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Job Announcement: Personal Assistant/Office Coordinator

Goodwin Simon Strategic Research (GSSR) is seeking a Personal Assistant/Office Coordinator for a part-time, in-person position in Oakland, CA. GSSR has mainly gone remote, however, we still require a physical base and we are hiring a Personal Assistant/Office Coordinator to provide personal and logistical support to the Bay Area-partner at their home office. (While this position will require some remote work, plan for most of it to be in-person).

The role includes a wide range of responsibilities in support of enabling this partner and the ten staff members who work remotely to serve our clients in their important social change efforts.

Qualified candidates should have strong time-management and organizational skills, active listening, good communication, ability to comfortably navigate technology, and experience with Microsoft Office applications (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) as well as Google Workspace (calendar, Gmail, drive). Experience with scheduling, invoicing and/or basic bookkeeping, and Zoom is a plus.

Additionally, your ability to multitask, take a proactive approach to problem solving, and having the highest level of discretion and dedication to confidentiality are required. Being able to “manage up” is important for this role, as well.  If you are someone who feels really gratified by organizing and running things smoothly, this job could be a great fit.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Working closely with GSSR’s founding partner to respond to and coordinate a wide range of firm and personal needs in a very fast-paced environment. Being organized, efficient, patient, flexible, personable, and having great attention to detail are all critically important to fulfill this role.
• Overseeing general office duties in person at the partner’s home office, such as maintaining home office files, regular trips to the post office or bank, processing incoming/outgoing mail, scanning documents for electronic record retention, and coordinating with IT contractor for the remote office’s IT maintenance of the server.
• Making travel arrangements for GSSR staff, including national and international travel, and generating detailed travel itineraries as needed.
• Managing logistics for in-person staff meetings and strategic retreats, which GSSR holds about 6-8 times per year. This includes identifying suitable meeting locations, coordinating with onsite staff, managing meal orders and getting food, and organizing the space at the beginning and close of each day.
• Coordinating logistics for in-person client meetings and focus groups.
• Other duties as assigned

Goodwin Simon Strategic Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly encourage all people of different backgrounds and with different life experiences to apply. Our organization has fostered a culture of inclusion with our staff, in which each person enriches all of us with their diverse perspectives.

We cannot emphasize enough how much this job requires strong organizational and multi-tasking skills. The applicant must be able to balance many different responsibilities and meet quick deadlines in a hardworking environment where multiple projects are occurring at the same time.

A minimum of 2 years of previous office manager and/or personal assistant experience, and the ability to work independently, are necessary. The position is part-time. To start, it could be anywhere from 15-20 hours per week, spread out over 3-4 workdays, with a mutually agreed upon set work schedule that we would establish jointly with you. Starting compensation is $30/hour. As a part-time position, it does not include health insurance or holiday or vacation paid time off. It does include paid earned sick leave and opportunities for advancement. This position includes potential opportunities for expanded hours. A college degree is not required.

GSSR hosts in-person staff gatherings. As such, proof of COVID vaccination is required for our employees. (Reasonable accommodation for religious beliefs and medical matters reviewed).

Goodwin Simon Strategic Research is a progressive, independent public opinion research firm that conducts cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative research to develop strategic communications to advance social change. Our research team brings their expertise in politics, public policy, and communications to our work for political candidates and ballot measure campaigns, nonprofit and issue advocacy organizations, foundations, and labor unions. Over the last dozen years, we have developed a whole new approach to public opinion research, message development, and message delivery (see www.heartwiredforchange.com). We work on a wide range of issues both in the United States and internationally.

For more information about the firm, visit www.goodwinsimon.com.

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to apply@goodwinsimon.com. No phone calls, please.