Office Manager-Administrative Assistant at Cranston

Office Manager-Administrative Assistant

Position Summary

Join Cranston, an HFW partner firm, as an Office Manager / Administrative Assistant. In this pivotal role, you'll serve as a key operational partner and force multiplier-streamlining communication, coordinating high-level meetings, preparing reports and company documents, supporting internal initiatives, and ensuring the President, Vice President, and Leadership Team can focus on the most strategic and impactful aspects of the business. You'll support the CEO of a highly respected infrastructure design firm with a long-standing presence across Georgia and South Carolina, dedicated to uplifting communities through transformative engineering. As a central member of Cranston's team, you will help drive organizational efficiency, coordinate critical executive functions, and enable meaningful work across the firm's civil engineering, water resources, and public infrastructure projects. If you're an organized, proactive professional who thrives in a dynamic environment and values making a meaningful impact, this role offers the chance to directly contribute to Cranston's continued success and community-focused mission.

Perks and Benefits:

• Bi-Annual Profit/Bonus Distributions:
• 401(k) Contribution Match:

• Entrepreneurial Culture: Work in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment that encourages innovation and offers growth opportunities for driven professionals.

• Collaborative Learning & Career Development: Enjoy a collaborative atmosphere that promotes multi-disciplinary learning and provides ample career advancement opportunities.

Company Overview 

Cranston, a proud member of the HFW Companies network, has been a cornerstone in civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and surveying sectors for over half a century. Our expertise spans across municipal, private development, transportation, and water resource projects. We are dedicated to making communities safer, healthier, more accessible, and sustainable. With a legacy of passion and integrity, Cranston has built a reputation on leading transformative changes and guiding our project partners through complex challenges. Our commitment to collaborative excellence ensures that we deliver innovative, cost-effective solutions that enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve

At Cranston, our mission is to empower communities to thrive. We achieve this by leveraging our diverse expertise and fostering a collaborative culture that values trust, respect, and innovation. Our team is dedicated to solving infrastructure problems and improving the quality of life through sustainable and resilient design. We work closely with our clients, ensuring that our projects not only meet but exceed expectations. Through our operations and a cohesive office culture, we continue to build lasting partnerships and make a tangible impact on the regions we serve.

• Follow us on LinkedIn -> Cranston 

• Learn more about us on our company page -> Cranston

Cranston Core values

• Collaboration – A collaborative culture allows us to leverage our diversity of expertise and experience to achieve superior results.

• Relationships –Trust means everything to us, and we strive to earn it through long-term relationships built on a foundation of respect, reliability, fairness, and honesty.

• Problem-solving – We make it a priority to help guide communities and clients through a rigorous, collaborative process aimed at resolving complex infrastructure design challenges with innovative, cost-effective solutions that promote sustainability and improved quality of life.

• Drive for excellence – We foster a learning culture that leverages a diversity of technical expertise, shared experience, and strong leadership from our team and partner network to drive excellence and achieve the best design solutions possible.

• Entrepreneurial spirit – We take ownership of and responsibility for our work and our collective success, encouraging an employee culture that places a high value on individual creative initiative, exploration of new ideas, innovation, and a bold pursuit of transformative change.

Essential Responsibilities:

Executive Support & Communication

• Manage and optimize the Leadership Team time, balancing client meetings, project reviews, strategy sessions, partner engagements, and travel.

• Screen and triage executive communications-including email, calls, and written correspondence-and assist in drafting responses or routing action items.

• Plan and coordinate internal and external meetings, including agenda creation, materials preparation, minute-taking, and follow-up tracking.

• Assist with preparation of presentations, briefing materials, and strategic reports for internal leadership reviews and external stakeholder meetings.

• Serve as a liaison between the Leadership Team, Cranston's technical teams (engineering, landscape architecture, surveying), partner firms in the HFW network, and municipal or client stakeholders.

Operational & Project Coordination

• Support tracking of strategic initiatives, capital funding projects, regulatory reviews, and performance metrics.

• Assist in organizing and maintaining digital and physical filing systems relevant to project planning, funding, municipal approvals, construction inspection, and client documentation.

• Coordinate travel logistics, lodging, and itineraries for regional site visits, conferences, community meetings, and business development events.

• Office management of supplies, maintenance, leases, licenses, etc.

• Help onboard new hires or contractors, track deliverables, and maintain documentation and compliance records.

• Contribute to project follow-up and action item tracking, ensuring timely updating and reporting of deliverables.

Community Engagement & Event Planning

• Help plan and manage Cranston Cares and other community outreach events, including coordination with local agencies, public meetings, and philanthropic initiatives.
• Assist the Leadership Team in preparations for speaking engagements, client or municipal presentations, regional leadership events, and public-facing meetings, ensuring all logistics, materials, and follow-up are managed.

• Support coordination efforts with partner firms in The HFW Companies network for expansion and collaborative projects.

Key Competencies & Attributes

Skills

• Strong organizational, planning, and time-management skills, with ability to manage complex travel and meeting schedules.

Additional benefits