An established residential architecture and renovation firm on the Upper East Side is hiring a full-time Administrative Assistant. We renovate prewar co-ops, condos, and townhomes for private clients, and the work is detailed and high-stakes. You will be the person who keeps the office running and the paperwork moving so the principal, the design lead, and the bookkeeper are never doing it themselves.
This is not a design job. You do not need to draft in AutoCAD. You do need to be able to open a drawing set and plot it to PDF or paper at the right scale and sheet size. That is the whole CAD requirement.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Office and studio. First thing every morning, walk the studio: samples back where they belong, nothing left on tables, mail off every desk. Supplies, water, the cleaning schedule. Radio should be on, AC/Heat should be on, TVs should be on - it should look the same every day. If the place looks wrong, you fix it before anyone else notices. This is about standards, not cleaning.
Mail and deliveries. Check mail and packages daily. Scan anything for accounting or vendors to the bookkeeper the same day. Keep the office delivery log current. Outgoing packages out before end of day. Site deliveries are handled by our field manager; you track them, you do not receive them.
Ordering and processing samples. Maintaining client samples and keeping all organized for reference.
Purchase orders. Once an order is approved by the principal, design lead, and bookkeeper, you issue the written PO, place the order, and save the confirmation to the client folder. No verbal orders, ever. You cannot commit funds without approval. PO log kept in real time.
Materials and delivery tracking. You own the shared materials tracker: lead times, delivery windows, what has shipped, what is late, what is out of stock. You call vendors on anything slipping and bring back a date, not "they'll let us know." You flag reorders and out-of-stock items the day you learn of them.
Vendor invoices. Match each invoice to its PO, flag any difference in quantity or price, and forward to the bookkeeper. Nothing goes forward unmatched; nothing sits more than two business days.
Plotting. Open the current AutoCAD file, plot the requested sheets to PDF or paper at the correct scale and size, and distribute or file them. Keep the plotter stocked and working. You do not edit drawings; if a sheet looks wrong, you say so.
Project files. Keep the shared project folders current, correctly named, and findable: drawing sets, order confirmations, specs, invoices, photos, correspondence. Anyone on the team should find any document in under a minute.
Principal's calendar and outreach. Hold the principal's calendar. Schedule client meetings, millwork meetings, broker lunches, and recordings; confirm the day before; keep the week visible. Make the outreach calls he asks for, log each one, and report back who said what. Book travel and reservations as needed.
IT first contact. First call on printer, plotter, Wi-Fi, and computer problems. Hold the office passwords, try the basic fix, escalate to our IT vendor, and track it to resolution.
Client portals. Post what the field manager and bookkeeper hand you: look-aheads, delivery dates, documents. Keep the portals tidy and current.
THE WEEK
Every morning: studio walk, mail scanned and bundled, the principal's day confirmed.
Daily: POs issued for anything approved, invoices matched and forwarded, outgoing mail out by end of day.
Monday: 30-minute team meeting; you bring delivery status for the week ahead.
Thursday: tracker reviewed line by line, vendors called on anything slipping, delivery status to the team for Friday client updates.
Ongoing: plotting, filing, calendar, outreach calls.
WHAT IS NOT THIS JOB
Drawing or editing in AutoCAD. Design decisions. Approving or pricing orders. Site visits. Bookkeeping or payments. Client conversations about the project. When a client, super, or vendor asks a project question, the answer is: "Let me confirm and get back to you today."
WHO FITS
Two or more years as an administrative or office assistant, ideally in architecture, interior design, construction, or real estate. Can open a drawing in AutoCAD and plot it correctly. Comfortable on the phone with vendors who would rather not call back. Organized to the point of being particular about file names. Writes a clear email. Reliable: the morning walk happens whether or not anyone else is in yet. Discreet with the principal's calendar and the firm's pricing.
DETAILS
Full time, in office, Monday to Friday. Upper East Side, Manhattan.
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.