Position: Administrative Assistant, NWP

Location: Thoreau, Gallup, or Albuquerque, NM (Northwest New Mexico and surrounding areas)

Employment Type: Full-time, Hourly, Nonexempt

Compensation Range: $21.50/hour - $25.25/hour DOE

Level: Associate I

Reports To: Director, Navajo Water Project

Manages: None

Supported By: Operations team, Program teams 

Education/Experience Preferences: Associate's Degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred

Start Date: ASAP, open until filled

We Are DigDeep  

The DigDeep Right to Water Project is a WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) organization committed to closing the water access gap for the 2 million + people in the U.S. who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home.

DigDeep believes access to clean water is a human right. We run several nationally recognized programs that empower communities to build their own water and sanitation systems. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. DigDeep launched the Appalachia Water Project in 2020 in McDowell County, WV. It has since brought clean, sustainable running water to hundreds of families in Southern West Virginia through public - private partnerships with the McDowell County PSD and East Logan PSD in Wyoming County. In addition to clean running water, the project is installing septic systems and connecting households to centralized sewer. The AWP is now expanding into neighboring states of Kentucky and Virginia to continue its quest of clean water for every Appalachian family. Our water projects expanded in 2022 when we launched our Colonias Water Project. This project works to bring clean, running water to the residents living in communities along the Texas-Mexico border. The Texas colonias are largely unincorporated, low-income communities that fall just outside city limits and often lack basic infrastructure. Our work began in Cochran colonia near El Paso. DigDeep partnered with residents, housing nonprofits, and county officials to innovate a new model for public-private-partnership that brings these basic services to families for the first time. Now we're getting the water flowing in 5 more communities. 

The Opportunity

DigDeep is looking for a motivated, collaborative, organized, and detail-oriented person to join our growing Navajo Water Project team as the Administrative Assistant, NWP (“AA”) to the organization’s Director of the Navajo Water Project. The ideal candidate is located within commuting distance from our Thoreau, NM office. They will be required to provide both in-office support at least 2-3 days per week, as well as attend external events in the surrounding area as needed. The position will handle a wide variety of administrative tasks. It requires nimble, strategic thinking, excellent prioritization, a positive “everything is figure-out-able” attitude, diplomacy, and above all, complete discretion. The AA will support the Director by working with, and liaising between, internal teams and external stakeholders, including, but not limited to: board members, vendors, donors, government officials, and more. This is a support role, so a love of organizing, streamlining systems, prioritizing tasks, and being one-step-ahead is a must! Ultimately, you will contribute to DigDeep’s impact by providing exceptional support for one of the leaders of our organization as the organization grows.

Key Responsibilities

This is what you’ll do once you join the team: 

Calendar, Meetings, and Operations

• Calendar management: schedule and manage meetings and events of the Director, keeping them on schedule throughout the day, prioritizing and shifting meetings as conflicts arise 
• As needed, schedule, prepare and attend external meetings for/with the Director; have a clear understanding of each meeting’s purpose and benefit; maintain excellent communication with all participants around location, technology, attendees, and scheduling; document distribution and conference technology setup as needed
• Meeting, event, and trip support: assist staff with the organization of meetings, events, work trips, and in-person engagements with logistics, including setting reminders, ordering and picking up catering/food/refreshments,  venue use, set up and clean up, purchasing meeting supplies, welcoming and greeting guests/partners, and other support responsibilities as-needed 
• As needed, prepare Director for meetings with documentation and a review of purpose, attendees, agenda, and goals 
• Attend meetings and take notes; disseminate notes to appropriate stakeholders; add action items to the appropriate task management system (ex. Asana); and follow-up on action items
• Draft, format and distribute information for internal and external communications (ex. memos, emails, presentations, reports, etc.)
• Create and prepare presentations as directed by Director
• Support general administrative duties, including, but is not limited to: returning calls, answering emails, scanning, photocopying, composing and sending mail/email, and generating other documents as needed
• When necessary, serve as a first point of contact for Director, relaying urgent information, updates, or calls as needed
• Serve as the liaison between Director and internal staff and external stakeholders

