Social Services Programs Analyst

Modified: March 9, 2016 3:13pm

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

Social Services Programs Analyst

#67-930 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $47,857.00 - $63,203.00 Annually
Opening Date: March 9, 2016
Closing Date: April 6, 2016
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

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.  At present there is one vacancy in the Erie County Department of Social Services. 

Examples of Duties:

Social Services Programs Analyst is responsible for the review and analysis of Social Services population demographics regarding usage, eligibility and overall identifying statistics;
Conducts analyses, interprets data, and formats related reports on Social Services program populations, demographics and regional difference;
Provides data analysis support for reporting, ad hoc studies, and requests for information;
Makes program and process recommendations based on analyses;
Performs technical tasks and provides technical support with particular emphasis on collection, interpretation, reporting, aggregation, and evaluation of data; writes and maintains custom databases to support internal and external reports;
Provides training and support as required;
Maintains relevant databases as required;
Utilizes all major Department of Social Services programs and databases including but limited to WMS, BICS, ECATS and Connections;
Interface with employees and vendors regarding technology, data, and reporting techniques, formats, issues;
Produces useful insight and valuable information from various raw data sources;
Designs processes for measuring and tracking information while limiting deviations caused by unfamiliarity with the services and population;
Maintains a directory of available community information to use in data analysis.

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 or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor's Degree in Business, Public Administration or related field and four years of experience in administering Social Service Programs, including at least two of which were in a supervisory* capacity.

Notes:

NOTES1. *A supervisory position is defined as a position in which supervision was a major responsibility of the job. Occasional or partial supervision of work crew is not acceptable supervisory experience. 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.
 

Examination date:

May 14, 2016

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

April 6, 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:

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

1. Descriptive and inferential statistics

These questions test for knowledge of statistical methods and techniques and their application. The questions will cover such areas as central tendency and variability, the normal distribution, hypothesis testing, statistical significance testing, probability, correlation and regression, parametric and nonparametric statistics, and analysis of variance.

The questions are primarily conceptual, but you may be required to do some manipulation of data.

2. Evaluating conclusions in light of known facts

These questions will consist of a set of facts and a conclusion. You must decide if the conclusion is proved by the facts, disproved by the facts or if the facts are not sufficient to prove or disprove the conclusion. The questions will not be specific to a particular field.

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 tabular material

These questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested. Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major factor in the test. 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 calculator function of your cell phone.

5. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test how well you comprehend written material. You will be provided with brief reading selections and will be asked questions about the selections. All the information required to answer the questions will be presented in the selections; you will not be required to have any special knowledge relating to the subject areas of the selections.

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.