Administrative Assistant I (Counseling)

Foothill-De Anza Community College District; Anza (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 81,000; Full time

Job summary

Foothill-De Anza Community College District is seeking an Administrative Assistant I to provide front desk and general office support to the General Counseling Office, serving as the primary contact for students, staff, and the public.

Responsibilities include answering calls, assisting with counseling appointments, maintaining SARS data, coordinating schedules and office materials, and supporting events and communications.

Qualifications

• Modern office practices, procedures, and tech knowledge.
• Excellent communication, both written and verbal.
• Ability to work with a diverse student population and staff.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Provide front desk and primary contact for students, staff and the public.
• Answer calls and inquiries; assist with counseling appointments.
• Maintain schedules, directories, equipment inventories, and records.
• Coordinate materials, events, and communications for General Counseling.

Skills

Customer service

Front desk

Data entry

Scheduling

Office equipment

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

Initial Review Date: 09/18/2026**

**Any complete applications received after the review date will only be forwarded to the hiring committee at their request.

Salary Grade:C1-43

Starting Salary:$5,415.12 (per month)

Full Salary Range:$5,415.12 – $7,261.35 (per month)

The Foothill-De Anza Community College District is currently accepting applications for the classified position above.

The Foothill - De Anza Community College District does not have a remote work policy. All employees are expected to be available to work in person and on-site per the requirement of the department.

The Foothill-De Anza Community College District does not reimburse applicants for travel, lodging or any other costs incurred by applicant to attend interviews. All interviewing costs incurred will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Foothill – De Anza Community College District Mission Statement:

The mission of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District is student success and educational excellence. The district and its colleges provide access to affordable, quality educational programs and services that develop a broadly educated and socially responsible community that supports an equitable and just future for California and the global community. Every member of our district contributes to a dynamic instructional and learning environment that fosters student engagement, equal opportunity, and innovation in meeting the various educational and career goals of our diverse students. Foothill-De Anza is driven by an equity agenda and core values of integrity, inclusion, care for our students' well-being, and sustainability.

De Anza College Mission Statement:

De Anza College provides an academically rich, multicultural learning environment that challenges students of every background to develop their intellect, character and abilities; to realize their goals; and to be socially responsible leaders in their communities, the nation and the world.

De Anza College fulfills its mission by engaging students in creative work that demonstrates the knowledge, skills and attitudes contained within the college’s Institutional Core Competencies:

• Communication and expression

• Information literacy

• Physical/mental wellness and personal responsibility

• Civic capacity for global, cultural, social and environmental awareness

• Critical thinking

Job Summary

Provides front desk and administrative support to the General Counseling Office and serves as a primary point of contact for students, staff, faculty, and the public. Responsibilities include answering calls and inquiries, assisting students with counseling appointments, monitoring in-person and virtual drop‑in services, and maintaining accurate student contact data in Scheduling and Reporting System (SARS).

Supports the day‑to‑day operations of General Counseling by maintaining schedules, directories, equipment inventories, manuals, website information, and division records. Coordinates technology, facilities, and equipment support with campus services and assists with Counseling events, communications, promotional materials, and other administrative projects. The position requires strong customer service, communication, organization, attention to detail, and the ability to work effectively with a diverse student population.

DEFINITION

Under general supervision, performs a variety of office support, customer service, and/or program support duties; performs word processing, data entry, and typing; prepares correspondence using standard formats; interacts frequently with students, staff, faculty, and the general public and explains program, department, and/or division policies and procedures, provides other District information, and/or directs questions and inquiries to the appropriate staff; assists students and other customers with program eligibility questions and the completion of required forms and applications; schedules appointments on behalf of program, department, and division staff; and performs related duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED

Receives general supervision from assigned supervisory and managerial staff. Exercises no supervision of staff.

CLASS CHARACTERISTICS

This is the first experienced‑level class in the Administrative Assistant series. Initially under more direct supervision, incumbents with general office support experience perform work such as customer service at the front counter and over the phone and email; providing assistance to students, faculty, staff, and the general public with program requirements, policies, procedures, and eligibility questions; document preparation and completion; file and records maintenance; scanning; data entry; and screening phone calls and visitors, responding to emails, processing mail, and directing questions to the appropriate staff. As experience is gained, assignments become more varied and are performed with greater independence until employees are fully trained in all procedures related to the assigned area(s) of responsibility, working with independent judgment within clearly defined work procedures and standards. This class is distinguished from Administrative Assistant II in that the latter performs a broader range and more complex office support and administrative duties, typically including routine financial and/or budgetary responsibilities and/or a specialized function related to the area of assignment, program, department, or division.

EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL FUNCTIONS (Illustrative Only)

1. Serves as first point of contact for students, parents, staff, faculty, and the general public for assigned program, department, or division by answering a variety of questions and responding to complaints; providing information regarding classes and campus facilities and directions and general program, college, and District information; explaining program requirements, policies, procedures, and eligibility questions according to established guidelines or by referring the customer to other programs, departments, off‑campus services, agencies, and community groups, as appropriate.
2. Performs a variety of customer services duties, such as registering, dropping, and/or adding students to programs and/or services; ordering program, instructional, class, or testing materials; assembling informational packets; distributing applications, forms, tests, evaluations, and other documents as requested and assists students and other customers in completing such documents; and scheduling appointments with other staff.
3. Performs a variety of administrative duties to support the operations of assigned program, department, or division including maintaining websites; opening and securing offices, coordinating travel arrangements; processing reimbursements and invoices; attending meetings and taking minutes; and assisting in ordering and maintaining office and other related supplies.
4. Types and edits a variety of documents, including correspondence, letters, memos, agendas, reports, lists, forms, schedules, flyers, event materials, and statistical reports.
5. Processes and prepares a variety of reports according to established procedures and practices; inputs and retrieves data from various program, department, division, and/or District‑wide software applications and database systems.
6. Receives payments, donations, and fees from the public; issues receipts as appropriate according to established procedures; completes reports and allocates receivables to appropriate accounts; may prepare deposits.
7. Verifies and reviews forms and reports for completeness and conformance with established policies and procedures; applies policies and procedures in determining completeness of applications, records, and files.
8. Receives, time stamps, sorts, and distributes incoming and interdepartmental mail; prepares and distributes outgoing mail.
9. Assists in planning and organizing program, department, and/or division‑related events, workshops, informational seminars, presentations, and related activities.
10. Maintains accurate and detailed files and records, verifies accuracy of information, researches discrepancies, and records information.
11. Learns and applies emerging technologies and, as necessary, to perform duties in an efficient, organized, and timely manner.
12. Performs related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of:

1. Modern office practices, procedures, technology, and computer equipment and applications, including word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications.
2. Applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, ordinances and District policies and procedures relevant to assigned area of responsibility.
3. Record keeping and filing systems and methods.
4. Basic business arithmetic and bookkeeping.
5. Methods of preparing and processing various records, reports, forms, and other documents specific to assigned program, department, or division.
6. English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and punctuation.
7. Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, students, and District staff, including individuals of diverse academic, socio‑economic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, disability, and sexual orientation.

Ability to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of, sensitivity to, and respect for the diverse academic, socio‑economic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, disability and sexual orientation of community college students, faculty and staff.
2. Perform administrative support work accurately and within established deadlines.
3. Respond to and effectively prioritize multiple phone calls and other requests for service.
4. Interpret, apply, and explain applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, ordinances and District policies and procedures relevant to assigned area of responsibility.
5. Gather and compile program/department/division‑specific information from a variety of sources.
6. Prepare, review and present correspondence and communications in a clear and concise manner.
7. Maintain accurate databases, records and files.
8. Maintain confidentiality as required.
9. Compose correspondence and reports independently or from brief instructions.
10. Perform arithmetic computations accurately.
11. Organize work, meet critical deadlines and follow up on assignments.
12. Effectively use and keep current with computer systems, software and modern business equipment to perform a variety of work tasks.
13. Use English effectively to communicate in person, over the telephone and in writing.
14. Use tact, initiative, prudence and independent judgment within general policy, procedural and legal guidelines.
15. Establish, maintain and foster positive and effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Understanding of, sensitivity to, and respect for the diverse academic, socio‑economic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, disability and sexual orientation of community college students, faculty and staff.
2. Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be: equivalent to completion of the twelfth (12th) grade AND one (1) year of increasingly responsible and varied administrative and office support experience.

Licenses and Certifications:

None.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer; vision to read printed materials and a computer screen; and hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone. Standing in and walking between work areas is frequently required. Finger dexterity is needed to access, enter and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator and to operate standard office equipment. Positions in this classification frequently bend, stoop, kneel and reach to perform assigned duties, as well as push and pull drawers open and closed to retrieve and file information. Employees must possess the ability to lift, carry, push and pull materials and objects up to 10 pounds with the use of proper equipment. Reasonable accommodations will be made for individuals on a case‑by‑case basis.

ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS

Employees work in an office environment with moderate noise levels, controlled temperature conditions and no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Position: Full‑time, Permanent, 12‑months per year

Starting date: As soon as possible upon completion of the search process.

We are happy to assist individuals with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to complete the employment process, provided that you notify Employment Services no later than the closing date of the announcement.

The successful applicant will be required to provide proof of authorization to work in the United States.

Employment Services

Foothill‑De Anza Community College District

12345 El Monte Road

Los Altos Hills, California 94022

Email: [e-mail]

http://hr.fhda.edu/