Administrative Aide

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.

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position functions in the corporate Human Resources Office for Howard County Government.  The Human Resources Office is dedicated to workforce excellence and great customer service to all departments, employees and applicants.    This is a fast-paced position which requires a skilled individual to handle a variety of technical duties supporting Human Resources functions. 

This position performs on-site work and serves in a confidential capacity within the definition of Howard County labor relations law and is ineligible for membership in a collective bargaining unit.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Performs advanced technical level administrative support work, which may include supervisory responsibility, under general supervision from an administrative or technical superior.  Work typically involves administrative support, technical tasks and secretarial work assisting legal staff or an executive level government official.  Applies bookkeeping, accounting and data processing principles to accounting and financial record keeping and reporting systems at the advanced technical level.   Work at this level may also include independent responsibility for a significant administrative or clerical process. 

Include the following. Other related duties may be assigned. 

* Provides administrative support for the Office of Human Resources. Maintains accurate and up-to-date human resource files, records, and documentation.
* Answers frequently asked questions from applicants and employees relative to standard policies, benefits, hiring processes, etc.
* Maintains the integrity and confidentiality of human resource files and records.
* Performs receptionist duties, responds to human resources related questions internally and externally; routes calls and emails to appropriate Human Resources area or appropriate County office/department.  
* Enters, stores and retrieves data from various human resources data systems including the ADP payroll system, employee benefit administration platform, Iron Mountain off-site records management and applicant tracking employee recruitment system.
* Schedules and makes arrangements for physical, hybrid, virtual meetings for staff and may act as host/facilitator. Uses County provided space management and virtual meeting applications to schedule rooms for conferences and meetings.   
* Maintains Office payroll and leave records; record and processes timesheets for office personnel biweekly to submit to Payroll Department. Process hours and leave adjustments, earned compensatory time earned and annual leave reconciliation.
* Carries out routine processes and operating procedures; receives and processes personnel request forms and other items; maintains logs and records; prepares basic reports of operations; maintains complex files, files and retrieves materials.
* Provides staff support during various employment testing processes; training programs and benefits enrollment processes; new employee orientation (NEO), and other operations.
* Creates employee Identification badges.
* Opens and distributes mail, which may include highly confidential/sensitive subject matter.   
* Serves as primary office contact for all expense-related issues in Human Resources.   
* Processes monthly settlements.  Maintains required documentation to validate purchases and payments.  Handles budget reconciliation, reviewing income and expense data to ensure correctness.  
* Processes Employee Expense Reimbursements in SAP to generate payment by finance department.   
* Prepares letters to employees for mailing and departmental distribution.  
* Responsible for ordering all supplies for the office and processing supply orders including the submission of supply requisitions to internal departments and outside vendors, receipt and distribution of materials, entering of all transactions charged to the office's County credit card (PDQ) and reconciliation of invoices with monthly bank statements.
* Assists with planning and execution of special events such as benefits enrollment, organization-wide meetings, employee recognition events, holiday parties, and retirement celebrations.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position has no supervisory duties.

Associates degree and two (2) years related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.

PREFERRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

* Associates degree in related field.
* Proficient with or the ability to quickly learn payroll management, applicant tracking systems, budget management applications, human resource information systems (HRIS), and similar computer applications.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands and the work environment characteristics 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 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 noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

LANGUAGE SKILLS, MATHEMATICAL SKILLS AND REASONING ABILITY:

* Demonstrated experience of working in a fast-paced environment and successfully navigating multiple priorities.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
* Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to manage sensitive and confidential situations with tact, professionalism, and diplomacy.
* Excellent organizational and time management skills with good attention to detail.
* Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
* Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos.
* Ability to write simple correspondence.
* Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.  
* Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
* 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.