Receptionist (DF)

Democracy Fund; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Democracy Fund seeks an energetic Receptionist in Washington, DC to support office operations with a hospitality-first mindset. You will handle front-desk duties, event logistics, and contracts support while coordinating budgets and vendor relationships.

The role requires 3+ years in office environments, strong MS Excel skills, and polished communication. A team-focused, proactive approach will help maintain an efficient, collaborative workspace for a mission-driven team.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of proven experience working in an office environment supporting senior staff or project teams.
• Proficiency with MS Excel; Mac experience preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Willingness to learn new software systems and adapt to changing processes.
• Professional maturity, discretion, and ability to collaborate across teams.

Responsibilities

• Welcome all guests and respond with a warm, problem-solving approach to inquiries.
• Develop and manage the annual office budget with the leadership team.
• Oversee day-to-day office operations including opening/closing and meeting prep.
• Coordinate food catering and deliveries, manage the food budget, and report spends.
• Maintain calendars, plan events, and update the operations manual regularly.
• Assist with contracts, grants, and other documents in Fluxx and DocuSign.
• Track expenditures and reconcile invoices for the Operations team.
• Foster collaboration and implement best practices for office management.

Skills

Office administration

Budget management

Vendor coordination

Event logistics

Calendar management

Communication skills

MS Excel

Expensify

Education

High school diploma

Tools

Fluxx

DocuSign

Envoy

Zoom

Expensify

Box

Replicon

Job description

Democracy Fund invests in organizations working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. We work on things that make democracy work better.

At the heart of our vision for the future are three core commitments: fostering more effective governance in the United States, modernizing our election and campaign finance systems, and strengthening our media and the public square to help people understand and participate in the democratic process. To date, we have committed more than $100 million in support of a healthy democracy.

Out of deep respect for the U.S. Constitution and our nation’s core democratic values, eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar founded Democracy Fund. Incubated in the Omidyar Network, the Democracy Fund launched as an independent foundation in 2014 and is based in Washington, D.C.

Democracy Fund seeks an energetic Receptionist with a "hospitality first" mindset to support all of the organization’s operations.

Office operations include office administration, meeting and event logistics support, IT and contract support, and other duties to create a smooth-running and collaborative work environment for the mission-driven Democracy Fund team.

We are looking for a self-motivated, focused, and pro-active team player, who has had success supporting staff at all levels of an organization and who enjoys helping others, solving problems, and improving office environments and workflows. Strong candidates will be highly organized, friendly, meticulous, and excellent communicators.

The Receptionist, who will report to the Director of People (DOP), will engage with all members of the Democracy Fund team as well as external operations partners. This position, which is non-exempt, pays overtime, as regular hours are likely to equal or exceed 45 hours/week.

PRIMARY RESPONSBILITIES

The Receptionist’s responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following:

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

• Welcome all guests and respond with a warm, problem-solving approach to inquiries from outsiders and staff. Refer them to the appropriate parties as needed.
• Work with leadership team to develop and manage the annual budget for office needs.
• Manage the day-to-day operations of the office, including but not limited to:
  • Opening and closing duties for the office.
  • Helping to prepare conference rooms for meetings.
  • Ordering and stocking office and kitchen supplies and equipment.
  • Identifying ways to save on office expenses.
  • Maintaining office and kitchen areas and equipment.
  • Coordinating Democracy Fund needs with building management, and ensuring appropriate security (office closures, etc.) through coordination with building management and external vendors.
• Manage and coordinate food catering and deliveries for Democracy Fund teams. Maintain the food budget and provide monthly updates on spending to the DOP.
• Maintain the Operations team calendar by scheduling events and meetings as needed.
• Actively maintain an operations administration manual, seeking input from appropriate staff to develop or refine policies as necessary.
• Collaborate with internal administrative partners to streamline organizational systems.
• Learn and implement best practices for office management.

CONTRACTSAND GRANTS

• Assign login information to new vendors and grantees in our grants and contract administration system, Fluxx.
• Generate draft contracts and contract amendments in Fluxx and format agreements for signature.
• Administer transmission of all contracts, grants, sponsorships, and other documents as requested through DocuSign.
• Maintain grants files.

OPERATIONS TEAM SUPPORT

• Track the Operations Team’s annual expenditures related to office management.
• Maintain and reconcile the Operations team credit card and process invoices for all contracts held by the Operations team (Facilities & IT, Finance, Grants, Legal, People, etc.).
• Coordinate requests for "swag" for Democracy Fund staff.

TEAM MEMBER

• Work to develop and support strong cross organizational systems with other administrative staff to ensure the Operations team successfully launches, maintains, and refines operations across the organization.
• Team player with the ability to build strong relationships and work collaboratively.
• Ability to work effectively with staff at all levels, balancing projects and priorities for multiple team members.
• Contribute to a team culture that values collaboration, positivity, and transparency and that drives towards impact through continuous improvement and learning.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

• Deep passion for strengthening American democracy.
• 3+ years of proven experience working in an office environment supporting senior staff or project teams.
• Quick learner with new software systems, and proficiency with MS Excel; Mac experience preferred. While not required, applicants should note if they have experience with Expensify, Zoom, DocuSign, Envoy, Vidyo, Fluxx, Box, or Replicon.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and rigorous attention to detail required.
• Professional maturity, high sense of personal responsibility and integrity, proven ability to exercise discretion, and good judgment.
• Organized and results-oriented self-starter, who enjoys problem-solving, is committed to excellence, and possesses a strong sense of urgency.
• Flexibility and initiative to work both independently and as part of a team.
• High school diploma required.
• Position is based in the Washington, DC area.

The Democracy Fund is committed to a diverse workplace, seeking voices and expertise from people from across the political spectrum. Our board, staff, advisors, and grantees include Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. The Democracy Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer, where we encourage candidates of all ages, color, ethnic background, country of origin, religion, disability status, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity to apply.