Inyo, County of (CA) is hiring: Administrative Assistant in El Cajon

Overview

Under limited supervision of the Public Works Director and Assistant Director, the Public Works Administrative Assistant – Public Works performs general secretarial and administrative support for the Public Works Director/Assistant Director, relieving the Director/Assistant Director of routine office, technical, and administrative detail; performs complex and highly responsible office support work requiring independence, initiative, and discretion; interprets policy and administrative regulations; may supervise the work of clerical support staff; and perform related duties as required. The Public Works Administrative Assistant performs a variety of administrative tasks with minimum of supervision, in addition to office support duties. The role is essential to promoting smooth departmental operations, clear communication, and equitable access to information and services for staff, stakeholders, and the community.

Distinguishing Characteristics

This classification is distinguished by providing high-level, confidential administrative support exclusively to the department head, differing from other positions that assist lower-level management or Deputy Directors. It requires considerable autonomy, discretion, and knowledge of departmental operations, often involving supervision of clerical staff and handling sensitive information. Positions in this class normally exist only in those departments where the Director has delegated a substantial amount of administrative detail, confidential and non-routine work.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a primary contact for the Public Works Department, handling inquiries from the public, County departments, and external agencies, providing information and resolving issues effectively.
• Organizes and maintains departmental schedules, calendars, and appointments.
• Provides assistance in developing departmental policies, goals, and objectives.
• Screens incoming correspondence routed to the Director and Assistant Director, refers for reply to appropriate staff member, and follows up to ensure that deadlines are met.
• Arranges correspondence for Director’s/Assistant Director’s personal reply in order of priority, with appropriate background material attached for reference.
• Composes correspondence independently or in accordance with general instructions, requiring a thorough knowledge of the procedures and policies of the office.
• Reviews outgoing correspondence prepared by other staff members for Director’s/Assistant Director’s signature, checking consistency with administrative policy as well as for format, grammatical construction, and clerical error.
• Gathers data and maintains complex data sets on behalf of the Department, which may include budget documents.
• Attends meetings and conferences, takes notes and/or summarizes notes into minutes and distributes to appropriate staff, and follows up on action items as appropriate.
• Initiates and tracks Board Agenda Items on behalf of the Director and Assistant Director.
• Takes and transcribes complicated and confidential dictation.
• Screens a variety of visitors and telephone calls, refers to other staff members or personally gives out authoritative information on established departmental programs and policies.

• Arranges meetings for Director, prepares agendas, and makes adjustments as necessary in scheduled meeting times.
• Acts as a liaison to Personnel for the purpose of requesting new position recruitments; scheduling and coordinating departmental job interviews; collecting, organizing and filing confidential personnel information for current and prospective employees; preparing memos and forms; and maintaining tracking systems for departmental vacancies.
• Assists the Director with routine office details.
• Maintains confidential and administrative files.
• May supervise the work of clerical support staff.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or equivalent and
• Three (3) years of full-time experience performing significant and progressively responsible administrative or office clerical duties that has included providing direct support to management level staff.
• Experience in government or Public Works environment is preferred.

Licenses, Certificates, and Special Requirements

• None

Knowledge of

• Principles and practices of office administration and management.
• English grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and composition.
• Methods and techniques used in researching, proofing, evaluating, gathering, organizing and arranging data.
• Modern office practices, procedures, and computer applications (Microsoft Office Suite, databases, etc.).
• Records management practices and confidentiality guidelines.
• Procurement processes and procedures.

Ability to

• Understand and apply specific rules, codes, regulations, procedures, policies, and precedents.
• Interpret, apply and explain administrative and department policies, regulations, and procedures.
• Organize, prioritize, and coordinate various administrative functions.
• Follow written and oral instruction.
• Identify and correct technical inaccuracies.
• Provide verbal and written technical direction to others.
• Work independently in performing assignments and in resolving problems and deviations.
• Use good judgment in recognizing scope of authority.
• Meet the public in situations requiring tact, diplomacy, discretion, and poise.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Apply principles of respectful and inclusive communication in a diverse public service environment.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of individuals, demonstrating sensitivity to different lived experiences and communication styles.
• Organize and revise the maintenance of department files.
• Research, review, proof, analyze, collect, organize, and categorize diverse information.
• Keep complex records and prepare reports.
• Type a variety of material to include graphs, charts, statistical reports, and standardized forms.
• Independently research and prepare correspondence in answer to inquiries about department records, programs, services, and regulations.
• Provide supervision, direction, and training to clerical staff.

Working Conditions

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Environmental Conditions

• Most assigned work is performed in an indoor office environment with frequent contact with people face-to-face and by various electronic means. Expect minimum noise from people and office machines. Driving may be required.

Physical Demands

• Frequency does not imply essentiality.
• Constant: Sitting, computer use, lifting up to 10 pounds, reaching, dexterity, and communication with tact and diplomacy.
• Frequent: Bending and twisting of the neck, handling, and operating office machines.
• Occasional: Bending and twisting at the waist, driving, standing, and walking.
• Infrequent: Climbing stairs/stepstools/ladders, exposure to extreme temperature, fine fingering, kneeling, lifting 11-25 pounds, reaching above the shoulder, squatting, varied terrain, working at heights.
• Never/Rare: Crawling, exposure to dust/gas/fumes/chemicals, exposure to excessive noise, exposure to vibration, lifting more than 25 pounds, operating hazardous machinery, power grasping, running.

Application

It is important that your application show all the relevant education and experience you possess. Applications may be rejected if incomplete. Beginning with your present or most recent job, show a complete record of your employment. Describe in detail any aspects of your experience or activities that are particularly appropriate for the position for which you are applying. You may not submit resume in lieu of completing the Employment Record fields. We will evaluate your qualifications based solely on the information entered into the Employment Record form.

It is not acceptable to complete the application with statements like “See/Refer to resume” or “See attached”.

IMPORTANT: If requesting Veteran's preference, you must attach a copy of your DD214 with your application

Selection

Selection procedures will be determined by the number and qualifications of applicants and may include a qualification screening, written examination, and oral interview.

Reasonable Accommodation for Individuals with Qualifying Disabilities

Inyo County will make reasonable efforts in the examination process on a case-by-case basis to accommodate persons with disabilities. If you have special needs, please contact (760) 878-0377 prior to the examination process.

Citizenship/Immigration Status

Inyo County hires only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized non-citizens in accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Work Location

The County of Inyo has work sites located throughout the Owens Valley (Independence, Bishop, Lone Pine, Big Pine, and Olancha) and the Death Valley area (Death Valley, Tecopa, and Shoshone). All Inyo County positions are considered Countywide. Positions are assigned to a work site based upon the needs of the County. Positions may be temporarily or permanently reassigned to another work site as deemed necessary by the Department Head and/or County Administration.