Administrative Aide - County Council Staff

Howard County
Conveniently located in the heart of central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, Howard County offers the charm of a historic past mixed with the excitement of a cosmopolitan community.

Howard County Government
Howard County Government is a leader in innovation, best practices and sustainability. It is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live and work in the country. In 2024, Howard County Government received a record-breaking 63 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) – the most awards in the state of Maryland, and the fifth highest in the nation, as compared to more than 3000 counties. NACo Achievement Awards are the premier national honor to recognize innovative and transformative programs that provide new services for county residents, improve existing programs, upgrade working conditions, and enhance citizen participation and public policy making.

What are we looking for?
We are looking for outstanding individuals to join our team and contribute to excellence in Howard County operations.

What you'll like most about working at Howard County Government:

• We are committed to workplace excellence in every area of County government.
• We have a highly talented, diverse, and inclusive workplace. Your input will not only be heard, but it will be encouraged!
• We offer competitive compensation and great benefits including medical, retirement, and wellness programs.
• As a member of the Howard County Government team, you'll be helping drive our culture and directly impact what makes us an amazing place to work.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Provides administrative support for a member of the County Council and/or Council professional staff and supports general office and recordkeeping functions of the County Council and its legislative function.
• Sets up, monitors, records, and provides staff assistance for Council sessions, hearings, and meetings, including night meetings.
• Point person for streaming meetings, from the Council Control Room, for the Council and various other departments, upon request, for live multi-camera productions.
• Prepares, updates and maintains video graphics for streamed productions.
• Provides technical assistance and is a liaison between internal IT department and external contractor for production equipment issues.
• Point person for IT issues and coordinates resolution with IT department.
• Trains employees on technology in conjunction with the IT department as needed/requested.
• Types and prepares correspondence.
• Drafts and/or edits simple written materials, such as correspondence and summaries of information for public dissemination.
• Files, copies, faxes and maintains records.
• Schedules meetings.
• Maintains logs, journals, files, and other permanent legislative and council records.
• Develops systems for recordkeeping, retrieval and storage of information.
• Processes forms, such as expense vouchers, travel approval, and other documents in accordance with County and Council policies.
• Maintains lists and databases.
• Greets Council guests, answers telephone inquiries, and provides public information as directed.
• Maintains schedules and calendars.
• Develops, writes, updates, and maintains content for council webpages.
• Organizes and maintains legislative and other materials for Council members and staff.
• Maintains files for public and press review.
• Maintains subscriptions, mailing lists for legislative agendas and other materials.
• Pays bills and tracks expenditures on request.
  

MINIMUM REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

Associate's degree and two (2) years of related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit and use hands to type, touch, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.

LANGUAGE SKILLS, MATHEMATICAL SKILLS AND REASONING ABILITY:
Ability to read and interpret legislation and documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to understand and execute basic budget and accounting functions.

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

TO APPLY: You must complete an employment application online to be considered for this recruitment. Resumes cannot be substituted for completion of the job application work history. No paper applications will be accepted.

Selected candidates may be subject to drug screening, background screening, and reference checks.

At time of application, please submit a copy of any college degree, coursework, licenses, or certifications that you have referenced on your application. Applicants who have education obtained outside of the U.S. may need to provide proof of the equivalent U.S. education as determined by a foreign credential evaluation service, such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (http://www.naces.org) or World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation (https://www.wes.org/).

Howard County Government is not sponsoring employees in application of the H-1B Visa or providing an extension of an existing H-1B Visa. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Howard County is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. The County prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, ancestry, creed, national origin, disability status, genetics, marital status, military service, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Applicants requiring accommodations during the hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources directly at HiringPreference@howardcountymd.gov. Requests for accommodations should not be attached to the application.