Administrative Assistant for Parks and River Cities

Position Title:                          Administrative Assistant for Parks and River Cities

Reporting to:                           Assistant Director of Parks & Community Engagement

Our Mission:                           To sustain and enhance the Hudson Valley’s inspirational beauty and health for generations to come.

The Parks Team focuses on creating, enhancing, and maintaining equitable and welcoming access to nature and the Hudson River through a network of parks and preserves throughout the region while protecting the land’s natural and historic resources and building community through inclusive activities.

The River Cities Program focuses on improving equitable access to nature and green infrastructure in the Mid-Hudson cities of Kingston, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie through community-based planning. Our practice is rooted in environmental justice and the co-creation of vibrant urban spaces that support social and ecological wellbeing.

Principle Responsibilities:

• Maintain efficient clerical workflows and organizational systems.
• Organize and maintain paper and electronic files in compliance with retention standards; improve filing systems to enhance efficiency.
• Process team expenditures in a timely manner and track project-related costs and invoices.
• Administer approximately 130 annual real property tax exemption applications (renewals and new submissions).
• Oversee annual public lotteries and permit administration for hunting and kayak storage.
• Assist staff with preparation of agreements, project documentation, deadline tracking, and vendor payment monitoring.
• Maintain contractor and approved vendor lists; assist with contractor bid processes.
• Serve as an administrator for the LOCATE database, including user profile management and data imports/exports.
• Schedule and coordinate off-site, in-person, and virtual team meetings.
• Coordinate Parks and River Cities committee meetings, including scheduling, communication with committee members, and preparation of meeting materials and draft minutes.
• Support directors and senior staff in scheduling and coordinating community coalition meetings with internal and external stakeholders.
• Assist with project coordination tasks, including preparation and distribution of agendas, minutes, and action items.
• Draft quarterly team updates for Scenic Hudson Land Trust board meetings.
• Develop familiarity with Scenic Hudson parks and respond to or direct public inquiries received via social media, email, and phone.
• Assist with scheduling fieldwork and related activities.
• Manage, track, and order donor dedication tributes and plaques for Scenic Hudson parks.
• Provide support for funding proposals, grant applications, and grant administration, including preparing draft requisitions.
• Process incoming and outgoing mail on a rotating schedule with other administrative assistants.
• Respond promptly to emergency calls and redirect as appropriate.
• Support organizational and occasional programmatic events as needed  
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends based on program needs.

Required Qualifications:

The ideal candidate is a proactive, highly organized, and detail-oriented administrative professional who thrives in both independent and team environments. This role requires excellent communication skills, strong judgment, and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining professionalism and discretion.

• 2–3 years of relevant administrative, program, or operations experience
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Workspace
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks, problem-solve, and manage deadlines
• Experience working with diverse communities and a commitment to social and environmental justice
• Ability to navigate multiple internal and external relationships with professionalism and discretion
• Ability to lift and move up to 30 pounds

Preferred Qualifications:

• 3+ years of experience and/or a relevant college degree
• Experience working in environmental, conservation, community development, or nonprofit organizations
• Familiarity with collaboration tools such as Slack and Asana
• Fluency in Spanish (written and spoken)

Compensation:   Full Time, with competitive benefits and a set hourly wage range of: $23.08 per hour ($48,000/year) - $26.68 per hour ($55,500/year)

Contact:           Send resume and cover letter as one combined document. Please include a brief writing sample with your application. Feel free to                              include this under the cover letter tab. If the file is too large, you can also email your writing sample to [email protected].                                        Further information can be found on our website: www.scenichudson.org. No phone calls please.

Scenic Hudson provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment.  We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type.  Decisions related to all terms and conditions of employment are made without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.