NIH LTASC 0662 - Administrative Assistant II

Job Description

Job Description

Role: Administrative Assistant II

Location: 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 31/Room 2B50, Bethesda, MD 20892

Description: Hedgelan Consulting seeks a qualified and highly motivated professional to provide support services to satisfy the overall operational objectives of the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The primary objective is to provide services and deliverables through performance of support services.

Minimum Educational/Experience Requirements:

• A minimum of a high school diploma and two (2) years of related work experience.
• Preferred qualities of proposed personnel:
• The contractor must be able to work independently and multitask to complete frequently time-sensitive assignments.  The contractor needs to determine the priority of multiple assignments that come from the entire office staff.  In coordination with the NIH Legal Advisor or designee, the contractor fields incoming requests via phone and email from NIH, other OGC offices, and outside parties, and forwards the requests to the appropriate attorney within the Branch or takes complete messages.  The incoming requests include agreements for legal review, NIH policy documents, regulations, and delegations of authority.  Contractor primarily works independently when assigning work, including obtaining relevant information concerning the request.  The relevant information includes subject matter and urgency.  The contractor must work effectively and professionally with staff in many other offices and should be able to determine which staff outside the office to contact for assistance and with questions and when that outreach is appropriate.  The contractor serves as one of the primary liaisons in the office with OGC’s and NIH’s administrative staff elsewhere, including the NIH’s Administrative Officer, who is the primary source of NIH’s administrative support for the Branch, and with the Legal Resource Analyst for OGC/PHD.
• The contractor must be proficient with multiple common software applications, including Microsoft Word and Outlook, and become proficient with specialized applications and databases used by the Office of the General Counsel.  The contractor also assists with developing and maintaining spreadsheets tracking the status and volume of incoming work, which may include the controlled correspondence assigned to the office and other matters.
• The contractor must become able to use OGC’s time-tracking system and be able to assist staff with inputting their time correctly.  The contractor will also ensure that time is entered correctly and, upon request, report to the NIH Legal Advisor or designee on the status of each staff member’s completion of their time reporting requirements.  The contractor will serve as the primary point of contact for all questions related to this system and will be responsible for troubleshooting and resolving all problems that staff members encounter with the system.   
• The contractor will prepare purchase requests for small purchases, review and disseminate draft policies and procedures to the office staff; assist with the preparation and monitoring of the office’s budget; assist with coordinating travel and submitting data into the NIH travel system; assist with determining the office’s property (e.g., laptops, printers, monitors, phones) requirements and with property inventory and tracking; and preparing training requests.
• The contractor is responsible for intake and distribution of incoming mail and packages, including litigation-related correspondence.  The contractor must become familiar with other administrative offices within NIH to which misdirected mail may need to be forwarded.
• The contractor is the primary staff member responsible for monitoring the office’s equipment and physical space (including kitchenette) for repair, cleaning, or other attention and will need to become familiar with NIH resources and developing contacts to address potential issues, including but not limited to NIH IT support/help desk, waste management, housekeeping, pest control, locksmith, shredding services, the NIH Police, the NIH Office of Research Facilities, and the NIH Office of Research Services.
• Other duties include greeting visitors and directing them to appropriate staff.  The contractor will assist the NIH Legal Advisor and other attorneys in the office with scheduling meetings and maintaining their calendars.  The position’s duties include assisting attorneys with preparing materials for presentations and training.  The contractor will assist attorneys with compiling materials and exhibits for litigation and other matters, including photocopying and scanning necessary materials.  The contractor will assist staff with basic technology assistance (e.g., assisting with word processing and spreadsheets) and arrange for IT assistance when appropriate.
• The contractor will assist the NIH Legal Advisor or designee with onboarding new personnel, including assistance with scheduling of interviews with prospective candidates, and coordinating with the appropriate NIH and OGC personnel and security offices.
• The contractor must be able to work independently and multitask to complete time-sensitive assignments.  The contractor needs to determine the priority of multiple assignments given by members of the office staff.  In coordination with the Supervisory NIH Ethics Counsel or designee, the contractor fields incoming requests via phone and email from NIH, other OGC offices, and outside parties, and forwards the requests to the appropriate attorney within the Office or takes complete messages regarding the caller, the subject matter and the urgency.  The contractor must work effectively and professionally with staff in many other offices and should be able to determine which staff outside the office to contact for assistance and with questions and when that outreach is appropriate.  The contractor serves as one of the primary liaisons in the office with OGC’s and NIH’s administrative staff elsewhere, including the NIH’s Administrative Officer, who is the primary source of NIH’s administrative support for the Office. 
• The contractor must be proficient with the suite of Microsoft 365 products, to include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Power Automate, Copilot, SharePoint, and Outlook, and become proficient with HHS/NIH AI applications and specialized applications and databases used by the Office of the General Counsel.  The contactor shall assist the Supervisory NIH Ethics Counsel in identifying technological solutions to maximize operational efficiency.  The contractor also assists with developing and maintaining spreadsheets tracking the status and volume of incoming work, which may include the controlled correspondence assigned to the office and other matters.
• The contractor must become able to use OGC’s time-tracking system and be able to assist staff with inputting their time correctly.  The contractor will serve as the primary point of contact for all questions related to this system and will be responsible for troubleshooting and resolving all problems that staff members encounter with the system.
• The contractor assists staff with tracking and completing training assignments, including helping to determine which training is required to be completed.  Upon request of the Supervisory NIH Ethics Counsel or designee, the contractor will compile and prepare reports of the office’s work.
• The contractor assists staff with the developing reports, briefings, user guides, memos, communications, personnel lists, and organization charts.  This may include research and editing for spelling, content, grammar, etc. and shall be completed in compliance with HHS, OGC, and NIH procedures.
• The contractor will prepare purchase requests for small purchases; maintain office files; monitor and prepare orders for office supplies; review and disseminate draft policies and procedures to the office staff; assist with coordinating travel and submitting data into the NIH travel system; assist with determining the office’s property (e.g., laptops, printers, monitors, phones) requirements and with property inventory and tracking; and preparing training requests.
• Other duties include greeting visitors and directing them to appropriate staff.  The contractor will assist the Supervisory NIH Ethics Counsel and other attorneys in the office with scheduling meetings and maintaining their calendars.  The position’s duties include assisting attorneys with preparing materials for presentations and training, including photocopying necessary materials.  The contractor will assist staff with basic technology assistance (e.g., assisting with word processing and spreadsheets) and arrange for IT assistance when appropriate.
• Perform other duties, as assigned, not directly related to those mentioned above, using the skills that they have acquired, and will be trained on.
• 8:00am – 5:00pm
• Government will provide: all required GFE (laptop, mobile, monitor(s) as required)

o   Knowledge of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) procurement policies and procedures.

o   Knowledge of HHS and NIH travel regulations, policies, and procedures.

o   Knowledge of computerized systems, unique to NIH, including NIH Fellowship Payment System (FPS), Purchasing On-Tracking System (POTS), Manuscript and Publication System (MAPS), NBS Sunflower (for Property Management), NIH

o   Property Management Portal (NPMP), and NBS Concur Government Edition (CGE).

Roles and Responsibilities:

The following tasks are within the Labor Category Description for Admin Assistant. The Admin will have a wide range of responsibilities. The contractor shall:

Operational Hours:

Government-Furnished Equipment, Badge, Keys, and/or Facilities Provided: