RECEPTIONIST
The Commonwealth Fund

THE ORGANIZATION

The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. An international program in heath policy is designed to stimulate innovative policies and practices in the United States and other industrialized countries.

GENERAL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Reporting to the director of administration, the receptionist for the Commonwealth Fund provides reception and front-line security for the Fund. The receptionist ensures that the first floor of the Harkness House is fully operational each morning, and assists the building manager and assistant manager in maintaining the public space. The receptionist greets staff and announces guests, making guests comfortable while they wait. The receptionist is responsible for the main phone: answers calls, responds to inquiries and directs calls and overnight voicemail messages to the appropriate staff member. The receptionist receives deliveries and arranges pick-ups by FedEx and other vendors and calls for messenger service as necessary. The receptionist schedules meetings for the two main meeting rooms and the President’s Office ensuring the availability of appropriate food and beverage service, as well as audio-visual, computer, and phone equipment. This responsibility requires close coordination between the front desk, administration, dining room staff, the office services coordinator, and the information technology manager. Cohesive meeting execution requires that the receptionist maintain, draft, edit, and post various Fund calendars. The receptionist is also responsible for the slide show on the Front Hall Plasma Screen. Other responsibilities include coding invoices from Federal Express, messenger services, car services, and other vendors. The receptionist assists the director of administration as well as other departments at the Fund in assignments ranging from Board Meeting related efforts, to working with other departments on short-term projects. The receptionist trains replacement staff to handle the front desk responsibilities.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Reception—First and foremost, the receptionist is the face of the Fund and is the front line of security for Harkness House. When guests arrive, the receptionist greets and announces them to the appropriate staff member. Since guests are not allowed to move about the building unaccompanied, they are directed to wait in the Board Room or the Reception Room. It is the receptionist’s responsibility to ensure all guests are comfortable. The position ensures that the first floor is fully functional each morning and all day. This includes making sure the lights are on, that the Reception Room, Board Room, Front Hall and two restrooms are clean, and fully supplied, that any flower arrangements have arrived, that publication racks are full and in order; window blinds are even, that tables are clean and clear, old newspapers have been discarded and trash cans empty in the morning, that unnecessary equipment has been put away and finally that meetings are set up before their scheduled time.

Key Member of Administrative Team—The receptionist is included in all email alerts to the IT department and the Building department and functions as an important resource for making sure all issues are resolved in a timely manner. Typically, the receptionist locates the appropriate staff member and notifies the team when an issue is resolved. The receptionist has the same responsibility in the event of a fire or other building alarm and fields calls and responses while stationed at the front desk. The receptionist arranges the weekly department meetings and prepares and presents the meeting schedules and administrative team calendar which allows the team to successfully coordinate upcoming time-off and work allocation.

Telephone Duties—Each morning the receptionist turns off the evening voice mailbox and checks for voice mail messages made to the main phone line overnight. If needed, messages are passed on to the appropriate staff member. During the day, the receptionist answers the main telephone line, fields questions, and redirects calls as necessary. The position requires familiarity with the Commonwealth Fund purpose, operations, staff, and program areas. On occasion, the receptionist may be responsible for taking and transmitting messages for senior staff. At 5:00 pm the receptionist activates the evening voice mail.

Meeting Arrangements—Scheduled meetings in the public meeting rooms and the President’s Office are managed by the receptionist. As staff members submit meeting requests, the receptionist makes sure there are no scheduling conflicts, by checking the Reception Room and Board Room calendars closely and double checking for reservation errors and conflicts. The receptionist must check the mailboxes for these two rooms through the Outlook Exchange server to ensure meetings are properly booked. Each Wednesday afternoon, the receptionist prepares detailed meeting request sheets by consulting the Reception Room and Board Room calendars and communicating with staff members. The sheets are then forwarded on to the director of administration, the IT department, the office services coordinator, dining services, and the building managers during the weekly department meeting. For large and important meetings, the receptionist is expected to order wait staff and food from outside vendors. The receptionist will follow-up with those vendors, as well as the appropriate staff member, to ensure order is correct and delivered on time. For all meetings, the receptionist provides the final oversight to ensure that everything is set properly and that equipment is available, and working. The primary duty of the receptionist is to coordinate between all involved departments and staff members, ensuring that all parties are informed so that meetings can take place without a hitch. The receptionist also provides training and ongoing guidance to program staff on how to run a meeting at the Fund. A close relationship between the receptionist, the director of administration, program support staff, the office services coordinator, the information technology department, dining services and building staff is vital to the successful coordination of meetings.

Technical Support—The receptionist is expected to be familiar with the Tandberg Video Conferencing equipment, web conferencing and the teleconferencing unit. The position is also responsible for coordinating with the teleconferencing provider when it is necessary to add or delete a user account, ensuring all subscriptions are current. Another duty is maintaining and updating the staff phone lists and teleconferencing information in the Board Room and Reception Room. Up-to-date versions of these lists are also posted on the bulletin board in Outlook as well as placed in the Board Room and Reception Room.

Travel and Attendance—The receptionist keeps a daily log of staff arrival and sends the completed log to the director of administration. The receptionist notifies the dining staff of anticipated lunch attendance (including guests) for the day. The receptionist prepares the list of Fund meetings and events on a regular basis. At monthly all staff meetings the receptionist presents the two month look-ahead calendar to staff. The look-ahead calendars and Fund event lists are posted on the Fund’s bulletin board and a plasma screen version is prepared weekly. The receptionist tracks external guests on an Excel spreadsheet created from the daily attendance sheets.

Building Maintenance—The receptionist is responsible for notifying the building staff if there are problems with the front doors, security system, elevators, lighting, and plumbing. This entails a daily sweep of the first floor and a diligent attention to detail. In addition to meeting rooms and other building issues, if one of the bathrooms is soiled or not fully stocked, the appropriate dining services staff must be immediately notified.

Delivery Service Arrangements—The receptionist accepts deliveries from Federal Express and messenger services. The office services coordinator is notified immediately about all deliveries. The intended recipient is notified if the delivery takes place after 4:00 pm. Large deliveries are directed to use the back service entrance and the appropriate staff is notified upon their arrival. The receptionist monitors daily pick-ups by Federal Express and manages the messenger service, from arranging for a pick-up online, logging sender information, ensuring timely pickup and including the appropriate code for billing purposes. A pleasant relationship with vendors and delivery personnel who frequent the Fund is an important facet of the position.

Billing—The receptionist is responsible for coding bills from car services, Federal Express, and messenger services. As the first set of eyes, the receptionist is expected to look for incorrect charges and bring them to the attention of the director of administration. The receptionist may be asked for assistance with dining room, janitorial, paper, and office supply vendor evaluation. Working with the office services coordinator, dining room staff and others, the receptionist may be asked to assist with compiling invoices, researching vendors, preparing a bid to distribute to selected vendors, and attending meetings with potential vendors.

Special Events—The receptionist will be called upon to assist with special events such as the annual holiday reception and board of directors meetings. Duties may include updating the guest list, name tag preparation, and set up coordination, as well as booking car service and other requests that may arise.

Interdepartmental Support—Miscellaneous projects are commonly passed down to the receptionist from the director of administration and other departments. The receptionist is expected to collaborate with other program areas and assist with special projects. Some of the on-going interdepartmental duties of the receptionist include working with the communications department on the plasma screen display in the lobby; coordinating with the communications program associate to ensure publications rack in the front hall and lobby are stocked and in order; and supporting program support staff by loading presentations onto the Commonwealth Fund website.

Other Duties—This position will encounter any number of situations during the day that require a certain amount of maturity and judgment. The receptionist may be asked to assist Fund staff members with various projects, and should expect to do so without being directly assigned by the director of administration.

The Fund’s philosophy on successful performance on the job includes the willingness on the part of all staff members to handle any assignment necessary to further the goals of the institution. This may include taking on responsibility for other program areas or departments if the need arises.

QUALIFICATIONS

This position requires a team-player who is reliable, conscientious, flexible, willing to work, accurate and detail oriented, is able to follow a routine, a good listener and communicator and who wants to learn. This position requires the ability to deal politely with all levels of staff in the organization, with delivery people, workers and vendors, and with the Fund’s colleagues outside of the organization. This position requires good judgment and the maturity to deal with all kinds of issues that arise at a front desk of a building. The successful candidate will be independent, know how to make the best use of his or her time and will work well as a member of the administrative team. Two years work and some college experience is preferred. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. Excellent communication skills are required. The successful candidate will also have strong computer skills, including a working knowledge of Windows, Microsoft Office, and the Internet.

The Fund has a relatively small staff and teamwork is essential to effectiveness. Judgment, integrity, and the ability to listen with sensitivity to others are traits that are particularly important in an organization of the Fund’s size. The ability to work collegially with a variety of Fund staff and an interest in and strong commitment to the Fund’s mission and programs are key qualifications.

COMPENSATION

Compensation is commensurate with background and experience. The Fund offers an excellent benefits package (medical/dental insurance, life/disability insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, tuition assistance, paid time off and lunch in staff dining room).

CONTACT

Send resume and cover letter via e-mail to dd@cmwf.org  
Diana Davenport
Vice President, Administration
The Commonwealth Fund
One East 75th Street
New York, NY 10021-2692


The Commonwealth Fund values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of individuals of diverse backgrounds, sex, race, religion, and sexual orientation.