Sr. Assistant, Freshwater

Company Description

Founded in 1961, WWF works to help people and nature thrive. As a global conservation organization, WWF operates in more than 100 countries, partnering with communities, companies, and governments to protect wildlife, conserve vital habitats, and advance sustainable solutions. Grounded in science and driven by collaboration, WWF works to help nature by conserving biodiversity, supporting resilient communities, and addressing climate change. Nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 5 million globally are WWF members.

Job Description

Major Function

As a member of the Freshwater team, this role provides administrative support and coordination on the initiative and full team level, as well as direct support to the Deputy, Freshwater. This position handles a variety of standard and frequently complex administrative duties, accounting tasks and special projects, requiring great attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to digest information and build organizational, procedural, and programmatic knowledge to advance the team’s work.

Key Responsibilities

- Scheduling Coordination & Communication: Arranges meetings and makes appointments for supervisor(s) and staff. Manages own Outlook inbox and calendar as well as initiative leads’ calendars as needed. Answers complex inquiries requiring detailed knowledge of departmental procedures. Regularly composes correspondence for self and others. Composes complex documents for others, such as presentations, outgoing agreements, personnel records, Comms assets, and other materials.
- Financial & Agreement Support: Reviews and processes payments for credit card transactions and invoices, inputs proper coding into the financial system, handles reclassifications, and serves as the liaison with accounting to track payments. Monitors expense reports against budget, seeking explanations for significant variations. Executes contract and agreements process in the organizational agreements portal in support of technical leads. Assists supervisor with developing preliminary data and background information for the budget preparation process. Prepares reports for internal staff, as well as members, donors, and government staff by creating tables and charts, calculating statistics, interpreting data, and assisting in writing results. May assist with compiling input for proposals and preparing for presentations.
- Information Collection & Organization: Collects information and meeting notes, records, and lists on a regular or ad-hoc basis using Microsoft Word, Excel, or specialized databases such as SharePoint and customer relationship management (CRM) software. Manages the team’s Monday.com tracker, cataloguing the Freshwater funding pipeline, as well as proposals and projects underway. Reviews, validates, and inputs data collected or provided by others. Identifies any problems with the data and coordinates with others to resolve problems as needed. Follows up on next steps from meetings and tracks progress.
- General Office and Administrative Support: Makes travel arrangements; handles the administrative aspect of new employee set-up; orders office supplies; coordinates mailings, production, and distribution of documents, reports, and other materials. Performs miscellaneous office tasks. May assign work and coordinate projects performed by part-time and temporary staff.
- Team Events & Comms Collaboration: Contributes to planning and running initiative and team monthly, quarterly, and annual gatherings, virtual and in-person. Coordinates other meetings/conferences/special events, including attendee coordination, space and equipment rental, AV needs, catering, and material preparation. Supports or leads cross-collaboration projects with the FW Communications team as needed.
- Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Key Competencies

- Organization & Time Management – effectively manages calendars, priorities, and logistics to support scheduling, travel, and events.
- Communication & Engagement – handles inquiries, drafts correspondence, and interacts professionally with colleagues, internal and external stakeholders.
- Attention to detail – ensures accuracy and quality in documents, financial data, and reports.
- Financial Management – manages payments, expense tracking and reports, with accuracy and compliance.
- Project Management – coordinates and tracks workflows across Freshwater team, ensuring deadlines and deliverables are met.

Skills and Abilities

- A high school diploma and five years of progressively responsible experience in an administrative assistant position. Additional education may be considered in place of some of the required experience.
- Demonstrated ability to use Word, PowerPoint, Excel and, and specialized databases to create documents, reports, and logs. Good organizational and analytical skills needed to proof and edit documents; effective writing ability necessary to prepare own correspondence.
- Interpersonal skills requiring courtesy, tact, and diplomacy necessary to effectively communicate with staff, callers, and visitors.
- Ability to take initiative, prioritize, complete work with minimal supervision and meet deadlines.
- Committed to building and strengthening a culture of inclusion within and across teams.
- Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values: COURAGE – We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
- INTEGRITY – We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
- RESPECT – We honor the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
- COLLABORATION – We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

Additional Information

Please note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Relocation is not provided for this position.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) promotes equal employment opportunities for all qualified individuals regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.