Department of Human Resources (Social Services) Receptionist

St. James Parish Government  is hiring a Receptionist for the Department of Human Services (Social Services).

JOB FUNCTION: This position is responsible for serving as the first point of contact for visitors and clients, managing front desk operations while performing administrative and customer service tasks. This position is classified as essential during declared emergencies or natural disasters and non-exempt according to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: These examples are intended only as illustration of the various types of work performed in this position. Absence of specific statements of duties does not exclude those tasks from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment of the position. 

Key Responsibilities:

Receptionists are responsible for creating a welcoming environment and ensuring smooth office operations. Their duties typically include:

• Greeting and welcoming visitors as they arrive and directing them to the appropriate person or department .
• Answering, screening, and forwarding phone calls, as well as responding to emails and other correspondence .
• Managing appointments and calendars, scheduling meetings, and coordinating front-desk activities .
• Maintaining the reception area, ensuring it is tidy, presentable, and stocked with necessary materials .
• Handling administrative tasks such as filing, data entry, copying, sorting and picking up and delivering mail, and preparing documents .
• Assisting with security and access control, including verifying visitor identification and issuing passes when required .
• Providing customer service, addressing inquiries, resolving complaints, and offering information about the organization .
• Supporting colleagues with clerical duties, such as assisting with typing correspondence and data entry.
• Stock monitoring, such as regularly checking and updating inventory levels of office supplies (e.g., paper, pens, stationery, cleaning materials) 
• Ordering and replenishment, such as placing orders for supplies when stock reaches minimum levels, ensuring timely replenishment 
• Maintaining fleet, such as tracking service history and maintenance records for fleet vehicles
• Maintaining inventory records, such as maintaining accurate inventory logs or spreadsheets, noting quantities, suppliers, and delivery dates 
• Confidential information handling- maintain privacy of visitor and client data, follow data protection policies, ensure personal information is stored securely and accessed only by authorized personnel, and always keep clients' services confidential

Skills and Qualifications: Successful receptionists typically possess:

• Excellent communication skills, both in person and over the phone.
• Professional appearance and demeanor, as they represent the organization to visitors.
• Organizational and multitasking abilities, managing multiple tasks efficiently under pressure.
• Problem-solving skills to handle unexpected situations or customer concerns.
• Basic computer proficiency for managing emails, scheduling software, and office systems.
• Flexibility, as some roles may require shift work or handling high volumes of visitors and calls. 

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Computer literacy and good written and oral communication skills are necessary. 

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: High school diploma or general education equivalent;  1 year related experience and/or training preferred. 

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: 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. 

REASONING ABILITY: 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. 

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: Must have a valid La. Class “D” driver’s license or the ability to obtain one. 

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES: To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following: Ethics - Keeps commitments; Upholds organizational values.Organizational Support - Follows policies and procedures; Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time. Planning/Organizing - Uses time efficiently; Plans for additional resources; Organizes or schedules other people and their tasks; Develops realistic action plans. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 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 accommodation 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 frequently required to stand and walk. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

St. James Parish is committed to providing equal employment opportunities.  The parish will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis including, but not limited to veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, agree or political affiliations.