Confidential Secretary-Legal

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

65-126 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary:	$17.56 Hourly
Opening Date:	December 31, 2015
Closing Date:	January 27, 2016
Application fee:	$20.00

Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. Preference in certification may be given to candidates who have been a resident of the jurisdiction in which the appointment is to be made for one month preceding the date of the eligible list certification and who are residents of the jurisdiction at the time of appointment. Non-residents may be required to become a resident of the appointing municipality if local law so states. At present there is one vacancies at Erie 1 BOCES with a salary of $17.56 per hour.

Examples of Duties:

A Confidential Secretary-Legal serves as confidential Secretary for the Labor Relations Services of Erie One BOCES, performing independent complex clerical operations and arranging of appointments, meetings and conferences relieving the Labor Relations staff of administrative details;

Assists with preparation of a variety of legal documents;

Prepares and revises contracts and compiles necessary information and documentation for new contracts;

Collects, organizes and maintains salary, fringe benefits and other information pertaining to terms and conditions of employment of school district employees;

Assembles exhibits, affidavits, legal documents, etc., in the preparation of cases and collects any additional information;

Prepares and manages superintendent hearing reports and decisions;

Maintains calendars and schedules meetings, appointments, conference, etc. for the department;

Manages Labor Relations website;

Monitors annual budget;

Handles all invoicing, purchasing and prepares financial reports;

Performs other clerical duties as needed or requested.

Qualifications:

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

A) Completion of 60 semester credit hours of study at a regionally accredited or New York state registered college, university or business school, supplemented by courses in typing and/or word processing and two years of office experience, including typing or word processing; or:

B) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma, supplemented by courses in typing and/or word processing and four years of office experience, including typing or word processing; or:

C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates:

Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.

All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

Examination date:

March 5, 2016

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

January 27, 2016

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 "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Grammar/Usage/Punctuation

The grammar and usage questions test for the ability to apply the basic rules of grammar and usage. The punctuation questions test for a knowledge of the correct placement of punctuation marks in sentences. You will be presented with sets of four sentences from each of which you must choose the sentence that contains a grammatical, usage, or punctuation error.

2. Keyboarding practices

These questions test for a knowledge of preferred practices in such areas as letter format, capitalization, hyphenation, plurals, possessives, word division, word and figure style for numbers, and common proofreading marks. In addition, there will be a passage to proofread followed by questions on how to correct the errors in the passage.

3. Legal terminology, documents and forms

These questions test for the ability to recognize definitions of specific common legal terms or the term which fits a certain description. The questions are presented in various forms such as simple definitions, examples of terminology, and the use of this terminology within documents and forms related to the legal field.

4. Office practices

These questions test for a knowledge of generally agreed-upon practices governing the handling of situations which typists, stenographers, secretaries, and office assistants encounter in their work, as well as a knowledge of efficient and effective methods used to accomplish office tasks. The questions cover such topics as planning work flow; setting priorities; dealing effectively with staff, visitors, and callers; filing and retrieving information; safeguarding confidentiality; using office equipment; and making procedural decisions and recommendations which contribute to a well-managed office.

5. Office record keeping

These questions test your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more "sets" of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculatorfunction of your cell phone.

6. Spelling

These questions test for the ability to spell words that are used in written business communications.

**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.