Salary : $63,034.00 - $121,532.00 Annually
Location : George Howard Building, 3430 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City, MD
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 27-00036
Department: Public Works
Division: DPW - Admin Services Division
Opening Date: 11/02/2026
Closing Date: 11/16/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
POSITION SUMMARY/CLASS DESCRIPTION POSITION SUMMARY:Professional and administrative work managing assigned functions from the DPW Directors Office. Work involves managing and planning the daily administrative support functions with the Directors Office; managing special projects as assigned by the Administrative Manager of the Department of Public Works. Work requires technical and administrative skills, as well as ability to coordinate several activities at once and quickly analyze and resolve specific problems. Work involves frequent personal contact within the department and other county agencies, contractors, vendors, and the public.
STARTING SALARY HIRING RANGE:
$30.31 - $42.17/Hourly
$63,034 - $87,707/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.*CLASS DESCRIPTION:Performs professional level administrative work, which may include supervisory responsibility, under general supervision from an administrative or technical superior. Work includes carrying out administrative and technical tasks related to administrative support, public information, and purchasing.
*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* ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESAdministrative Support:- Provides human resources and administrative support to department bureaus, as assigned by the Director's Office.
- Prepares reports, maintains records, and drafts correspondence incorporating recommendations and comments.
- Assists the Administrative Manager in Department of Transportation drug testing processes.
- Works with Bureau Liaisons and management to assist County HR in maintaining up-to-date licenses and certifications.
Project Management and Research:- Manages special projects as directed by the Administrative Manager.
- Conducts project-related research and develops recommendations for appropriate action.
- Creates and updates statistical reports as needed and makes recommendations based on data analysis.
- Manages the department's foreign language proficiency testing process.
Records Management and Compliance:- Assists department employees with developing file plans, establishing access groups and permissions, and defining retention schedules for working documents and records.
Training and Software Support:- Trains department employees on new county software.
- Develops user manuals, training materials, and presentation slides to support employee learning and reference.
Coordination and External Relations:- Represents DPW at meetings.
- Maintains liaison with contractors, vendors, consultants, and county, state, and regional representatives.
Policy Development and Standard Operating Procedures:- Maintains current knowledge of administrative regulations and developments affecting DPW.
- Develops departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and trains bureau staff to ensure adherence to established procedures.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:This position may supervise subordinate staff who perform Human Resources related and other departmental processing in Public Works Bureaus.
MINIMUM REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE Bachelor's degree and one (1) year of related experience, or equivalent combination of experience and education.
PREFERRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources Management or related field and two or more years of related experience.
- High level administrative experience in Public Works.
- Experience supervising administrative staff.
- Proficiency in using MS Outlook, Word, and Excel software to create, maintain and track statistical data.
- High level of proficiency in NEOGOV or other applicant tracking software, ADP, and Kronos.
- Demonstrated experience processing work with a high degree of accuracy in a high-volume, time-sensitive customer service environment.
- Working knowledge of Federal and State regulations, and County policies and practices on recruitment, selection, and administrative steps to fill vacancies.
- Experience managing administrative functions of performance management processes, including tracking employee evaluations, probationary periods, and communicating statuses to internal groups.
- Experience working with confidential information.
- Experience with supply ordering, bill paying, account reconciliations, and SAP entry.
- Understanding of payroll processes and principles.
- Experience consulting union contracts for quality control in administrative transaction processing.
- Demonstrated ability to creatively problem-solve while exercising sound judgment to achieve short- and long-term objectives.
- Ability to interact in a positive and professional manner with individuals of all ranks.
- Ability to derive logical and practical conclusions from available information.
LANGUAGE SKILLS, MATHEMATICAL SKILLS, AND REASONING ABILITY:- Language/Math 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 rare, 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.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:The physical demands described here are representative of those 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 and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:TO APPLY: You must complete an employment application online to be considered for this recruitment. Resumes cannot be substituted for completion of the job application work history.
No paper applications will be accepted. Selected candidates may be subject to drug screening, background screening, and reference checks.
At time of application, please submit a copy of any college degree, coursework, licenses, or certifications that you have referenced on your application. Applicants who have education obtained outside of the U.S. may need to provide proof of the equivalent U.S. education as determined by a foreign credential evaluation service, such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (http://www.naces.org) or World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation (https://www.wes.org/).
Howard County Government is not sponsoring employees in application of the H-1B Visa or providing an extension of an existing H-1B Visa. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
The following is a summary of the benefits available to Howard County employees who hold full-time benefit-eligible positions. Employees in positions covered by a bargaining agreement should consult their union contract for other specific benefits. Additional details are also available in the Employee Manual and in summary plan descriptions which are available in the Office of Human Resources or at
FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLAN: Under the County's flexible benefits plan called CountyFlex, employees may elect to enroll in medical insurance plans, dental insurance plans, optional life insurance, dependent life insurance, and healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts. Employee contributions to these benefits are made on a pre-tax basis. Information concerning enrollment options, plan rates and a benefits comparison chart are available in the Office of Human Resources.
GROUP TERM LIFE INSURANCE: Employees receive a group term life insurance benefit equal to 2 times their annual salary at no cost. Accidental death and dismemberment coverage is included. The County pays the entire cost for this benefit. Employees may purchase additional coverage under the CountyFlex benefits plan.
PAID LEAVE BENEFITS: Annual and Disability Leaves are accrued over 24 pay periods each year. Personal leave is credited on January 1st each year. Use of Annual, Disability and/or Personal Leave requires supervisory approval.
ANNUAL LEAVE: During the first 5 years of employment, employees accrue the equivalent of 13 days per year. From years 6 through 10, the accrual is the equivalent of 16 days per year. From years 11 through 20, the accrual is the equivalent of 19 days per year. From year 21 on, the accrual is the equivalent of 21 days per year. Annual leave may not be used during the first 6 months of employment. A maximum of 40 days may be carried over from one fiscal year to the next.
DISABILITY LEAVE: Employees accrue the equivalent of 1 day per month (12 days per year). There is no maximum accrual. This leave may be used for the disabling illness/injury of the employee, spouse or minor child or for a serious medical condition approved under F.M.L.A. Absences of over 3 days must be substantiated by a physician's certificate.
PERSONAL LEAVE: Employees receive 6 personal leave days each calendar year to be taken during the calendar year. Employees hired after April 30th receive 4 days of personal leave that year; those hired after August 31st receive 2 days; and those hired after November 30th receive no personal leave for that year. Personal leave may not be carried over.
HOLIDAYS: Employees are paid for the following holidays: New Year's Day; Martin Luther King Day; President's Day; Good Friday; Memorial Day; Juneteenth; Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day; Veteran's Day; Thanksgiving Day; Friday after Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Day.
OTHER PAID LEAVE: Other paid leave will be granted for approved jury duty, military leave, bereavement leave and official leave. Unpaid leave will be granted in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act.
RETIREMENT: Howard County sponsors a defined benefit plan for its employees. participation in the plan is mandatory. Employees are required to make contributions to the plan, which are