Administrative Assistant at Kentucky American Water in Lexington, Kentucky

Job Description:

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Camden, NJ, the company employs over 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 46 states.  To learn more about American Water and additional career opportunities, visit www.amwater.com.

Kentucky American Water has an exciting and immediate opening on the team as an Administrative Assistant. In this role, you will serve as primary support for our External Affairs and Business Development teams. The winning candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment and be able to adapt in a changing, dynamic work setting. You will have the opportunity showcase your writing and communication skills and support business leaders, external clients, and internal colleagues. If this sounds like the career you've been looking for, apply today!

Primary Role

Responsible for providing administrative support to state leadership and respective teams.

Key Accountabilities

• Oversees departmental vendor and invoice process, including, but not limited to, setting up new vendors, reviewing invoices, responding to vendor requests for investigations into payments, submitting contracts and approvals, and reporting out to the appropriate parties, and requesting disbursements.


• Coordinates with Shared Services Center on invoice- and vendor-related issues


• Assists with preparation, monitoring, and collection of data related to department budget and actual expenditures and provides variance explanations for actual vs. budget expenses.


• Manages mail, including preparing and coordinating departmental external mass mailings, as well as all mail and shipments for the department.


• Oversees and responsible for departmental purchasing card process.


• Maintains contract approval records for the department.


• Provides general administrative support for day-to-day managerial and departmental needs and special projects which may include, but are not limited to, providing travel arrangement support; workbasket processing; generating, organizing, and maintaining department files; maintaining departmental calendar of events; maintains inventory of office supplies, equipment, and materials; organizes and maintains current files of external key contacts; and generally oversees operations of the department, its processes, and its procedures while identifying opportunities for efficiencies and improvements.


• Applies functional and business knowledge to compose business-professional internal and external correspondence (e.g., letters, emails) from scratch or from rough notes, ensuring all department products are accurate and professionally formatted.


• Generates graphs and reports for presentations, publications, and regulatory filings.


• Creates, maintains, and presents tracking and monthly status reports for corporate giving activities, specialty item inventory, volunteerism efforts, and other key activities.


• Provides logistical, scheduling, and planning support for meetings, events, and tours; may act as a representative of the Company at these times.


• Independently serves as initial point-of-contact for customers, community leaders, public officials, board members, and employees of all levels who may contact or visit the department; responds to general requests and inquiries via phone, email, social media, and/or letter, serving as a first-level resource for various departmental or functional issues which may be related to customer service, customer billing, regulatory issues, etc.


• Assists with tracking news media coverage about company and distributing news clips to key stakeholders.


• Assists with monitoring and responding to social media inquiries and providing recommendations and feedback on social media campaigns.


• Provides administrative support for Political Action Committee, including quarterly filings, solicitation, and disbursements.


• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge/Skills

Knowledge:

• General knowledge of business practices and principles, including basic budgeting, accounting, advanced administrative procedures, and executive protocol.


• General understanding of regulatory reporting requirements.


• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite and aptitude for using SAP and other accounting-related software.


• Strong working knowledge of social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and ability to quickly familiarize self and become comfortable with emerging platforms.

Skills:

• Strong time-management skills, ability to self-start, multitask, and work independently.


• Strong business writing, proofreading, and verbal / written communication skills.


• Flexible and creative problem-solving skills.


• Strong skill in professionally responding to social media inquiries and posting on Company’s social media sites, as well as strong ability to research utilizing the Internet and other resources.


• Ability to work successfully in a fast-paced, high visibility department, adjusting easily to changes in daily priorities.


• Customer service-oriented skillset and performance when working with internal and external contacts; able to quickly and effectively build relationships.


• Strong follow-through leading to timely, accurate, and thorough project completion.

Experience/Education

Experience:

• Minimum of three to five (3 - 5) years of business-related experience


• Utility experience preferred.

Education:

• High School Degree or G.E.D. required.

• Associate's or higher college degree desired with degree in journalism, communications, public relations, English, advertising, or related fields.

Licenses & Certifications

• Driver's license

Travel Requirements

• Occasional travel to support special events and meetings.

Work Environment

•  Predominantly office environment with occasional work at other locations in the communities served.

Other

• Ability to lift light equipment and materials.

Competencies

Champions safety

Customer obsessed

Cultivates innovation

Nimble learning

Drives Results

Collaborates

Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™

American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because he or she is an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.

 

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