Administrative Associate

Description

Be a Welcoming Face of the Vermont Foodbank!

Join the Vermont Foodbank as an Administrative Associate and help create a welcoming experience for participants, volunteers, donors, community partners, and staff. We’re looking for a friendly, organized, and adaptable team member who enjoys helping people and supporting a meaningful mission.

What you’ll do:

• Welcome visitors and provide excellent front desk service.
• Answer calls and connect people with the right resources.
• Support staff with administrative and EPeC-related tasks.
• Balance multiple priorities with accuracy and confidentiality.

What we’re looking for:

• Friendly, professional, and organized.
• Strong communicator and team player.
• Adaptable and comfortable in a busy environment.

Why join us?

Because you’ll do work that matters. Be part of an equity-minded organization working to ensure everyone in Vermont has enough food every day!

 Compensation & Benefits: 

• Full-time, in-person role based in Barre, VT. 
• Health insurance (100% employer-paid) 
• Dental (90% employer-paid) 
• Vision, Life Insurance (100% paid) 
• Short & Long Term Disability (100% paid) 
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution after 1 year 
• 16 paid holidays (including the week between Christmas and New Year’s) 
• Vacation + Sick PTO accrual, 5 personal PTO days each year 
• Paid Family & Medical Leave, paid bereavement, paid jury duty & civic engagement leave 

Position Purpose:

The Administrative Associate is the face of the organization, providing front desk reception and customer service for the main office. Primary duties include answering and directing incoming calls, welcoming and directing visitors. This role interacts frequently with participants, donors, community partners, volunteers, and staff members in the daily operations of the Foodbank, requiring confidentiality and excellent customer service at all times. Working closely with the Director of EPeC (Equity People, and Culture) & Administration, the Office of the CEO, and EPeC team,, this position supports supervisors and staff across a variety of administrative and EPeC related tasks. Success in this role requires the ability to shift between multiple priorities with focus and accuracy in a busy environment.

Building equity and social justice into Vermont Foodbank’s organizational practices is everyone’s responsibility, and it requires the commitment and collaboration of every employee and team. Therefore, everyone is expected to honor diversity, contribute to an inclusive organizational culture, and leverage their own personal agency and scope of influence to center equity.

Requirements

Global Functions and Responsibilities

• Work cooperatively with staff and volunteers to support the mission of the Foodbank to meet and sustain organizational goals.
• Positively contribute to an organizational culture of safe and secure food handling, warehousing, and distribution.
• The Foodbank relies on volunteers every day to fulfill our mission. All Foodbank employees must support our culture of philanthropy by treating every volunteer with appreciation and respect.
• This position will occasionally be required to travel to other Foodbank locations and to attend required meetings, trainings, etc. Some out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Contribute to a culture that enables the organization and our people to be successful. 
• Performing reception duties for the Barre Main Office: Answering and directing incoming calls, greeting, and directing visitors. 
• Maintain cleanliness of lobby area and volunteer check-in station. 
• Maintain cleanliness and order in supply room. 
• Maintain Foodbank correspondence - sort, distribute and post daily mail. Process all in-coming and outgoing UPS, DHL and Federal Express packages. 
• Maintain postage machine to include postage updates, monthly department expenditure reports, routine maintenance, and place trouble calls for assistance when required. 
• Maintain, purchase and order inventory for kitchen supplies, coffee, condiments, flatware and cleaning products. 
• Order and maintain office supplies for the organization. Compare vendor pricing to ensure best price. 
• Perform a variety of administrative functions for the organization including minute-taking, meeting coordination, data entry, printing and preparation of mailings, coordination of training materials to our partners, etc. 
• Create surveys and share survey responses for applicable partners to review/analyze. 
• Order supplies and clothing for all departments. 
• Support EPeC Team by assisting with EPeC tasks as assigned by team members.
• Assists in organizing and planning meetings, events, and learning opportunities, including helping locate venues, catering, setup/breakdown, and including supporting online venues. Takes the lead in celebrations such as birthday recognitions and work anniversaries. 
• Serve as a member of the team supporting the Vermont Foodbank Board of Directors, including drafting minutes for review, helping maintain our board management platform, updating and posting board materials, responding to scheduling requests, and helping track board member requirements and deadlines.
• Provide administrative support to the CEO, including inbox monitoring and triage, scheduling and calendar management, and support with travel logistics.
• Coordinate logistics for board, committee, and executive meetings, including hybrid setup, materials, and food.
• Handle confidential board and executive information with discretion. 
• This position is regularly exposed to organization-wide confidential information: including but not limited to financial, personnel, volunteer and vendor. A high degree of confidentiality and discretion is required

Other Functions:

• Any other duties as assigned by the Director of EPeC & Administration. 
• Participate as a valued member of the EPeC team by attending team meetings and helping where needed, as assigned. 
• Assist with other projects and committees as time permits. Priorities and focus vary and change throughout the year

Skills/Qualifications:

The requirements listed below are representative of the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and/or abilities an individual needs in order to perform this job successfully.

Education and/or Experience:

• 0-3 of experience and/or education gained in business, administration, HR, or related field. 
• Strong customer service orientation and phone contact experience required.
• HS diploma/GED or equivalent required.

Other Skills and Abilities:

• Emotional intelligence, particularly the ability to bounce back from challenging interactions that occur in customer service roles. 
• Demonstrated organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage conflicting priorities. 
• Ability to prioritize and deliver results, giving attention to detail even under high pressure situations. 
• Good communication skills using a variety of resources (e-mail, social media, in-person, etc.) 
• Ability to work with minimum supervision.

Language Skills:

• Proficient in oral and written skills. 
• A firm command of the English language.

Technical/Computer Skills:

• Computer Proficiency in the Microsoft © Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Sharepoint and Teams) is required. 
• Ability to learn emerging technologies quickly is required.