Erie County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to workplace diversity.

Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There is one anticipated vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

Examples of Duties:

An Assistant Vice President Behavioral Health and Community Services  directs the operation of Behavioral Health clinical services at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation; 

Develops and supervises the implementation of group and individual assessments and therapy;

Provides supervision for comprehensive assessments with treatment recommendations;

Develops program evaluations and other quality improvement activities;

Collaborates with applicable staff for developing annual plans and reports for hospital-based chemical dependency and behavioral health services;

Compiles, prepares and submits clinical data as required by regulatory and accreditation entities as required;

Ensures program and services are and conducted in accordance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, accreditation standards and standards of practice;

Serves as a member of multi-disciplinary teams, review boards and other committees as assigned;

Collaborates with applicable staff for developing and maintaining a patient and staff safety program aimed at decreasing violence and exercising appropriate responses to traumatic episodes on Behavioral Health units;

Collaborates and consults with other hospital divisions and interdisciplinary teams;

Interviews and hires counseling staff in collaboration with Behavioral Health supervisors and department leadership;

Provides direction and supervision for behavioral health and counseling staff including but not limited to: Social Workers, Discharge Planners and mental health professionals caring for patients;

Serves as a liaison to various constituencies;

Assists in training clinical staff;

Attends meetings, maintains department records, and prepares reports.

Qualifications:

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

A.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Psychology, Public Health, Nursing, Sociology, Human Services, Social Work, Counseling or a closely related field and five (5) years of professional* clinical experience in directly treating patients/clients in a behavioral health setting, of which three (3) years were in an administrative** or supervisory*** capacity; or: 

B.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, Psychology, Public Health, Nursing, Sociology, Human Services, Social Work, Counseling or a closely related field and seven (7) years of professional* clinical experience in directly treating patients/clients in a behavioral health setting, of which three (3) years were in an administrative** or supervisory*** capacity; or:

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

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Possession of Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification within thirty (30) days of initial appointment and maintenance throughout duration of employment;

Completion of initial and participation in annual re-training of New York State Office of Mental Health-certified Preventing and Managing Crisis Situation (PMCS) Training as administered by ECMCC Nursing Department within thirty (30) days of appointment;

Section 424-a of the Social Services Law requires the local social services district to inquire whether the applicant is the subject of an indicated child abuse or maltreatment report on file with the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment. All potential employees for this position will be requested to sign the necessary clearance form prior to being advised that they will be hired. Refusal to sign will be cause for an automatic non-selection.

Notes:

1. *Professional experience, as defined by New York State Civil Service, is experience which requires specialized and theoretical knowledge usually acquired through college education or through that experience and other training which provides comparable knowledge. Professional experience in general involves independence of action and personal responsibility for actions.

2. **Administrative experience, as defined by New York State Civil Service, means responsible direction and control of an identifiable organizational unit or program; in addition to the supervision of work groups, an administrator is involved in planning, resource allocation, program evaluation and policy formulation. Experience performing specialized functions or “staff activities” such as budgeting, finance, administrative analysis or personnel, which do not involve the aforementioned responsibilities, are not considered administrative experience.

3. ***Supervisory experience, as defined by New York State Civil Service, means responsible direction and control of subordinate employees. This involves a responsibility for planning for individuals in a work group. Typical duties may include, but are not limited to, assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, maintaining work standards, motivating and developing subordinate employees, implementing procedural changes, increasing efficiency and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale and discipline. The supervision aspects must be an integral part of the job, not incidental or occasional. True supervision (e.g., first-line supervisors as opposed to “lead workers”) is characterized by: (1) the close and immediate supervision of permanently assigned employees, on a regular, ongoing basis; (2) responsibility for the assignment and review of work, providing work instruction, the evaluation of work performance, maintenance of work standards, handling absenteeism, discipline, etc.; (3) accountability for the quantity and quality of subordinate’s work and/or the completion of projects and program accomplishments.

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

5. 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 '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.

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 their 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.

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.

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.