Position: Administrative Assistant

Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop (PVWW) is a mostly virtual literary arts center offering writing workshops to writers of all levels and genres. We host 15 - 20 virtual writing workshops each season, run a (virtual) 10-Month Manuscript Program beginning each fall, and host occasional author readings and a free monthly Community Writing gathering. Our ethos is all about creating literary community, supporting writers through craft instruction and creative camaraderie, and building  thriving partnerships with our author-instructors and special guests. 

About the Role
 

PVWW is hiring an Administrative Assistant to serve as the operational right hand to Founder/Director Joy Baglio. This is an execution-focused role centered on the steady, behind-the-scenes work that keeps PVWW running smoothly: managing the rhythm of upcoming workshops, supporting instructors and students, scheduling, and handling the admin inbox. (Marketing, social media, and website design are handled separately.)
 

We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys administrative work done well and meticulously - who takes pride in accuracy, follow-through, and helping to make things run better. This person is the warm first point of contact for students and new instructors (outside of the hiring process), and also the operator behind the scenes helping things run smoothly. 
 

The right person will be excited to learn the logic and flow of how PVWW runs, and will anticipate needs, catch problems, and (eventually) create organizational systems that will help certain areas run more smoothly. While there will be initial training and coaching and weekly / bi-weekly check-ins, this isn't a position that requires constant oversight, repeated instructions, or follow-up on whether tasks are complete. The right person will be someone who, once the flow is learned, will feel content and happy running day-to-day business on their own, and who understands the Admin Assistant's role of helping to reduce the mental load of an otherwise one-person admin team.

This is largely an execution and operations role, not a creative or strategic one. The work is steady, detail-focused, and often repetitive. You'll be managing Zoom links, coordinating schedules, onboarding instructors, sending Welcome emails to class groups, handling class rosters, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. We are looking for someone who takes genuine pride in making complex operations run smoothly, being the person others can count on, and doing meticulous work exceptionally well. 
 

Compensation

• Pay: $22/hour (hourly, not salaried; no benefits package), with opportunity for rate increase after demonstrated excellence in first 1 - 2 years.
   

• Auditor access to all PVWW one-day workshops (the role includes being at the start of some of these), with the option to sit in non-participatory.

​

Hours & Working Environment
 

• Part-time: Beginning at 6 – 8 hours/week, with capacity to grow alongside trust and demonstrated fit (Admin Assistant will track their own hours)
   

• Busier season: October – February, when our 10-Month Manuscript Program begins accepting applications. PVWW is generally much busier with more all around support needed then. 
   

• Remote with (semi) flexible scheduling, but with high responsiveness required around workshop timelines. The assistant must:
   

  • Be available and responsive during the week leading up to each workshop (handling last-minute signups, student questions, instructor coordination)
     

  • Be available at the start of one-day workshops (most run weekend afternoons) to welcome instructors and troubleshoot any issues
     

  • Check emails daily and respond to time-sensitive emails within EST business hour
     

  • Understand that while day-to-day tasks can be completed on a flexible schedule, workshop-related needs take priority and require prompt attention (especially in the final 1 - 3 days before a workshop runs)
     

• Training and regular check-ins with Joy, especially in the first few months
   

• Anticipated start date: Flexible, ideally within 2 - 4 weeks of offer acceptance.
   

Who We're Looking For
 

The right person for this role is, above all, detail-oriented and dependable: someone who reduces the organization's mental load and doesn't need much direction (though of course there will be initial training and orientation). This role is a great fit for someone who:
 

• Genuinely enjoys operational and administrative work over creative or strategic responsibilities, and finds satisfaction in doing routine tasks exceptionally well
   

• Has prior administrative or assistant experience, and is comfortable working independently
   

• Takes end-to-end ownership of tasks: someone skilled at catching issues, following through, and confirming completion without needing to be checked on. For example: When sending out onboarding forms, end-to-end ownership might look like in addition to sending out the forms, making sure all received forms are filled out fully, legible, and organized into the correct Google Folders, and following up where needed. 
   

• Is meticulous by nature: proofreads their own work, catches their own typos, double-checks Zoom links, and reviews everything for completeness and accuracy. 
   

• Has a reliable system for capturing and retaining information from conversations and doesn't need repeated reminders. 
   

• Communicates proactively and closes the loop: When you complete a task, you confirm it's done without needing to be asked. When you encounter an obstacle, you flag it immediately rather than waiting for the next check-in. When something isn't clear, you ask clarifying questions upfront rather than guessing.
   

• Takes direction well and graciously: receptive to feedback, owns mistakes without defensiveness, and executes without requiring repeated follow-up.
   

• Works comfortably within established systems, voice, and processes
   

• Has a fix-it mindset: notices inefficiencies, suggests improvements, and builds better systems, but does so within PVWW's existing voice, vision, and ethos rather than reinventing them (and only after the current ways of doing things is understood).
   

