Administrative Assistant

The Position

With supervisor approval, incumbents may be eligible for intermittent remote work; however, they must physically reside within the Sacramento region or have the ability to regularly report to a City of Sacramento physical worksite with little notice. Under general direction, an Administrative Assistant performs a variety of confidential and complex secretarial and administrative duties for a department head or similar classification; maintains calendar; participates in the administration of a department; responds to and refers inquiries and complaints; prepares reports; analyzes data; may provide indirect supervision to support staff as assigned.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS This classification is populated with multiple incumbents, with a single allocation in each department. The Administrative Assistant independently performs high-level administrative and advanced journey level secretarial work in support of a department head. This classification is distinguished from lower level secretarial and clerical classification by the more complex, responsible, and sensitive duties related to its functioning as the secretary to a department head, by the confidential nature of work performed, by the greater exercise of discretion and judgment, and by the ability to organize, assign, and review the work of secretarial and clerical support staff. The classification is distinguished from the Senior Staff Assistant classification in that the Senior Staff Assistant does not directly support a department head or similar classification.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED General direction is provided by a department head, executive and senior level managers, Staff Services Administrator or similar management-level classification. Responsibilities may include indirect supervision to lower- level secretarial and clerical positions.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Maintains the calendar, schedules appointments, and makes necessary meeting arrangements; screens calls and visitors, and refers inquiries as appropriate; responds to complaints and requests for information regarding the intent of instructions, precedents, and regulations; relieves the department head of routine personnel, budget, payroll, and purchasing duties; assists with the compilation of budgetary data; composes routine correspondence not requiring the department head's personal attention; provides administrative support to managers and other staff within the department.
• Researches, compiles, and analyzes data from special projects and various reports.
• Initiates and maintains a variety of files and records of information such as payroll, attendance, budget, production, and cost records; maintains manuals and updates resource materials; recommends organization or procedural changes affecting clerical activities.
• Provides secretarial support to a Board or Commission; prepares the agenda, assembles background materials, and takes minutes of the meetings as assigned; takes and transcribes dictation from a variety of sources.
• Participates and assists in the administration of a department; prepares comprehensive reports, compiles annual budget requests, and recommends expenditure requests for designated accounts.
• Other related duties may also be performed; not all duties listed are necessarily performed by each individual holding this classification.

Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Modern office methods, procedures, and equipment; business letter writing.
• Computers and word processing, spreadsheet, and database software applications.
• Organization, procedures, and operating details of the City department to which assigned.
• Basic arithmetic.

Skill in:

• Use of computers, computer applications, and software.

Ability to:

• Type at a speed of 60 net words per minute.
• Understand the organization and operation of the City and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
• Communicate effectively, verbally and in writing.
• Work cooperatively with other departments and outside agencies.
• Interpret and apply departmental policies, laws, and rules.
• Work independently in the absence of supervision.
• Analyze situations carefully and adopt effective courses of action.
• Compile and maintain complex and extensive records, and prepare reports.
• Understand and carry out oral and written directions.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION Any combination of education and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience: Four years of progressively responsible clerical experience including a minimum of two years experience performing complex and difficult clerical duties comparable to those of an advanced journey level clerical class in the City of Sacramento.

Substitution: Coursework in business administration, public administration, English or related field may substitute for experience on the basis of 30 semester units for one year of experience.

Proof of education should be submitted with your application and will be required at the time of appointment. Unofficial documents and/or copies are acceptable. An applicant with a college degree obtained outside the United States must have education records evaluated by a credential's evaluation service. Evaluation of education records will be due at time of appointment.

SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS Special Selection Criteria: Some positions in this classification may require additional skill in the following:

• Dictation at a speed of up to 100 net words per minute
• Possession of a Notary commission issued by the California Secretary of State within six months of appointment.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD Employees must complete twelve (12) months of probation at a satisfactory performance level prior to gaining permanent status.

The Selection Procedure

Please note, the City of Sacramento's preferred method of communication with applicants is via e-mail. As such, please ensure you verify the e-mail address on your application, and check your e-mail frequently, including your spam and junk folders. All e-mail notifications can also be accessed through the governmentjobs.com applicant inbox.

1. Application: (Pass/Fail) All applicants must complete and submit online a City of Sacramento employment application by the final filing deadline ;

• Employment applications must be submitted online; paper applications will not be accepted.
• Employment applications will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified:
• If applicants do not list current and/or past job-related experience in the duties area of the "Work Experience" section. Note: Qualifying experience is based on full-time experience (40 hours per week). Qualifying experience is calculated to the full-time equivalent (pro-rated if less than 40 hours/week).
• If "see resume" is noted in the "Work Experience" section; a resume will not substitute for the information required in the "Work Experience" section.
• Proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted online with your application. Proof of education will be required at time of appointment.
• Position/job titles will not be considered in determining eligibility for meeting the minimum qualifications for this position.
• If you're requesting Veteran's credit, a copy of your DD214 must be submitted online with your application or emailed to the Employment Office by the final filing deadline . Information regarding the use of Veteran's credit can be found in the Civil Service Board rules under rule 4.9C. (Download PDF reader)
• Applicants are responsible for attaching a copy of their DD214 to each position for which they apply.

2. Training and Experience Exam : (Weighted 100%) The questions located at the end of the application are the Training and Experience (T&E) Exam. Responses to the T&E questions will be rated and scored. This exam will evaluate the relevance, level, and progression of a candidate's education, training and experience. The exam score will determine your ranking on the eligible list for this job. When completing the T&E questions, please note:

• Responses to the T&E questions must be submitted online; paper questionnaires will not be accepted.
• A resume will not substitute for the information required in the T&E questions.

3. Eligibility : Candidates who pass the Training and Experience Test will be placed on the eligible list. The hiring department may contact candidates for interview at any time during the life of the one-year list. Candidate's eligibility expires one year from the date of notification of a passing score for the Administrative Assistant examination.

4. Screening Committee : (Pass/Fail) All candidates that pass the examination and are in one of the top three ranks will have their application forwarded to the hiring department for review. The hiring department will select the most competitive applications for further consideration. Human Resources will only evaluate employment applications for the minimum qualifications, as stated on the job announcement, for applications selected by the hiring department.

5. Conditional Hire: Upon receipt of a conditional offer, the selected