Project Assistant

MISSION

Children need to spend their most critical years with dedicated, educated, trained, and well-compensated individuals in order to thrive. The New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute leads the work to establish and implement an early childhood workforce system to ensure funding, standards and competencies, career development resources, qualifications and credentials, professional development (training and strengths-based coaching), and program quality assurance and improvement for individuals who work with young children throughout New York. Housed at the City University of New York, the Institute is a fast-paced, dynamic public/private partnership that is committed to the early childhood workforce across New York State. The Institute is the implementing agency for QUALITYstarsNY.

QUALITYstarsNY is New York State’s voluntary 5-Star early childhood quality rating and improvement system. Since its inception, QUALITYstarsNY has focused its evidence-based practices to ensure that young children in participating programs have access to excellence and families can trust the level of quality in the program they choose. Assessment, coaching, professional development, and a wide range of resources are made available to each site, enabling QUALITYstarsNY to support early childhood programs to earn higher star ratings.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Reporting to the Director of Program Operations, this position carries out the day-to-day administrative and purchasing operations working closely with internal and external stakeholders.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Purchasing

• Process invoices, and individual reimbursements for payment
• Accurately track expenditures across multiple funding sources
• Investigate and resolve outstanding items in a timely manner
• Monitor processes and systems for accuracy and workflow consistency
• Maintain electronic documents, files, and records to provide current and/or historical references to assist with project management

Other

• Coordinate logistics for meetings, events, and conferences
• Organize and ship resources as requested
• Manage inventory and requests for supplies, equipment, and promotional items
• Collaborate with other teams to coordinate and streamline processes
• Attend staff meetings and trainings as required

CORE COMPETENCIES/QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate's Degree with 3-5 years of relevant experience in a fast-paced, high-volume, office setting

OR

• Bachelor’s Degree with 2-3 years related experience in a fast-paced, high-volume, office setting
• Intermediate level user, Microsoft Excel
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work with diverse groups and individuals in a professional and respectful manner
• Ability to work at QSNY’s office in midtown-NYC with a 70% onsite-remote schedule

Core Competencies

• Ability to manage and prioritize a high volume of invoices and communications to completion
• Strong critical and analytical thinking skills
• Meticulous attention to detail and highly organized
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal communication skills with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Desire to contribute to project planning and effectively communicate priorities
• Strong ability to use technological tools and platforms to effectively manage complex data systems, including Microsoft Office (intermediate skill level using Excel)