Departmental Associate

Overview

The Department Associate 2 position provides a variety of critical administrative support services on very specialized, complex and confidential matters for Richmond Fire-Rescue Emergency Response staff within the Community Safety Department. The clerical staff are integral members of the team and are the first point of contact for the public. The incumbent must possess excellent organizational, multitasking and problem‑solving skills.

• Responding to both internal and external customer enquiries via email, phone and the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
• Supporting the department with timekeeping and payroll duties for over 270 staff.
• Providing administrative support, including documentation preparation, typing, editing and proofreading, for general correspondence, reports, presentations, meetings, and other documents.
• Facilitating new recruit onboarding and administration.
• Assisting and participating at staff and community events, including set‑up and take‑down of equipment; assisting with logistics of the event including planning and sourcing of items required; engaging with staff and the public during events and providing guidance and fire safety information.
• Retrieving reports from Fire’s data management system and preparing data for departmental invoicing, including bylaw infractions and cost recovery; facilitating cost recovery and billing; responding to customer enquiries regarding invoices.
• Receiving, reviewing, and processing various permits, reports and records, and collecting fees from internal and external customers.
• Scheduling and organizing meetings (both in person and virtual), including preparing materials and presentations, developing agendas, and minute‑taking.
• Monitoring, maintaining and ordering stationery and office supplies.
• Preparing file records for storage.
• Preparing outgoing mail and distributing incoming mail.
• Projects and other related duties as required.

• Strong attention to detail with an aptitude for proofreading, suggesting alternatives and making modifications.
• Ability to assess urgency in an emergency response environment, with a quick‑thinking and collaborative approach.
• Proven ability to deal with sensitive materials and maintain confidentiality with a high degree of tact and discretion.
• Ability to exercise diplomacy and sound judgement.
• Experience with HCM Payroll/People Soft and the ability to perform timekeeping accurately.
• Proven skill with Microsoft Office programs including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience using Adobe Acrobat including creating fillable forms.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including spelling, grammatical and proofreading ability.
• Proven time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively individually and as part of a team, and work under minimal supervision.
• Ability to use records classification and management systems (e.g. REDMS)
• Ability to learn and use multiple software systems, including FDM, Tempest, Amanda, GIS, Tele Staff, People Soft and/or other software programs required of this job.

• Successful completion of grade 12 or equivalent, supplemented by up to one (1) year of coursework related to the job such as office administration, Microsoft Office Suite, or general business.
• A minimum of one (1) year of related work experience in an office environment is required.
• Experience working in a municipal government environment is considered an asset.

• Duties are performed in an office environment with frequent interruptions and distractions.
• Requires visual effort and mental concentration, work requires a degree of physical effort such as standing, lifting, stooping, bending, reaching and sitting for long periods of time.
• Ability to lift boxes up to 22 lbs., when required
• May require the use of a stepladder, as needed.