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 Department of Social Services. 

Examples of Duties:

A Director of Social Services Technical Support directs the technical operations of the Department of Social Services (DSS);

Designs and controls work activities within TSU;

Conducts meetings with Social Services programs to develop new services and evaluate effectiveness of current services;

Prepare reports on services and evaluation in relation to goals and objectives of Social Services administration;

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

Analyzes present systems and procedures for the purpose of proposing and developing modification and enhancements;

Develops operational objectives for TSU to meet management goals, and directs efforts towards achieving them;

Interfaces with New York State personnel and outside vendors/contractors.

Qualifications:

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

Graduation from a regionally accredited of NYS registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, business administration or closely related field; two (2) years of experience* (see Note 1.) in computer programming or organizational analysis; and two (2) years of supervisory experience.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants for designated positions in the Department of Social Services that may have access to federal tax information to perform his/her job duties shall be subject to a suitability background check investigation, including FBI fingerprinting, local law enforcement check, and verification check of citizenship/residency. A criminal record does not necessarily disqualify applicants from employment, rather an individualized determination will be made. The cost of the background check will be assumed by the Department of Social Services.

Notes:

1. *A Master’s Degree in computer science, business administration or closely related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience in computer programming or organizational analysis.

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

3. 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.

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: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

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

1. Data processing concepts and terminology

These questions are designed to test for knowledge of computer characteristics and operations that is relevant for computer programming and analysis. They may cover, but not necessarily be confined to, basic terminology of data processing, data entry, data access, and data communications; basic characteristics of storage media and data bases; types of data processing (e.g., time-sharing), the functions of operating systems, and hierarchies of computer memory.

2. 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.

3. Project management

These questions are designed to test for techniques and concepts of project management. They may cover, but not necessarily be confined to, management of systems development, management by objectives, project scheduling and control techniques (e.g., PERT), characteristics of organizations and of the systems life cycle, and the development of data processing standards.

4. 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.

5. Systems analysis and design

These questions test for techniques and concepts of computer systems analysis and design. They cover such subjects as feasibility and applications studies, systems development tools and software, the systems life cycle, types of systems (e.g., client/server, Web-based), controls, and systems documentation, testing, and implementation.

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.

**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.