Job Details

Executive Assistant

The Executive Assistant serves as the department head for the City Commission Office and provides leadership and direction to the management and operation of the department, setting goals and objectives within policy directives set forth by the City Administrator. The Executive Assistant serves as a liaison between the Mayor, Commissioners, other elected officials and their staff; other city offices and staff; and the citizens of Fargo. The Executive Assistant and department staff also provide direct support to the City Administration office. The job requires discretionary judgment and thorough knowledge of City policies, procedures, City Ordinances, and the projects and activities of the City of Fargo. Scope of Responsibility: Responsible for the performance of two department staff and develops and administers a budget of approximately $875,600 for the City Commission.

Primary Responsibilities

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Serves as a point of contact for the public, other City departments/divisions, City Attorney's Office, City Administration, and elected officials.

• Responds to concerns and issues expressed by citizens, organizations and other political subdivisions and determines appropriate resolutions to maintain positive community relations for the City;
• Works with other City departments to reach a satisfactory conclusion on various public concerns and develops timetable and appropriate course of action;
• Serves as liaison between the City Attorney's Office and the City Commissioners, working closely with the City Attorney to ensure planned actions and procedures are legal and consistent with City Ordinances and City Policy;
• Responsible for development of and updates of the City Commission website, including making all agenda information available to the public through the website consistent with North Dakota law;
• May serve as City Commission appointee to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

• Organizes background information, correspondence, and documents to accompany the agenda;
• Directs the distribution of the agenda and documents;
• Assists the Mayor, City Commissioners, and City Administrator in arranging meetings and logistics for meetings;
• Oversees the recording of official meetings of the City Commission as well as preparation of minutes of City Commission meetings, assuring action taken is appropriate and complies with North Dakota and other applicable laws;
• Is the official meeting parliamentarian to the Board of City Commissioners;
• Tracks action taken by the City Commission and assures follow-up by appropriate departments and Commissioners to requests;
• Works with the Mayor to ensure appointments to boards and commissions are current and actively managed;
• Communicates with members of the boards and commissions to determine their interest to continue service and works with departmental staff to obtain a list of possible candidates for appointment if new appointees are needed; coordinates with suggested appointees relative to responsibilities as a member of the board/commission;
• Works with Administration, City Commissioners and other departments to ensure compliance with North Dakota law open meetings and open records laws.

• In conjunction with Administration, researches topics for discussion and analyzes and presents background information on specific issues in advance of business meetings;
• Manages resources as required to respond to constituent and City Commission inquiries;
• Evaluates programs and services of the City Commission Office and recommends policy and procedure changes to the City Administrator; communicates with other City departments on planned or approved changes;
• Provides public meeting notices and answers questions relating to City Commission Office projects.

• Using independent judgment develops department operating budget for the next cycle;
• Analyzes past expenditures, expected needs, future cost projections and sources of funding in order to develop detailed budgets;
• Reviews year-to-date spending reports and monitors performance against plan during the entire budget cycle, making or recommending adjustments as necessary to achieve a desired balance at the end of the cycle;
• Approves expenditures for purposes and amounts that are within the budget and within the authorized approval limits of the job;
• Ensures the most cost-effective alternatives are identified when planning expenditures;
• Prepares requests for annual funding and presents requests to decision makers for approval.

• Oversees preparation of letters, proclamations, and memoranda for the Mayor, City Commissioners and City Administrator;
• Responsible for payroll processing for the City Commission and City Administrator;
• Maintains confidentiality of information within the City Commission Office per North Dakota law;

• Makes decisions on matters of hiring, transfer, suspension, layoff, recall, promotion, discharge, assignment, reward, adjusting grievances, or disciplining employees under the span of control;
• Sets goals and objectives for others to work towards and monitors performance;
• Leads unit in creating and maintaining a positive work environment and fostering effective performance of staff;
• Conducts ongoing feedback, coaching, mentoring, and timely formal reviews of performance for assigned employees;
• Provides training and work direction, ensuring the employee knows and follows department and city rules as well as sound work and safety practices in order to accomplish the job objectives and avoid injury or loss; ensures that each employee:
• Knows and follows department and City rules as well as sound work and safety practices in order to accomplish the job objectives and avoid injury or loss;
• Wears proper protective equipment when policy requires or conditions indicate a need exists and utilizes proper body mechanics and ergonomics while performing work;
• When potentially unsafe conditions are observed makes efforts to avoid or correct them if they are controllable and draws them to the attention of the responsible supervisor or safety representative in a timely manner.
• Plans the work schedule to meet department demands and to limit overtime costs to reasonable and necessary levels;
• Encourages employee growth and development by providing or encouraging learning opportunities;
• Assesses staff development needs and directs the provision of staff training;
• Participates in decisions regarding the content of jobs and the number of staff within the functional areas under the span of control.

• Frequently interacts with Commissioners, the public, vendors, others in the work unit, and across departments to solve problems and relay detailed and/or technical information where the ability to explain concepts is exercised;
• Works with Commissioners and other City personnel to resolve issues and concerns;
• Receives and addresses escalated calls from other support staff when appropriate;
• Provides direct assistance to the public when unusual instances, concerns or complaints are received in the office or referred by Commissioners or the Mayor.

Minimum Qualifications

The job requires a bachelor's degree and five or more years of previous administrative support experience involving budget preparation, information dissemination, records organization and extensive interaction with the general public; or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above. Knowledge, skills and abilities include:

• Knowledge of governmental administrative practices including budgeting, purchasing and policy formulation and records administration.
• Knowledge of local and state laws, regulations and codes relating to city functions and open meetings/open records.
• Ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written forms and have strong public relations skills.
• Knowledge of human resource management practices including training, discipline, delegations, etc.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Requires the ability to compose business letters and to proof the work of others for grammar and organization;
• Requires math and algebra sufficient to set up spreadsheets with basic formulas;
• Requires advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office applications;
• Requires excellent customer service and public relations skills;
• Requires strong attention to detail.

Physical Demands

Physical Demands & Working Conditions: