ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST

City of Cincinnati

City of Cincinnati

United States · Cincinnati, OH, USA

Posted on May 22, 2026

General Statement of Duties

Exercising independent judgment, this employee performs highly responsible technical, administrative, and analytical duties in an assigned service area or department. Employee applies rules and regulations in the administration of city programs; researches and analyzes data for management systems, including budgeting, finance administration processes and personnel management. Employee provides highly responsible administrative assistance to an assigned department. Performs related duties as required.

The Administrative Specialist may specialize in one area, such as human resources or finance, or may have broader responsibility of multiple internal service functions.
Incumbents may perform routine professional work with a fair degree of independence or may perform more complex work under closer supervision.
Duties Specific to Planning and Design

This position will support Planning and Design by performing the following duties:

  • Utilize various software systems to coordinate project financial, procurement, and schedule information between Planning and Design, Parks Finance, City Finance, and City Purchasing.
  • Assist with project coordination by preparing internal purchasing documents to help project managers implement, monitor, and track capital improvement and maintenance projects.
  • Coordinate project manager schedules for project meetings, project coordination, and interdepartmental initiatives.
  • Assist project managers with reviewing and processing project submittals, including updates to Planning and Design project trackers, metrics, and tables, with support from senior staff.
  • Support senior staff in providing high-quality customer service by interpreting, organizing, and routing information from leadership, staff, contractors, and the public to the appropriate agency or contact.
  • Lead special projects for the Division, as assigned, advancing P&D team efforts and including a variety of topics ranging from community or stakeholder engagement activities, construction material selections, and other P&D Division initiatives.
  • Provide initial responses to project-related requests and assist senior leadership with documenting and routing requests to the appropriate agency, department, or contact.
  • Assist with preparing PDF documents, editing monthly Planning and Design updates, and supporting Board Report preparation.
  • Support Planning and Design staff operations, including ordering equipment, uniforms, cleaning supplies, and other materials needed for staff to complete assignments.
  • Assist with the coordination of Planning and Design projects, including preparing materials and helping present project updates to Parks staff.
  • Assist the Parks GIS team with organizing information and supporting reporting efforts, including Power BI reports for various initiatives.
  • Serve as Planning and Design’s technical liaison with Purchasing to help coordinate active projects and streamline approval processes for project implementation, in coordination with Parks Finance.
  • Serve as Planning and Design’s technical liaison for property acquisition, alteration, access, or entry requests related to maintenance or construction projects.
  • Assist project managers and technicians with construction project documentation.
  • Prepare simple exhibits and supporting materials for meetings and project discussions using PDF software and other basic design or documentation tools.

Minimum Qualifications (KSAs)

(Illustrative only. Any one position may not require all of the listed KSAs nor do the listed examples include all the KSAs, which may be required.)

In addition to the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities requirements of the Administrative Technician:

Knowledge of:
Concepts, methodologies, and tools pertaining to the organizing, tracking, and reporting aspects of project and program management.
Knowledge specific to the area of assignment; considerable knowledge of the major principals, practices, methods, and techniques of administration relating to areas such as general management, budgeting, human resources, or finance.
General knowledge of how city government functions.

Skill to:
Operate specialized hardware devices, tools, and equipment relating to assigned function.
Operate copy machines, printers, scanners, fax machines, office phone, smart phone, computer, laptop, and iPad.
Utilize Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Assess, and Outlook, Adobe Pro, and various applications such as CHRIS, CFS, and Sharepoint. Conduct independent, original research based on sound analysis and leading to appropriate recommendations to resolve specific issues.

Ability to:
Develop strategies to problems of moderate complexity focused on a specific program, function, or service area; adapt guidelines, including unwritten policies, precedents, and practices that are not always completely applicable to changing situations.
Apply comprehensive grasp of most factors affecting area of responsibility.
Evaluate situations having multiple (and sometime conflicting) elements/considerations.
Make judgments and decisions that are still guided by policies, procedures, and management imposed limits, but latitude exists for non-reviewed actions or decisions on routine and some non-routine matters.
Understand, apply, and/or adapt complex/conflicting oral or written regulations or guidelines to diverse and dissimilar situations.
Act independently and know when to refer situations to higher-level authority.
Prepare cost projections and monitor/control budgetary compliance.
Understand and apply contract terms and provisions.
Organize, analyze, and evaluate tangible and intangible data soundly and impersonally.
Understand, interpret, and apply rules, standards, or procedures and persuade others to accept or adopt recommendations.
Formulate reasonable and effective conclusions.
Conduct thorough investigations, determine methodologies, and obtain basic data necessary to evaluate solutions to complex problems and issues with multiple variables.
Train, supervise, or evaluate assigned staff and their work.
Consistently demonstrate a pleasant, good-natured, and cooperative attitude with others on the job; maintains composure, even in very difficult situations; accept criticism well and remain calm in high stress situations involving other people or their circumstances.
Consistently fulfill job and work obligations and deal effectively with ambiguity.

Required Education and Experience

TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE ATTACHED, OR THE APPLICATION WILL BE REJECTED

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Internal:

Two years of experience with the City of Cincinnati in administrative support work described below and have an Associate’s degree or a minimum of 60 semester credit hours from an accredited college or university. One additional year of experience may substitute for up to half of the educational requirement.

OR

One year of experience with the City of Cincinnati (or have completed probation) in a classification listed as transfer-eligible for this position under CODE contract Appendix A-1.


External:
Two years of experience in administrative support work such as
- Planning, prioritizing, and coordinating work
- Communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates
- Managing and training employees
- Collecting and analyzing data or information
- Applying rules, policies, and procedures
- Working with computers and computer systems
- Other administrative support duties

AND an Associate’s degree or a minimum of 60 semester credit hours from an accredited college or university.

Working and Physical Conditions

Environmental Conditions:Office environment; exposure to computer screens; working closely with others.


Physical Conditions: Duties require maintaining physical conditions necessary for sitting for prolonged periods of time; manual dexterity required.
HR Contact: Sheri Cottingim - Sheri.Cottingim@cincinnati-oh.gov