Frontdesk Operations Assistant

Who we are: CCOF advances organic agriculture for a healthy world. We advocate on behalf of our members for organic policies, support the growth of organic through education and grants, and provide organic certification that is personal and accessible.

CCOF is a nonprofit organization governed by the people who grow and make our food. Founded in California over 53 years ago, our roots now span the breadth of North America, and our presence is internationally recognized. We are supported by an organic family of farmers, ranchers, processors, retailers, consumers, and policymakers. Together, we work to realize a future where organic is the norm.

Position Summary: 

Join a mission driven team helping advance organic agriculture for a healthy world! CCOF is seeking a proactive, bilingual Frontdesk Operations Assistant who thrives in a supportive, collaborative environment and takes pride in delivering exceptional experience to staff, clients, and visitors. 

As the welcoming face of our Santa Cruz office, you will play a key role in ensuring smooth daily office operations while supporting teams across the organization. This is a great opportunity for someone who is organized, motivated, client focused, and excited to make a meaningful contribution every day. 

If you enjoy creating a warm, professional first impression, keeping operations running seamlessly, and supporting a team dedicated to strengthening organic agriculture, we’d love to meet you. 

This is a full-time, salary non-exempt position that reports to the Assistant Director of Operations and Analytics. This is an in-office position based in Santa Cruz, California. 

Essential Responsibilities: 

• Serve as the first point of contact for visitors, staff, and vendors, ensuring a professional and welcoming experience.  

• Support front desk operations, including answering calls in English and Spanish, handling mail, and maintaining a clean reception area.  
• Support operational tasks, such as scheduling meetings, coordinating office logistics, and assisting with vendor communications. 

Specific Duties 

Frontdesk Tasks 

• Answer and route incoming calls, mail, faxes, and emails. Independently answer basic certification questions, client calls, and general inquiries in English and Spanish. Periodically coordinate with certification supervisors to ensure proper routing of calls. 

• Greet and announce guests.  

• Handle general emails. 

• Accept and route deliveries to the appropriate person/storage location. 

• Handle, route, and take appropriate action with incoming and outgoing USPS including some large batch mail tasks. 

• Prepare and ship some outgoing packages. 

• Sort and deposit incoming checks to appropriate departments. 

• Prepare and ship outgoing packages, including New Client Welcome Packets and client merchandise. 

• Process Export documents for shipment while in the office. 

• Handle Intact Inbox “Print & Mail” items. 

• Additional administrative duties may be assigned by the Assistant Director of Operations and Analytics in support of Operations, Accounting, MarCom, People Services, or other departments.

 

Operations Support: 

• Assist with scheduling meetings and supporting office logistics. 

• Support procurement of office supplies and equipment. 

• Help maintain operational records and documentation. 
• Assist staff working in the office with desk setup, orientation to the workspace, and any other office services support they may need. 

Administrative Tasks: 

• Prepare reports, spreadsheets, and correspondence as needed. 
• Provide backup support for other administrative functions as required. 

Required Qualifications:

• Professionalism in customer service. Displays a courteous, helpful attitude at all times when interacting with clients. This includes being patient and respectful, taking the time to actively listen to clients’ needs and concerns, and responding thoughtfully and appropriately. Ability to ease the concerns of upset or anxious clients by de-escalating tense situations. 

• Fairly high Spanish language skills to understand everyday interactions with our Spanish speaking clients in person, by phone and via email.  

• Organized, motivated, and detail oriented. Understands how to prioritize competing needs and tasks without compromising quality and seek guidance when needed. Reliably completes assignments within established deadlines. Quickly responds to high priority requests and questions.  Attention to detail: Acknowledges mistakes and turns them into learning opportunities. 

• Professional written and verbal communication. Writes clearly and adapts communication to suit various audiences, providing relevant context and asking thoughtful questions to understand others’ perspectives and foster engaging, effective interactions. Receptive to constructive feedback.  Ability to handle and communicate sensitive information with discretion. Receives and applies constructive feedback effectively. 

• Able to ask for assistance when needed. 

• Proficient in utilizing Microsoft Outlook, Word, Teams, Excel. Follow instructions and department policy to effectively handle emails, professional documents, and maintain accurate database records. 

• Ability to collaborate effectively with individuals from different backgrounds, demographics, and communication styles to foster a respectful, inclusive, and professional work environment. 
• Team collaboration. Actively contributes to team success by completing tasks, meeting goals, and supporting project outcomes. Demonstrates respectful collaboration by actively listening to colleagues, valuing different ideas, and seeking opportunities to improve processes. Understands that their team’s success is their own success, and they share responsibility when their team experiences difficulties along the way. 

Desired Qualifications:

• 1–2 years of experience in administrative support, customer service, or office operations. 

• Background or experience in agriculture and/or the food industry. 

• Familiarity with office safety protocols and procedures is a plus. 

• Experience working with in-office and remote teams. 

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Independently navigates unfamiliar situations and uses available resources to solve problems. Able to ask for assistance when needed.
• Experience planning, coordinating, executing and finishing single-scope projects (e.g., events). 

Supervisory Responsibilities or Key Relationships: 

• This role does not have any supervisory responsibilities. 

Physical and Travel Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer. 
• Ability to lift 40 lbs. from ground to waist and be physically able to pack boxes and materials for client merchandise orders, trade shows and other events. 

Other duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

Compensation: CCOF takes pride in offering competitive pay and benefits such as superb health plans, 401(k) program, and generous sick/personal and vacation time. The Frontdesk Operations Assistant’s starting annual salary will be $50,479 and will depend on qualifications and experience.  

Hiring Process: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Interested applicants, please submit the following documents:

• Cover letter summarizing your interest in CCOF and the position, and qualifications
• Current resume
• List of three professional references 

Incomplete applications will not be considered. No phone calls, please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Thank you for your interest.

CCOF is an equal opportunity employer. We prioritize community, well-being, and belonging, ensuring that everyone has a chance to contribute, develop and succeed. We encourage people with various talents and experience to apply.

Community-building is a core value at CCOF. We are passionate about cultivating and sustaining a work environment where all employees can thrive. We believe every member of our team enriches our culture by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world.