Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant

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 of this classification include the more complex, responsible, and sensitive duties related to functioning as the secretary to a department head, the confidential nature of work performed, the greater exercise of discretion and judgment, and the ability to organize, assign, and review the work of secretarial and clerical support staff.

Supervision is received from 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 :

Ability to :

Experience and education can substitute for each other. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be : 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. 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 such as, but not limited to, university / college transcripts and degrees 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 credentials evaluation service. Evaluation of education records will be due at time of appointment.

Special selection criteria 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.

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

The Selection Procedure

The City of Sacramento's preferred method of communication with applicants is via e-mail. Please note, 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.

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 :

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. Candidates' 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 candidate must complete and pass Live Scan / fingerprinting. If applicable, candidates may also need to pass a pre-employment medical exam, controlled substance and / or alcohol test, and possess any required licensure or certification prior to receiving a start date from the Department. Failure to meet these prerequisites will be grounds for withdrawal of your conditional offer of employment.

Questions : For questions concerning this job announcement and the application process :