• Is genuinely warm, community-minded, and service-oriented; makes instructors and students feel welcomed, and creates initial warm, welcoming tone on Zoom and in emails
   

• Has strong written communication skills: can craft a clear, warm, professional email quickly and without typos, and goes above and beyond when responding to prospective students, students, and instructors who need assistance (usually via email)
   

• Has an interest in writing, the literary world, or arts organizations - enough to be a knowledgeable, authentic representative of PVWW (though being a writer or serious writer is not the most important thing for this role).
  
   

This role is NOT a fit for someone who:

• Prefers creative, strategic, or high-visibility work over behind-the-scenes operations
   

• Needs significant oversight or frequent reminders of what needs to be done
   

• Has trouble catching errors in their own work, is not naturally detail-oriented, or struggles to double-check work for accuracy before submitting
   

• Has a rigid or inflexible schedule, or is unable to check email and be frequently available for 1 - 2 hours over the weekend when workshops are scheduled ​

Main Responsibilities

• Workshop & schedule workflow

  • ​Maintain a current, intuitive grasp of PVWW's full schedule — what's coming up, what matters most (the Manuscript Program and longer workshops carry the highest stakes), and what each upcoming offering needs to launch smoothly. Joy should not need to remind the assistant that a reading is next month or that an important workshop is approaching.

• Instructor support & onboarding

  • Coordinate with instructors in advance of each workshop to ensure they are set up on PVWW's Zoom (including troubleshooting access codes and login issues)
     

  • Send final class rosters (in Wix) to instructors before they teach
     

  • Meet new instructors and one-day-workshop instructors live on Zoom at the start of their class (first class for multi-weeks) to welcome them & do generally housekeeping announcements
     

  • Onboard new instructors using PVWW's onboarding materials and DocuSign and make sure they understand how things work at PVWW and what to expect as their workshop approaches
     

  • Maintain the Instructor Resources Google Classroom and the internal Admin Resources Google Classroom (where resources & guidelines are kept), and update as needed

• Student & inbox support

  • ​Manage the admin@pioneervalleywriters.com inbox: respond warmly and clearly to inquiries from prospective writers, current students, and instructors (continuing building out / maintaining PVWW's FAQ resource)
     

  • Send welcome emails to each PVWW workshop group ahead of class
     

• Class scheduling & Zoom coordination​

  • Schedule accepted new classes using Wix Bookings (our website, directly viewable by public); schedule corresponding Zoom sessions across PVWW's three Zoom accounts and ensure the correct Zoom link is paired with the correct class on Wix (this is a high-stakes detail that affects students and ability to smoothly access the workshop)
     

  • Manage / maintain PVWW's Zoom Account log and current workshop scheduling Doc and make sure both are up to date
     

  • Eventually: Monitor class roster numbers (in Wix) and communicate with Marketing Assistant as to which workshops need an extra boost / promotion
     

• Payroll Prep (monthly)

  • ​At the end of each month, prepare a clear payroll summary listing each instructor that taught the previous month, class length, enrollment, and format, in support of payment processing 
     

• Newsletter & email campaigns (in collaboration with Marketing Assistant)

  • ​[Note: We do not currently have a Marketing Assistant, though we will be looking for one soon. Newsletters will mostly be handled by Marketing Assistant, with oversight & guidance by Admin Assistant]
     

• General operational support

  • ​Assist where needed with a range of smaller tasks that keep PVWW running, with the same care and follow-through as the larger ones. 

Programs You'll Use

Familiarity is a strong plus; willingness and ability to learn quickly is required:

• Wix & Wix Bookings (website & class scheduling)

• Zoom (workshop scheduling and Zoom instructor support across multiple Zoom accounts)

• Google Workspace, Google Drive, & Google Classroom (resources, managing Docs)

• DocuSign (instructor onboarding)

• Mailchimp (possibly, for newsletter and campaigns, but mostly handled by Marketing Assistant)

Working Style & Communication

A few specifics about how this role works day-to-day:
 

• Check-ins. During the initial months, you will meet weekly with Joy for orientation to the role and initial coaching / training. Eventually, meetings may be more sporadic.
   

• Varying workload. Workload is often very light, and there will be days where there's not much to do; email does need to be checked daily regardless, and things get busier in the lead-up to a workshop, or at times when the schedule has more on it (and / or during a scheduling period).
   

• Weekly written check-in. During the first months, and possibly beyond, you'll submit a short weekly summary detailing your work that week: what was assigned, what's completed, what's pending, what needs Joy's input. 
   

• Errors caught upstream. The eventual expectation is that the assistant reviews and verifies their own work before it reaches Joy.
   

• Working within PVWW's voice. Improvements and suggestions are welcome and encouraged, especially if in the direction of greater clarity and organization; though changes to PVWW's tone, branding, or established style are not. ​​

Benefits

• Remote position and (mostly) flexible work hours. 

• Auditor access to all PVWW one-day workshops

• Opportunity to work closely with guest authors / instructors and a vibrant community of writers

• Initial training and coaching provided by Joy Baglio (supervisor, PVWW Founder)

• A meaningful role in a growing literary arts organization