maintain meticulous records for HR-related functions, ensuring accessibility, clarity, and compliance with company standards.

Accounting & Administrative Support

• Prepare, submit, and reconcile firm fixed price and time & materials (T&M) invoices within Microsoft NAV, ensuring alignment with contractual obligations.
• Process accounts payable (AP) reporting, ensuring accurate tracking of outstanding balances and payments.
• Assist with business licensing, renewals, and compliance tracking, ensuring regulatory deadlines are met without disruption to operations.
• Support insurance-related processes, including renewals and any necessary revisions required by contracts.
• Manage financial tracking and reporting support tasks, ensuring data integrity and consistent documentation.
• Maintain structured financial and administrative records, ensuring clear and organized retrieval of key documents.

Operations & General Business Support

• Oversee and provide administrative support for general office functions, ensuring efficient daily operations.
• Assist in monitoring compliance with internal policies, external regulations, and industry standards, ensuring full alignment with business objectives.
• Ensure structure and organization in workflows, proactively identifying opportunities for process improvement and ensuring tasks are completed efficiently so that nothing falls through the cracks.
• Assist in managing DOT-related compliance records and ensuring all required documentation is properly maintained.
• Participate in developing and implementing organizational guidelines and procedures, ensuring their smooth integration into company workflows.
• Act as a cross-functional resource, supporting initiatives across various teams and serving as a point of contact for operational needs.

Essential Skills & Abilities

Exceptional Organizational Skills & Keen Attention to Detail

• Ability to juggle multiple priorities with precision, ensuring deadlines are met while maintaining a high standard of accuracy.
• Comfortable managing shifting priorities while keeping tasks structured, organized, and progressing efficiently.
• Strong ability to track and document processes, follow up on outstanding tasks, and ensure all details are accounted for to avoid last-minute surprises.
• Proactive in anticipating potential gaps, inefficiencies, or errors, taking corrective action before they escalate.
• Adept at developing and maintaining structured systems to improve efficiency, communication, and workflow across departments.
• Ability to adapt to new systems, tools, and technologies while keeping documentation and processes well-organized.
• High level of focus and precision, ensuring all work is completed thoroughly, accurately, and with a strong commitment to quality.

Multitasking & Wearing Multiple Hats with Ease

• Ability to transition seamlessly between administrative, HR, accounting, and operational tasks without losing track of priorities.
• Comfortable balancing daily responsibilities with unexpected needs, demonstrating flexibility and a problem-solving mindset.
• Capable of handling a diverse workload, ensuring that different tasks and projects are effectively managed and completed.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability, proactively following up on tasks and ensuring they are fully executed.
• Ability to stay composed under pressure, managing multiple deadlines while maintaining a high level of attention to detail.

Additional Qualifications

• Comfortable working with various systems and learning new software as needed.
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, with a strong ability to articulate information clearly.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating across different teams.
• Adaptable mindset with a willingness to take on new challenges and shifting responsibilities.

Salary : $22 - $30