Elementary Assistant (Receptionist)

VOICE Charter School (http://www.voicecharterschool.org/) is an elementary and middle school located in Long Island City, Queens that serves about 650 students across grades K-8. We are located just minutes from Manhattan (two stops outside of Manhattan on the F, N, and W train lines) and Long Island City’s growing waterfront district, thriving arts community, and rapid residential growth. We are looking to identify extraordinary educators and administrators committed to urban education who wish to join a dynamic professional learning community.

Our mission is to create a safe and healthy learning environment that will nurture, motivate and challenge all of our children to achieve the highest level of academic excellence and to develop into mindful, responsible, contributing participants in their education, their community and the diverse society in which we live.

What makes VOICE different?

At VOICE, it’s not just about the music. It’s about the people. It’s about what you can be. It’s about using your passion. It’s about relationships. It’s about having the opportunity to choose. It’s about caring enough. It’s about each individual child and adult.

We believe in efficacy. At the core of our academic culture is the idea that all students are capable of doing well in any discipline. At VOICE, all students will learn – being smart is not something that you are, it is something you become. At VOICE, you will be pushed to become more.

We support and develop the effectiveness of our teachers. We believe that teachers need time to collaborate to build their practice, so we provide our team with over two hours of planning time a day as well as additional days for collaborative thought partnership and planning during the school year.

We promote participation in music and the arts. As music and art help develop problem solving and critical thinking skills and open children's imaginations, all VOICE students participate in and learn from daily activities in the arts including rigorous choral training. We design our arts-integrated curriculum to bring joy and wonder to the lives of our children, providing them with the skills necessary to forge their own path.

All Staff at VOICE:

• Love and nurture all of our students as they become deeply caring and responsible individuals;
• Take personal responsibility and work collaboratively to ensure that all students achieve and grow, understanding that the performance and progress of our students is directly under our control;
• Ask questions and empower students to exercise curiosity and wonder about the world around them;
• Hold themselves to the highest standards

• Push and support themselves, their students, and their colleagues;
• Proactively seek and incorporate feedback;
• Help each individual child gain the opportunity to choose what his or her future will be.

Position Responsibilities:

The Elementary Assistant (Receptionist) is responsible for supporting the non-instructional operations and communications at the Elementary School. The Elementary Assistant (Receptionist) will be working directly with the Elementary School operations team to help maintain a friendly, safe, and professional school environment.

Major Responsibilities

Office Support

• Act as the primary receptionist at one of the school’s campuses, which includes  answering phone calls, faxes, electronic communication, sorting mail, and greeting visitors
• Manage and support our students with health, behavior, and other needs
• Organize, analyze, and streamline systems and processes for information collection including student records
• Assist with tracking of school data, including student attendance, behavior, and other achievement/infractions; create systems that support school leaders and families in meeting school culture goals
• Foster a welcoming and aesthetically pleasing environment in the Main Office
• Organize and assist with maintenance of school supply inventory, aesthetics, facilities, and technology support
• Assist the school operations team with planning and executing school events
• Contribute to positive communication and relationship building with parents, the larger school community, and external parties

Faculty and School Leadership Support

• Support the collection and ongoing maintenance of all student records and files
• Document student attendance and monitor student absences
• Provide support during emergency situations as directed
• Assist with scheduling requests and needs for School Directors, Deans, and other faculty members
• Manage and support students with health, behavior, and other needs when they are in the office, aiming to transition students back into the classroom to minimize disrupting instruction
• Assist with tracking of school data, including attendance, behavior, and uniform

Curriculum Assessment and Resource Support

• Process requests for in-house books and math materials, including receiving and reviewing requests, locating the materials in storage rooms and other locations, and delivering them to teachers
• Track and process orders and delivery of books
• Organize and maintain book rooms and instructional material storage as materials are returned by teachers, ensuring all materials are filed according to current system
• Monitor the condition of books and math materials, making decisions about materials that need to be repaired or replaced, and providing feedback about materials conditions to teachers and the Elementary School Operations Manager
• Inventory books and curriculum resources and help determine purchase needs
• Inventory running record and early literacy materials and re-order as necessary

Support of School-Wide School Functions

• Assist with back desk duties when requested
• Ensure that lunch money collected is sent directly to finance department
• Assist with school bussing and dismissal functions
• Assist with preparation of documents for the Education Accountability Committee of the Board
• Assist with the coordination of Special Populations services
• Assist Elementary Operations Manager with procuring, organizing, and archiving materials related to school year professional development and August Professional Development.
• Provide backup support for the Elementary Operations Manager for faculty meetings.
• Assist Elementary Operations Manager with coordinating external professional development opportunities and compiling resources.
• Provide as-needed support for other training-related tasks and projects

Team Support

• Support and assist the team with any other administrative activities and projects that may arise related to School Operations
• Perform additional tasks as needed in support of other departments

Position Qualifications:

Behavioral Qualifications

• Unwavering commitment to VOICE mission, vision, and values
• Models high standards of integrity, trust, openness, and respect for others
• Demonstrates integrity by honoring commitments and promises
• Operates and follows through on assigned tasks and projects under specific time constraints and by specified deadlines
• Is productive and carries fair share of the workload; focuses on quality and expends the necessary time and effort to achieve goals
• Seeks to understand and meet and/or exceed the needs and expectations of customers and clients; treats customers and clients with respect
• Builds and maintains excellent positive relationships with and between team members
• Recognizes the constructive value of and embraces feedback
• Responds and adapts to developing challenges and obstacles when under pressure calmly and logically to develop working solutions in a timely manner
• Identifies and seeks to resolve and prevent problems
• Approaches new challenges as opportunities to improve skills and abilities, seeking advice and feedback to constantly improve
• Seeks opportunities for personal and professional learning

Skills and Knowledge

• Exercises discretion regarding sensitive personal and legal information
• Effectively prioritizes tasks in order to meet deadlines
• Responds to requests in a professional manner, even in difficult circumstances; provides accurate and timely service
• Works effectively and cooperatively with others to achieve goals
• Writes clearly and concisely; listens attentively to others and responds appropriately; takes into account the audience and nature of the information
• Verbally articulates progress against tasks clearly and concisely; communicates ideas, suggestions and concerns as well as outcomes and progress throughout the course of a task or project
• Regularly applies feedback and training outcomes to the work to grow continuously in and add value to the role
• Exhibits ability to identify and address issues
• Manages up and laterally by proactively providing supervisors and clients support and solutions to move work and projects forward
• Identifies and seeks to resolve and prevent conflicts with team members
• Demonstrates proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Drive applications

Educational Background and Work Experience

Required:

• Associates or Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university preferred. Highschool Diploma Required.
• Fluency in Spanish

Preferred:

• One year of experience working in an office environment

Compensation and Benefits: Compensation is competitive and based on experience.  We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including participation in the TransitChek program and partial reimbursement for monthly commuting expenses, gym reimbursement, cultural enrichment reimbursements, participation in the 403B retirement program, and many opportunities to get to know your VOICE colleagues!

VOICE Charter School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In its employment decisions, VOICE does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law.