Administrative Support Technician II - Police, Administrative Command, Animal Control Division

Howard County Government; Columbia (MD); On-site; USD 42,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

Howard County Government is seeking a detail-oriented administrative professional to provide secretarial support to the Administrator and division staff. The role involves answering phones, greeting visitors, and handling clerical tasks for animal shelter operations.

Responsibilities cover data entry, records management, basic bookkeeping, invoicing, and preparing reports. The position requires a high school diploma and at least three years of related experience; work may include varied shifts.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required with 3 years of related experience.
• Proficiency in WordPerfect and Excel preferred.
• Strong data entry and records management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide secretarial services to the Administrator and staff.
• Answer phones, greet visitors, and manage front counter tasks.
• Handle data entry, filing, and confidential records.
• Assist with financial tasks including deposits and invoices.
• Prepare monthly and annual reports for boards and hearings.

Skills

Secretarial support

Clerical work

Data entry

Cash handling

Public contact

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

WordPerfect

Microsoft Excel

Winframe

Access

Job description

Howard County:

Conveniently located in the heart of central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, Howard County offers the charm of a historic past mixed with the excitement of a cosmopolitan community.

Howard County Government:

Howard County Government is a leader in innovation, sustainability, and consistently ranked as one of the best places to live and work in the country. In 2026, Howard County Government received a record-breaking 113 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) – the highest number of annual NACo awards achieved in the history of the State of Maryland, and the highest number of awards of any county in the State of Maryland which received a collective 165 awards. NACo is the leading organization representing county-level government operations. These awards recognize innovative and transformative programs that provide new services for county residents, improve existing programs, upgrade working conditions, and enhance citizen participation and public policymaking.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for outstanding individuals to join our team and contribute to excellence in Howard County operations.

What you’ll like most about working at Howard County Government:

• We are committed to workplace excellence in every area of County government.
• We have a highly talented, diverse, and inclusive workplace. Your input will not only be heard, but it will be encouraged!
• We offer competitive compensation and great benefits including medical, retirement, and wellness programs.
• As a member of the Howard County Government team, you'll be helping drive our culture and directly impact what makes us an amazing place to work.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Provide secretarial support to the Administrator, Supervisors and staff members in the division as required. Answers telephone, greets visitors and performs all related clerical and front counter assignments related to the operation of the animal shelter, animal rescue and law enforcement. This position has direct contact with animals.

STARTING SALARY HIRING RANGE:

$20.03 - $21.27/Hourly
$41,670 - $44,241/Annually

* This is the anticipated starting salary range for this position. Please note that the final salary will be determined by the Office of Human Resources, commensurate with experience and aligned to ensure internal equity with similarly situated roles.*

*This is a Classified position, meaning that it is a part of the Howard County Classified Service upon completion of a probationary period of at least six (6) months*

*Please note that this position falls within a collective bargaining unit and is represented by AFSCME Local 3085, Local 3888, or Local 1810.*

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Performs intermediate technical level administrative support work under general supervision from an administrative or technical superior. Work typically involves performing clerical and secretarial work, such as data entry and document management, file maintenance of secure and confidential records, and public contact and service. Work may also include accounting clerical tasks such as bookkeeping, keeping of financial and other important records; preparing vouchers for payment; documenting and depositing cash receipts; and controlling, recording, and storing data. Work at this level may also include independent responsibility for a routine clerical process.

General Workplace Competencies:

• Works and cooperates with co-workers and supervisors at all levels.
• Learns and performs all essential job functions accurately.
• Evaluates efficiency of office operations and revises procedures to improve workflow.

Financial and Administrative Recordkeeping:

• Provides records of all financial matters, including operation of cash register, cash handling, preparation of deposits, reconciliation of records, and safekeeping of funds.
• Maintains petty cash fund.
• Handles inventory and ordering of supplies; reviews and arranges payment of monthly invoices for expenses, supplies, equipment, and services.
• Maintains personnel records, records of the Animal Matters Hearing Board, and legal documents.
• Prepares statistics, descriptive narrative, and reports on finances, impounded animals, complaints, affidavits, licenses, overtime, leave balances, and other operational metrics.

Reporting & Documentation:

• Prepares monthly and annual reports for the Animal Matters Hearing Board.
• Prepares reports regarding issuance and payment of citations.
• Prepares warnings, citations, compliance notices, and related correspondence.
• Gathers information for supervisors, prepares reports, answers routine correspondence, and drafts letters for review and signature.

Legal, Compliance & Public Representation:

• Represents Howard County as the custodian of records for Animal Control in District Court.
• Interprets, explains, and enforces policies, procedures, and relevant laws.
• Receives, analyzes, processes, and relays information related to legal and policy matters.

Public Interaction & Customer Service:

• Provides extensive contact with the public, Office of Law, Animal Matters Hearing Board, and other agencies.
• Explains procedures, animal-related laws, affidavit processes, licensing requirements, and related inquiries with tact and diplomacy.
• Educates citizens about legal responsibilities, proper pet care, training, wildlife, and related topics.

Meeting, Scheduling & Administrative Support:

• Schedules and assists with preparation of agendas for interviews, conferences, board/committee meetings, and other group events.
• Notifies participants and attends meetings as recording secretary; takes notes and prepares minutes.

Supervisory & Training Responsibilities:

• Trains, plans, assigns, and reviews the work of lower-level clerical employees.

Operational & Clerical Support:

• Performs dispatch, filing, and general office duties required for daily operations and future expansion.
• Handles voicemail activation/deactivation, retrieves and returns calls.
• Processes applications; assigns home visits/interviews; documents veterinary transports; finalizes adoptions.

Animal Intake & Customer Transactions:

• Assists with animal intake, owner redemptions, and adoption processes.
• Sells dog and cat licenses.
• Takes lost and found reports, checks for matches, photographs animals, and creates descriptions for website posting.

Work Schedule Requirements:

• Works day, evening, night, weekend, holiday, and mandatory overtime shifts, often without advance notice.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

High School Diploma or GED and three (3) years experience or equivalent combination education and experience.

PREFERRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Must possess education/experience which provides the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities required to provide secretarial services to the Administrator.
• Proficiency with WordPerfect, Microsoft Excel, Winframe, Access and office equipment such as fax machines, calculators, computers, copiers, printers, etc.
• Ability to effectively communicate both orally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Knowledge of animal health, behavior and training.
• Law enforcement, especially pertaining to animals.
• Prior professional experience in animal control/welfare preferred.
• Ability to be multi-task oriented is extremely important.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Working within the offices of the Animal Control Division as well as a shelter environment. Extremely fast-paced and highly stressful work environment. Employee is exposed to animals. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

LANGUAGE SKILLS, MATHEMATICAL SKILLS, AND REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.

Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.

Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.

Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.