Travel & Expenses

• Support the planning and coordination of site visit activities, training, events, and visits from donors, government officials, and other DigDeep staff; organizing meals, lodging, and transportation
• Alongside the Events Officer, coordinate all aspects of domestic and international travel (air, ground, and lodging); compose detailed itineraries for travel and key meetings; collect boarding passes and complete check-in
• Maintain a clear understanding of Director’s travel preferences and make plans that align to those preferences and company policies (i.e. airline mileage program, airport location, seat assignment, rental car, hotel rewards, etc.)
• Reschedule or troubleshoot travel and logistics in real time; maintain tracking of meeting and itinerary changes and communicate proactively; track flights
• Manage payment and expense reporting for all travel and meetings; organize and track invoices and receipts, and create cash and expense reports using expense system Expensify
• Prioritize inquiries, meeting requests, emails, calls, etc., making judgements and recommendations to ensure smooth day-to-day; anticipate and troubleshoot conflicts as they arise; RSVP to events
• Assist with ad-hoc projects and support other tasks/duties as assigned

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall job description.

Competencies (Please reference our website for complete description of each competency below.)

• Analytical Thinking
• Collaborative Working
• Initiative
• Innovation
• Personal Development
• Professional Communication
• Technical Expertise

Skills and Qualifications

We want to hear from you if you have:

• High school diploma, Associates degree, or equivalent administrative work experience preferred (courses in business helpful)
• At least 2 years of applicable professional experience required; preferably in the nonprofit sector
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite, Google Workspace required
• Experience with Slack, Asana, Zoom, Expensify required
• High computer literacy, and tech savviness required
• Experience and/or willingness to use data collection platforms (e.g., such as mWater)
• Comfort and accuracy inputting, organizing, and sharing data
• Professional presence and excellent interpersonal skills; strong phone etiquette; strong writing skills
• A track record of care and discretion; the ability to keep information completely confidential
• Excellent, error-free written and verbal communication skills
• Able to focus in the face of pressure, deliver against timelines and not be intimidated by tasks/time limitations
• Organized, trustworthy, dependable, and detail oriented
• Comfortable with autonomy, able to work independently and complete assigned tasks within established time frames required
• Experience/Willingness to work across various cultural contexts and communicating across cultural differences
• Fluency/strong proficiency in the Navajo language preferred
• Be able to work 10 hours per day, 4 days per week
• Willingness to travel, including but not limited to: Navajo Nation (AZ/NM/UT), West Virginia, Texas, DigDeep HQ, and additional locations as needed.

Compensation and Benefits

At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We understand that people thrive with rest and holistic support, which is crucial for our long-term success. We take pride in offering top-notch benefits to our team across the United States, prioritizing their health and wellbeing, as well as providing additional support for our employees' families. If you join us, here’s how we’ll support you in your work:

• Competitive wage to commensurate with level of position
• Generous vacation and sick leave
• 23 weeks paid Parental Leave
• Annual Professional Development Stipend
• Annual Wellbeing Reimbursement
• BrightPlan membership (Financial Wellness Benefit)
• Health Benefits
  • Employee Offering: Medical, dental, vision insurance, 100% employer paid
  • Spouse/Children/Family Offering: Employer covers up to $500 of the monthly cost for medical insurance for spouse/children/family; Employer covers 100% of the cost for dental and vision insurance for spouse/children/family
• One Medical membership 
• Life insurance, 100% employer paid
• Work laptop
• Monthly cell phone use allowance
• Monthly internet use allowance
• 15 paid holidays (including one week closure for Labor Day)
• Domestic travel 
• 401k retirement plan, with employer match 

Interested? 

When applying, please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume. References should be available upon request. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No office visits. No calls please. Thank you.

DigDeep has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health of our employees and community at large. Where permissible by law, candidates applying to work at DigDeep should be ready to demonstrate proof of receiving up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of their employment.

In an effort to promote pay equity and transparency, DigDeep does not negotiate compensation outside of posted compensation ranges. DigDeep’s compensation is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to: internal budget analysis, external market value, internal pay alignment, and annual merit increases. A candidate’s compensation history will not be used in determining compensation at DigDeep.

Please note that DigDeep cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position.

Pursuant to Navajo Nation's Dept. of Labor NPEA Title 15 N.N.C. Chapter 7, members of the Navajo Nation are strongly encouraged to apply.

DigDeep is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people. We believe everybody should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we’ll close the US water gap in our lifetimes.

DigDeep is a certified Great Place to Work®