Residence Requirements:

THIS EXAMINATION IS OPEN TO ALL QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. There is one vacancy within the Erie County Department of Social Services. The eligible list resulting from this examination will not supersede currently existing promotional eligible lists for this title, if any.

The duration of all promotional eligible lists is four years from date of establishment unless otherwise indicated.

Examples of Duties:

A Director of SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program directs, organizes and monitors the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Department of Social Services (DSS);

Formulates local policies and procedures for assigned program or administrative area and interprets Federal, State and local policies and programs;

Develops operational objectives for assigned office or programs in order to meet management goals, and directs efforts toward achieving them;

Develops and implements appropriate reports and reporting systems necessary for administrative or program control and evaluation activities;

Supervises and manages activities within assigned area of responsibility;

Monitors work for compliance with NYS regulations, DSS procedures, case quality assurance and program integrity, and for accuracy and precision of work;

Analyzes the ongoing performance and Departmental impact of assigned programs or operations;

Develops plans, methods, and procedures to correct or improve programs and functions;

Establishes necessary controls for determining staff performance quality and output and monitors performance evaluations;

Reviews and analyzes complaints to determine whether or not further consideration is warranted;

Acts as liaison with legal, social, and/or health agencies and organizations in matters affecting clients.

Qualifications:

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST: Candidates must be permanently employed in the competitive class and must be serving and have served continuously on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class for 12 months immediately preceding the date of the written test in the position of Administrative Director I or 12 months as Chief Social Welfare Examiner or 36 months as Head Social Welfare Examiner.

Notes:

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:

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

1. Administrative supervision These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices involved in directing the activities of a large subordinate staff, including
subordinate supervisors. Questions relate to the personal interactions between an upper level supervisor and his/her subordinate
supervisors in the accomplishment of objectives. These questions cover such areas as assigning work to and coordinating the activities of
several units, establishing and guiding staff development programs, evaluating the performance of subordinate supervisors, and maintaining
relationships with other organizational sections.

2. Administration
These questions test for knowledge of the managerial functions involved in directing an organization or an organizational segment. These
questions cover such areas as: developing objectives and formulating policies; making decisions based on the context of the administrator's
position and authority; forecasting and planning; organizing; developing personnel; coordinating and informing; guiding and leading; testing
and evaluating; and budgeting.

3. 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.

4. 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.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators.
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.

INFORMATION FOR PROMOTION CANDIDATES

Unless otherwise indicated, the eligible list resulting from this examination will have a duration of four years and will not supersede existing promotional lists, if any.

RATINGS REQUIRED: Test is rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70. Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set
minimum standards for each part. Seniority: Points will be added to scores of candidates who achieve a passing mark as follows:

For each year of service in the classified service:

Less than 1 year.....................................0 points
1 year up to 6 years...................................1 point
Over 6 years up to 11 years.........................2 points
Over 11 years up to 16 years.....................3 points
Over 16 years up to 21 years......................4 points
Over 21 years.......................................5 points

VETERANS: Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 5 and 2.5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the examination. You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment. If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

**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.