Administrative Associate

Ascend Partner Services; Chapel Hill (NC); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

401(k) Matching

Performance Bonus

12 Paid Holidays

Off-season Flex Fridays

Closed Fridays in June

Professional Development

Job summary

Ascend, located in Chapel Hill, NC, seeks an Administrative Associate to support Tax, CAAS, or Audit service lines. This generalist role collaborates with Partners, Managers, and staff to move client work forward and keep deliverables organized.

You will handle client inquiries, coordinate deliverables, manage document intake, and ensure confidentiality. The role offers a path across lines as the firm grows.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of administrative experience in professional services.
• Strong client-service instincts—warm, professional.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Discretion and mature judgment handling confidential information.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Willingness to adapt across service lines as firm needs evolve.

Responsibilities

• Be the primary client contact, coordinating deliverables and maintaining relationships.
• Manage inbound client communications and requests for the service line.
• Coordinate client deliverables through review, signature, and final delivery.
• Track engagement status and keep leadership informed.
• Administer document intake, scanning, and logging.
• Support production of client deliverables—assembly and quality checks.
• Route engagement letters for signature and filing.
• Maintain client files per firm standards.

Skills

Client-service orientation

Excellent communication

Organizational skills

Confidential information handling

Microsoft 365 proficiency

Independent worker

Adaptability across service lines

Tools

CCH Axcess

CCH Workflow

Microsoft 365

Job description

Who We Are

_ About Ascend _

At Ascend, we understand the struggles that accounting & finance professionals face in traditional public accounting firms - from rigid hierarchies, overwhelming workloads, and the elusive work-life balance. It’s time for a transformative change. We believe your ambition should not be constrained by outdated practices or opaque career paths. Here, you’re not just a number; you’re a valued member of a community that supports & celebrates your professional & personal fulfillment. Our mission is to transform the public accounting experience into one where work-life harmony is a reality, and where your career advancement is supported by a nurturing network and comprehensive resources .

Ascend empowers entrepreneurial CPAs to reach their goals with an innovative growth model that brings our partner firms into the new age. Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a modern platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while having access to resources of a large CPA firm. These resources include growth capital, robust talent acquisition, best-of-breed technology, a catalytic leadership system, shared back-office services, and modernized equity incentives.

Founded in January 2023, Ascend attained revenues sufficient to qualify it as a Top 100 U.S. accounting firm within six months of operation. Explore Ascend , where your career soars without sacrificing your quality of life.

_ About Blackman & Sloop _

Located in Chapel Hill, NC Blackman & Sloop Advisors Inc. has approximately 50 full-time staff. As a locally based accounting firm, we facilitate our clients’ ambitions to expand throughout the Research Triangle area, state, and country, while still providing each client the personal time and attention on which we pride ourselves.

For 6 consecutive years, we’ve been honored as one of Accounting Today’s “Best Accounting Firms to Work For”! We’ve also been recognized by Business North Carolina as one of the “Best Employers in North Carolina” list for the past 4 years. Most recently, we are proud to have received BDO’s award for outstanding workplace culture! We believe we’re receiving this recognition based on our commitment to and from each employee, regardless of level.

As an independent member of the BDO Alliance, we have access to the resources of BDO USA, LLP, the world’s 5th largest accounting and consulting firm. Additionally in April 2024, we made the strategic decision to join Ascend to usher us in our next stage of growth. What this means to you is that while we’re a local accounting firm, our reach and expertise have no boundaries. Each member of our staff has access to an unlimited amount of resources to gain valuable information on levels that most local firms do not encounter.

The Role

We are seeking a Administrative Associate to provide dedicated administrative support to one of our three service lines — Tax, Client Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS), or Audit. This role works alongside a service line team to keep client work moving, deliverables organized, and clients well-served through every stage of the engagement.

This is a generalist role designed for someone who could seat effectively in any of our service lines. We hire for the person, not the practice line — initial placement will be based on firm need and where your strengths align best, and the role is structured so Administrative Associates can move across service lines over time as the firm evolves.

You will work directly with Partners, Managers, and staff to support client engagements, and you will be a primary point of contact for clients themselves — answering questions, coordinating deliverables, and representing the firm in every interaction. This role reports to the Admin Lead, with strong working relationships with the Partners of your assigned service line.

Key Responsibilities

Client Engagement Support

• Serve as a primary administrative point of contact for clients — answering questions, coordinating deliverables, and maintaining warm, professional relationships
• Manage inbound client phone calls, emails, and requests for the service line team
• Coordinate the flow of client deliverables — tax returns, financial statements, audit reports, advisory memos — through review, signature, and final delivery
• Track engagement status and keep Partners and Managers informed of client activity and open items

Document & Deliverable Management

• Manage document intake, scanning, and logging for client engagements
• Support production of client deliverables — assembly, formatting, quality checks, and final packaging
• Route engagement letters, service agreements, and related paperwork for signature and internal filing
• Maintain client files and records in accordance with firm standards and confidentiality requirements

Client Setup & Onboarding

• Support new client onboarding for the service line — client setup in practice management systems, engagement letter preparation, and initial documentation
• Coordinate with the Customer Experience team on onboarding execution and client escalations
• Support acceptance and continuance processes as directed by the Admin Lead and service line Partners

Deadlines, Compliance & Workflow

• Maintain the service line’s deadline and compliance calendar; surface upcoming deadlines to Partners and Managers
• Track engagement workflow and status in CCH Workflow, CCH Axcess, and adjacent systems
• Coordinate with the Operations Manager on capacity and scheduling implications of engagement volume
• Support the service line through peak seasons (tax season for Tax, monthly close for CAAS, audit peaks for Audit)

Required Qualifications

• 3–5 years of administrative experience in professional services (CPA firm, law firm, or similar preferred)
• Strong client-service instincts — warm, professional, responsive under pressure
• Excellent written and verbal communication; comfort as a primary client touchpoint by phone and email
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail — the ability to keep multiple engagements moving without dropping threads
• Discretion and mature judgment when handling confidential client information
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) and comfort learning new systems
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and seasonal demand cycles
• Eagerness and willingness to adopt and use new technologies, including AI-enabled tools
• Willingness and adaptability to work across service lines as firm needs evolve

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in a CPA firm, law firm, or other professional services environment
• Familiarity with CCH Axcess, CCH Workflow, or similar practice management tools
• Exposure to tax, audit, or client accounting work — even at a high level
• Experience supporting multiple partners or senior professionals simultaneously
• Familiarity with e-signature platforms, document management systems, or client portals

Who We Look For

A career administrative professional who takes real pride in the craft — someone who understands that a well-run engagement is the product of a hundred small acts of care, done consistently and well. Warm and professional with clients, sharp and reliable with Partners, adaptable across service lines. Someone who can hold multiple engagements in their head at once, spot the thing that’s about to slip, and quietly handle it before anyone else has to think about it.

Location & Schedule

In-office, Chapel Hill, NC. Full-time, exempt (salaried). Increased hours and flexibility expected during tax season (February 1 – April 15) and extension season (August 1 – October 15), and during service-line-specific peak periods.

What We Offer

We hire good people and give them a good place to work. Our secret to keeping them around is a positive culture, strong community involvement, and a dedication to constantly increasing our competencies. We truly believe that when you succeed, the firm succeeds, and we make sure you have whatever tools you need to make that success possible.

• Unlimited PTO
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Matching
• Performance Bonus
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Off-season Flex Fridays
• Closed Fridays in June
• Professional Development

At Ascend, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Ascend hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.