Description:
The Office Assistant performs all reception duties, including greeting visitors and operating multi-line telephone, processing incoming mail and payments, scheduling appointments, and other administrative tasks. The Office Assistant is the support liaison. As the first point of contact for visitors, clients, and staff, the Office Assistant serves as the face and voice of Laurel Hill Center. This role requires a professional who is consistently alert, approachable, and prepared to respond with warmth and efficiency. The Office Assistant anticipates needs, manages front-desk interactions seamlessly, and upholds a welcoming environment that reflects the Center’s values of respect, support, and collaboration.
Essential Job Functions:
- Open and/or close office daily
- Prepare and display office notices
- Answer phones and direct calls, connecting callers to appropriate personnel
- Distribute faxes and voicemails
- Assign mailboxes to new staff Receive and direct visitors, staff, and participants
- Implement reception policies and procedures
- Process incoming mail and distribute to appropriate personnel
- Receive payments and maintain daily cash log
- Track receipt and distribution of participant checks
- Receive referrals, verify eligibility, enter into EHR, and schedule screenings
- Schedule assessments and other activities as assigned
- Cancel and reschedule appointments for absent staff
- Maintain stock in office supply closet, reordering as necessary
- Distribute and track spare keys and IT equipment
- Maintain composure and clear judgment in fast-paced or high-pressure environments
- Demonstrate resilience and a steady demeanor when navigating unexpected challenges
- Effectively manage stress and support team cohesion during periods of uncertainty or crisis
- Remain solution-oriented and focused while working through competing priorities and disruptions
Other Functions:
- Attend meetings and trainings as directed
- Other administrative tasks as assigned
Knowledge and Abilities:
- Professional interpersonal skills, including the ability to maintain professionalism when interacting with agitated or angry individuals
- Ability to communicate appropriately with staff and clients, including individuals with severe mental health symptoms (grounded, resilient, unflappable, non-reactive)
- Strong organizational and time-management skills, including the ability to manage workflow and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines
- Accurate data entry, including high attention to detail and the ability to self-monitor for errors
- Ability to operate standard office equipment and software programs, including MS Office and medical records system
- Ability to understand and follow agency policies and procedures
- Ability to work independently on assigned tasks, as well as collaboratively with other Assistants to ensure all tasks are completed
- Ability to set and maintain boundaries with staff and participants
- Ability to remain calm in chaotic situations
- Ability to meet Universal Expectations of Employment
- Ability to perform physical requirements of the position, including lifting up to 20 pounds, standing, sitting, bending, kneeling, crouching, reaching, grasping, using fingers, tolerating strong odors, speaking, repetitive motion, extensive use of computer
Work Environment:
- Indoor, climate-controlled behavioral health office setting
- Enclosed shared workspace
- Can be busy and chaotic at times
- High phone and in-person volume
- Occasional distressed or emotional visitors
- Some strong odors
Requirements:
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Documentation of successful completion of a background and fingerprint check as specified by Oregon law as well as a urinalysis drug screen.
Drug Screening Requirement
Successful candidates must complete and maintain compliance with Laurel Hill Center’s drug-free workplace standards, which include:
Passing a urinalysis drug screening with a negative result for THC
- Ongoing compliance with agency drug testing policies, as applicable
- While marijuana is legal under Oregon state law, this requirement is based on Laurel Hill Center’s contractual, regulatory, and funding obligations, which mandate adherence to drug-free workplace standards for certain positions.
- Failure to meet or maintain these requirements may impact employment eligibility.