Chief Principal Clerk

Modified: March 13, 2020 2:25pm

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Chief Principal Clerk

#66-766 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $43,006 - $55,652 Annually
Opening Date: March 13, 2020
Closing Date: April 13, 2020
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one present vacancy at the Erie County Division of Budget and Managment.

Examples of Duties:

Chief Principal Clerk supervises and participates in departmental clerical work and performing complex clerical duties; 

Supervises, instructs and coordinates the work of employees performing typing, filing, or related office clerical work;

Maintains specialized records and prepares reports relating to the activities of the department to which assigned;

Participates in preparing and maintaining financial, statistical, personnel and budget records; maintains all personnel files and handles all workers’ compensation claims;

Maintains simple financial records and accounts relating to departmental budgets and/or expenditures for supplies and equipment;

Prepares statistical reports and related documents and checks for accuracy;

Participates in the preparation of financial statements; reviews activities, analyses and reports;

Assists in compiling the annual divisional budget and develops necessary supportive data;

Requisitions and inventories office supplies and equipment; confers with Purchasing Department regarding cost and delivery of supplies and equipment;

Meets with sales representatives of supply and equipment companies;

Maintains control of purchase orders;

Lays out, oversees and checks for accuracy, the work of a number of subordinate clerical employees; develops, tests and assists in the installation of new work methods and procedures; Operates an alpha-numeric keyboard to transcribe data directly to a computer.

IF ASSIGNED TO THE BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT DIVISION:

Handles and prepares the reports, transfers and disbursements for ETASC (Erie Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation) dealing with the Board of Directors and the many bank official associated with this account;

Instructs County personnel regarding the online procurement and travel procedures;

Monitors and processes travel in SAP for all county departments to ensure that all departments stay within budget constraints.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and six (6) years of office clerical experience.

Notes:

1. Additional office clerical experience, beyond the six (6) year requirement, may be substituted for high school graduation on a year for year basis; and completion of a post-high school secretarial course, of at least one (1) year duration, may be substituted for one (1) year of the required office clerical experience.

2. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting full-time experience requirements.

Examination date:

May 16, 2020

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

April 13, 2020

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

Subjects of Examination:

Scopes / Subjects of examination: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas.

Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.
 

Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

Office management

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices of planning, organizing and controlling the activities of an office and directing those performing office activities so as to achieve predetermined objectives such as accomplishing office work within reasonable limits of time, effort and cost expenditure. Typical activities may include but will not be restricted to: simplifying and improving procedures, increasing office efficiency, improving the office work environment and controlling office supplies.

Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.