Position Overview
The Secretary of the Garden Club of Palm Beach (GCPB) is responsible for managing administrative operations, maintaining communication with the President and our members, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the office and club activities. This role requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and proficiency in office software.
Position Details
- Schedule: 30 hours per week, 6 hours per day, in-office.
- Work Hours:
October 1 – June 30: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
July 1 – September 30: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Office Presence: The office must be staffed during scheduled hours.
- Time Off: Unpaid time off must be requested and approved at least three weeks in advance by the President.
- Sick Days: The Garden Club of Palm Beach does not provide paid sick leave and employees are paid only for hours actually worked, unless otherwise authorized by the President and the Treasurer or required by law.
- Special Events:
House & Garden Day (First Sunday in March): 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Biennial Flower Show: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Saturday & Sunday)
- Payroll Submission: Monthly payroll hours must be submitted to the Treasurer and President for approval three days before the last day of the month to ensure timely processing.
Office Administration
- Retrieve and process US mail daily at the Post Office (Monday – Friday; summer: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday).
- Check voicemail and email daily (summer: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and respond as needed.
- Maintain general office upkeep and ensure supplies are stocked.
- Administrative tasks such as preparing mailings, sending emails, and handling correspondence when requested by the President.
- Ensure all office equipment—including computers, printers, telephones, and related technology—remains in good working order. Maintain familiarity with equipment, service contracts and coordinate repairs, maintenance, and renewals as needed.
Communication
- Be on top of the Shared Tasks in Reminders. This list, shared only with the President, is central to communication with the President and serves as the primary tool for tracking assignments and priorities. The Shared Tasks list should be reviewed every morning at the start of the workday. As tasks are completed, they should be marked complete or deleted promptly to ensure the list remains current and reflects only outstanding responsibilities.
- Serve as a central point of contact for all GCPB members, handle inquiries with professionalism and discretion.
- Support committee chairs and members by assisting with planning, organization, and execution of initiatives.
- Liaise with Society of the Four Arts staff on behalf of the club, maintaining positive working relationships and ensuring seamless coordination for meetings and events that take place at The Society of the Four Arts.
- Maintain the Garden Club of Palm Beach's designated iCal calendar, shared with the President and other officers as requested. Ensure it is kept current with all club meetings, events, conference room bookings, accountant appointments, office schedules, and planned vacation days to support efficient planning and communication.
- Upload the approved meeting minutes and financial reports to the GCPB website each month, ensuring that members have access to current club records.
Events & Meetings Support
- Coordinate logistics for all club events and meetings, including RSVP management and meeting and event reminders.
- Maintain organized files for event and meeting space contracts so they are readily accessible for quick retrieval when needed.
- Take attendance at all general meetings and organize member's nametags.
- Maintain a checklist of essentials needed for every meeting.
Organization via Files and Contacts
- Maintain organized desktop file folders for meetings, committees, and events, ensuring that important documents are easily accessible and that essential materials transition seamlessly from year to year.
- Ensure that important club documents are readily at hand and are up-to-date.
- Maintain the Garden Club of Palm Beach contact database, ensuring that vendors, speakers, consultants and other key contacts are kept current. Our contacts should serve as a reliable, long-term resource for future presidents, committees, and office staff.
Required Skills
- Strong computer skills are essential, familiarity with basic office software and the ability to adapt to new platforms and programs as needed
- The secretary will need to support a variety of projects—including formatting, scanning and printing event and meeting materials and important documents.
- Professional communication and interpersonal skills are required.
- Proficiency in the following programs and the ability to adapt to other platforms
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Apple Numbers
- Google Docs
- Mail Merge
- Apple Pages
- Zoom
- iPhoto
- Adobe Acrobat
- Brevo (our mass email platform, training will be provided)
- Wix (our e-commerce platform, training will be provided)
Subject to background check
Work Location: In person
