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Common Ground USA (CG-USA) fosters collaboration across differences to address America's biggest challenges and build a society where everyone can belong and thrive. As part of Search for Common Ground, with 40 years of global conflict resolution experience, CG-USA transforms conflict into cooperation. We believe that most Americans want to overcome the divisions we face in our society. We see disagreement as an opportunity to transform conflict into cooperation on our daily and most pernicious problems. All of our work is rooted in an evidence base where we strengthen the five vital signs of peace: safety, social cohesion, institutional legitimacy, personal agency, and resourcing peace. Our work helps citizens and institutions find pathways to collaborate across competing views to meet the challenges of today and build a stronger future for us all.
We are a dynamic, motivated, and diverse team committed to working across divides to generate locally-rooted, responsive, and sustainable solutions to some of the nation's most seemingly intractable issues. Our team is based across the US and represents our "Dignity for All" approach from the inside out. The Administrative Officer would engage with all CG-USA team members, working most closely with CG-USA's Executive Director, who drives our strategy, leads our team, and engages media, partners, funders and other external stakeholders.
Position Summary:
The Administrative Officer provides high-level administrative and strategic support to the Executive Director, working daily to strengthen operational efficiency and advance organizational goals. This is an ideal role for a professional with prior experience supporting senior executives in a fast-paced environment who is passionate about creating change and supporting programming to lower the heat and empower citizens at the intersection of democracy, advocacy, and collaboration.
Responsibilities:
Administrative Support
- Manage the Executive Director's inbox, prioritizing communications, directing emails, and drafting responses.
- Organize and manage calendars, schedules, and appointments, providing advanced notice and necessary details.
- Coordinate travel arrangements and logistics for in-person and virtual meetings.
- Prepare and reconcile expense reports with accuracy and timeliness.
- Maintain and update contact lists and records.
- Organize and support meetings, including scheduling, preparing materials, note-taking, and follow-ups.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring professional and effective communication.
- Draft and edit correspondence for key stakeholders, including Funders and Board of Directors communications.
- Coordinate team meeting agendas and logistics for events such as off-sites and strategic planning sessions.
Operations and Systems Support
- Manage office tasks, including maintaining records and liaising with vendors.
- Support the adoption and integration of operational systems to improve team productivity.
- Monitor and optimize day-to-day processes to increase efficiency.
- Prepare presentations, briefing materials, and summaries for the Executive Director.
Other Contributions
- Tracks news events, media, and social media relevant to the team's priorities.
- Attends events and briefings and synthesizes information for sharing.
- Provides logistical and administrative support for CG-USA programming and events.
- Supports briefings, written products, and strategy development through activities such as desk research, copy editing, coordinating sign-ons, scheduling working group meetings, and sharing materials.
- Gathers monitoring and evaluation data, as assigned.
- Ensures information and knowledge are captured in trackers and systems.
- Provides record-keeping support for budget tracking, including completing required timesheets and adhering to organizational policies.
- Responds to questions and policy and outreach-relevant requests in a timely and customer-service-oriented fashion.
- Supports the development and execution of organizational initiatives and strategies, including participating in voluntary committees and discussions.
- Other duties that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.
Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
- Initiates brainstorming or problem-solving meetings. With time in the job, develops skills for analyzing and communicating program successes and failures; reports lessons learned to the team and other members
- Demonstrates appreciation for diversity of thought. Builds cross-functional relationships with other functional departments.
- Demonstrates adaptability and willingness to confront and change own ideas and preconceptions with resiliency and flexibility, making changes based on new information and diversity of thoughts.
- Drafts team documents, briefing materials, and presentations.
- Applies standards, identifies areas for standardization, and coordinates across functions from a multicultural perspective that reflects consideration of other cultures, viewpoints, and approaches.
- Takes into account the environmental landscape, assesses one's own and others' viewpoints in their environment, and proposes solutions from an ethical perspective.
- Recognizes the options available for solving problems, conducts analyses, and calculates metrics and other technical tools to support informed decision making.
- Conducts Quality Control of team documents, briefing materials, presentations, and
- systems data. Carefully reviews and checks the accuracy of information in work reports,
- management information systems, or with other individuals and groups. Checks the
- accuracy of one's own and others' work. Proactively informs management of potential
- risks and concerns; suggests resolutions.
- Independently prioritizes time to reach deadlines and reaches end results of assignments with ability to accomplish multiple steps with limited to no supervision.
- Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills that will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.
Desired Qualifications
- Strong administrative and organizational skills, with the ability to adapt to a dynamic environment.
- Proven ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Collaborative working style and ability to engage with diverse constituencies.
- Experience with budgets, reconciliation, and financial reporting preferred.
- Passion for CG-USA's mission and values, with a commitment to fostering collaboration across differences
Type and Nature of Contacts
- Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and
- resolves problem situations with tact.
- Represents, as assigned, selected programs or projects and other organizations, including donors, vendors, and partners.
- Interacts with the CG-USA and global Search staff
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree (BS/BA) with minimum 7 years' experience; ideally with 2-3 years of experience supporting directors or senior executives.
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Search For Common Ground
Apr 16, 2025