Operations Assistant ​/ Front Desk Receptionist

Classification:
Full Time / Non-Exempt / Hourly

Pay Range: $20-23/hour, based on experience

Safe & Sound, Inc. is a comprehensive, community-based response to crime and violence in the City of Milwaukee. Since 1998, Safe & Sound has been dedicated to improving safety in challenged Milwaukee’s neighborhoods. Our three-pronged strategy advances: (1) partnerships with law enforcement, (2) community organizing and (3) youth development. We unite residents, youth, law enforcement and community resources to build safe and empowered neighborhoods.

The Operations Assistant / Front Desk Receptionist serves as Safe & Sound’s primary point of welcome and provides dependable administrative and operational support throughout the workday. The position assists visitors, callers, applicants, vendors, renters, community partners, and staff; monitors the front entrance, main phone, general information inbox, and voicemail; and completes routine office, facilities, calendar, event, finance support, and records/documentation tasks under the direction of the Operations & Administrative Coordinator.

A central expectation of this role is proactive use of work time. The employee will receive structured training on recurring duties, systems, procedures, checklists, and an approved task bank. After the training period, the employee is expected to work with increasing independence: checking and completing recurring work without repeated prompting, identifying appropriate tasks during quieter front-desk periods, and asking the supervisor for the next priority when all trained tasks are current.

Being stationed at the front desk requires attentiveness, readiness to respond, and productive use of all paid work time.

Front Desk, Visitor Services, and Customer Service | Approximately 40%

• Maintain reliable, on-time front desk coverage during assigned hours; remain attentive and available to visitors, callers, and staff; and promptly alert the supervisor if coverage may be interrupted.
• Answer the video doorbell and main phone promptly and professionally. Screen visitors according to access-control and safety procedures, admit only authorized visitors, and protect confidential information, including staff schedules and presence in the building.
• Welcome approved visitors; ensure they sign in and out; notify the appropriate host; keep visitors in approved areas; escort them when required; and contact the Manager on Duty when the host is unavailable or a situation needs escalation.
• Answer routine questions, take complete messages, complete warm or cold call transfers using the phone system, check the main voicemail, and route follow-up to the correct staff member.
• Follow established procedures for visitors retrieving payment or grant checks, as well as unexpected or upset visitors, media inquiries, complaints, deliveries, safety concerns, fire or medical emergencies, or hazardous conditions outside the building.
• Provide respectful, welcoming, and culturally responsive service to people from varied backgrounds, including residents, partners, funders, applicants, vendors, and community members.

Administrative and Communications Support | Approximately 20%

• Monitor the general Info email inbox and quarantine notices; identify, respond to, route, flag, delete, or report messages according to the organization’s communication-routing guidance.
• Check, date, sort, and distribute physical mail and packages; notify recipients of deliveries; and keep confidential or financial materials secure.
• Update shared calendars, website event listings, visitor information, and other routine records within established timelines after training; review upcoming schedules for conflicts or missing information.
• Support building-use and event-rental administration by responding to routine inquiries, collecting required information, maintaining calendars and records, preparing visitor or room information, and routing approvals, pricing questions, contracts, and exceptions to the supervisor.
• Prepare, format, copy, scan, file, and organize correspondence, forms, packets, meeting materials, onboarding…