Senior Administrative Coordinator

Overview

NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the Earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. NRDC combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 800 policy advocates, lawyers, scientists, and communication experts to confront the climate crisis, protect nature, ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.  As an international nonprofit environmental organization, NRDC is working to address the world’s most urgent environmental challenges, and advance innovative, science-based, and enforceable solutions.  

Since our founding in 1970, NRDC has helped craft and deliver many of America’s foundational environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. Today, we continue to lead in advancing and defending strong environmental protections at the local, state, federal and international levels, as well as through the marketplace. Our team works across the United States and around the world, from offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as in Beijing, and New Delhi (a subsidiary of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd.).  

Supported by our members and online activists, NRDC is driving impactful solutions that confront the climate crisis, defend nature and safeguard public health across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. At NRDC, we believe lasting change happens when people bring their talent, passion, and expertise together for a common purpose: to build a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient world. Learn more at nrdc.org 

POSITION SUMMARY

NRDC is seeking a Senior Administrative Coordinator to work with the International Department’s Strategy, Planning, and Operations team in our Washington, DC office or New York office. 

The Sr. Administrative Coordinator provides budget, contracting, invoicing scheduling, expense reporting and travel/event-planning logistic support, among other administrative duties as part of the International Program’s Strategy, Planning, and Operations (SP&O) team. The person in this role will support the Managing Director of the Global Division and NRDC’s growing Africa Initiative team. The Sr. Administrative Coordinator must be self-motivated, organized, have excellent communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, and have familiarity with working in international and cross-cultural environments. The individual in this role must be comfortable working in an independent, flexible, and efficient manner in a fast-paced work environment and be able to prioritize projects.

This is a limited term 3 year position. 

The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).   

Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions:

• Serve as a critical member of the SP&O team by providing administrative and logistical support to assigned teams, per NRDC’s administrative guidelines. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Provide budgeting and accounting support, including processing invoices (including in foreign currencies), maintaining contracts and financial records from domestic and international vendors, preparing reports, and tracking spend.
  • Responsible for contract submission and facilitation of institutional processes related to contract approval and vendor set-up.
  • Manage centralized electronic filing systems and databases related to budget tracking, contracts, invoices and other team files for the assigned team.
• Provide administrative and logistical support to assigned team members, per NRDC’s administrative guidelines. This may include, but is not limited to:
  • Schedule calendar appointments and meetings
  • Draft, edit, format, or proofread materials, correspondence or reports.
  • Create and submit expense reports on behalf of assigned team members and provide instruction on proper coding and report submission to team members who do not receive individual support
  • May be asked to book travel and plan associated logistics – including for international travel.
  • Schedule, organize, prepare for, and follow-up on assigned meetings, including planning logistics, preparing materials, taking and synthesizing notes, and sending out action items.
  • Assist with event planning and management, which may require working with external parties, event scheduling, arranging catering, printing, materials preparation, and liaising with Workplace Strategy.
• Provide support to ensure effective communication, collaboration, and information-sharing within the department and with external institutional partners.
  • Lead logistics and administrative workstreams, including event and meeting planning, and oversight of expense tracking for both project codes and grant codes and re-classification of expenses. This potentially includes supporting international events or other convenings. 
  • Work with internal subject matter experts or points of contact to coordinate deliverables, materials, or document submission

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Education & Experience:  Required

• High School Diploma or GED.
• 3-5 years of relevant work experience.
• And/or equivalent education or experience.

Preferred:

• Experience working with international partners and organizations is strongly desired. 
• Proficiency in written and spoken French to support occasional document review, translation/interpretation and coordination with external partners or vendors, is desired but not required.
• Experience coordinating event logistics

Skills, Abilities, Competencies

• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles
• Competence with and commitment to diversity and inclusion; ability to be an effective partner with diverse colleagues, leaders and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to perform or quickly learn new tasks, systems, and technology.
• Ability to prioritize and efficiently execute multiple tasks, follow institutional procedures, and work independently with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including working cross-culturally and across time zones and geographies.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent editing, research, and data synthesis skills, including proficiency with synthesizing and producing meeting minutes as necessary.
• Willingness and flexibility to work paid overtime, when needed.
• Orientation towards working with a broad range of people on different projects.
• Strict adherence to confidentiality requirements and discretion with sensitive information
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), in addition to ability to learn accounting and finance systems, as well as relevant NRDC specific software and platforms.
• Proficiency in digital tools to support international collaboration, information sharing, efficiency, and project management (e.g. Asana, Canva, Mail Merge, Sharepoint)
• Ability to travel as needed to NRDC U.S. based offices with the possibility of occasional international travel.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS  

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position within the described work environment.

Frequently: Perform desk-based computer tasks

Frequently: Ability to interact and communicate with employees and others as necessary

Frequently:  Attend planned meetings and collaborate with management and coworkers

Occasionally: Ability to attend events and activities and perform assigned tasks in the office or offsite as needed.

Work is sometimes performed primarily in office.  The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet in office settings and moderate in other situations.  Hours of employment may sometimes require working flexible and/or longer hours, including nights and weekends, when necessitated by projects. The job includes work-related situations such as those involving challenging, important, urgent, time-sensitive, or multiple matters.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.  

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $63,000 to $73,000.  

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Employees are required to come to the office 8 days per month. 

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws. 

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs. 

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422. 

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.