Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant 2

AGRICULTURE - A Cornerstone of Washington's Economy

The Washington State Department of Agriculture has been serving the state for more than 100 years. Through service, regulation, and advocacy, we keep agriculture viable and vital in Washington State, while protecting consumers, public health, and the environment. We work extensively with farmers and ranchers, but our responsibilities – from ensuring food safety to environmental protection – touch the lives of millions of people locally, nationally, and abroad.

The agency includes 780 employees approximately and grows close to 1,000 employees at the peak of seasonal work. To learn more and view additional openings, please visit our Employment Page.

The Opportunity

The Plant Protection Division supports the agriculture industry and protects the environment and consumers by protecting agriculture and the environment from insect, weed, and pathogen pests, supporting pollinator and soil health, and testing for proper weights and measures and pesticide use. The WSDA Weights and Measures Program promotes marketplace equity in commercial transactions through testing and inspecting commercial devices, price verification, package inspection, public education, monitoring fuel quality, and investigating complaints.

In addition, maintains the standards for mass, volume, and length in order to provide reliable measurement services for government and industry. The Administrative Assistant provides administrative and operational support for the Weights and Measures Program. This position processes employees' timekeeping, monitors budget status, performs program purchasing, acts as the program's travel liaison, compiles device inspection summary reports, and interfaces with the Department of Revenue Business Licensing Service to ensure database accuracy of licensed businesses and registered commercial weighing and measuring devices.

Important Notes

WSDA is recruiting for a full-time permanent Administrative Assistant 2 position within the Plant Protection Division. This position is located in Olympia, Washington. This position is represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) Union.

The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the preferred candidate's job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The typical starting salary range for this position is:
Range 41 Step A $44,856 - Step L $58,392 annually.

Some of what you'll do:

• Conduct purchasing of goods and services to support program operations.
• Create and submit purchase orders for goods and services and submit for payment to fiscal accounts payable or Division Coordinator for credit card payment.
• Create and submit purchase approval requests to fiscal accounts payable using Agency Gremlin software system.
• Create and submit additional required documentation to fiscal accounts payable as required by agency policy or procedure.
• Review and approve monthly recurring program expenditures including but not limited to: PC leases, mobile phone bills, fleet vehicle mileage and fuel expenses, and others as required.
• Track purchase requests with fiscal accounts payable and reconcile monthly with DES expenditure reports.
• Create and submit routine operational reports to program and division leadership.
• Query program software such as PISCES to download excel spreadsheets and create regular reports on the percentage of businesses and devices inspected by county and region.
• Create other operational reports as required by program manager.
• Perform data validation and reconciliation to ensure report accuracy.
• Act as program timekeeper for all inspectors, field supervisors, metrology lab staff, administrative staff and program managers.
• Complete employee timekeeping for program staff.
• Submit biweekly timesheets for all staff to payroll in a timely manner.
• Complete holiday pay processing for all program staff.
• Serve as the program travel liaison for travel and reimbursement requests.
• Review and approves program staff travel voucher submissions using the agency's Travel and Expense Management System (TEMS), and forwards to appropriate person for final review or…