Director Of Consumer Protection

Modified: March 31, 2021 10:43am

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

Director Of Consumer Protection

#60-855 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $60,234 - $78,664 Annually
Opening Date: March 31, 2021
Closing Date: April 28, 2021
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. The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill one vacancy in the Erie County Office of Public Advocacy.

Examples of Duties:

A Director Of Consumer Protection inspects and conducts investigative work designed to aid and protect the consumers within Erie County; 

Receives, reviews and investigates consumer complaints concerning the quantity or quality of goods and services provided;

Conducts independent investigation of suspected violations in the sale of commodities and rendering of services;

Checks businesses for availability of items as advertised in the various media; Reads and keeps abreast of publications, articles and news items pertaining to consumer protection;

Maintains records of inspections and investigations and makes appropriate oral and written reports;

Notifies the public of pertinent consumer information through proper media outlets;

May conduct or assist in research studies appropriate for the protection, education and relay of information to the consumer;

Liaison with the business community; Prepares all civil and criminal charges for presentation to the proper board, the law department or the District Attorney’s office, as appropriate; Works in conjunction with law enforcement as needed, including preparation of supporting documentation and testifying;

Oversees state-mandated weights and measures program, including testing and inspecting of all weighing and measuring devices used commercially in the county, including but not limited to item pricing, scanner accuracy, octane testing, etc.

Performs a variety of related duties as required.

Qualifications:

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

A.) Associates degree in physical sciences, engineering sciences, electronics sciences, mechanical technology, mathematics, or a related technical field and four (4) years of work experience involving investigative or inspection-related, and/or involved enforcement of consumer protection law, consumer complaint investigation, complaint mediation, trades licensing, laboratory work requiring precision weighing and measuring or the inspection of weighing and measuring devices, or related work; including 2 years which must have been in a supervisory capacity; or 

B.) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and six(6) years of work experience involving investigative or inspection-related, and/or involved enforcement of consumer protection law, consumer complaint investigation, complaint mediation, trades licensing, laboratory work requiring precision weighing and measuring or the inspection of weighing and measuring devices, or related work; including 2 years which must have been in a supervisory capacity; or

C.) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of a) and b).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Possession of a valid New York State driver's license at time of appointment and maintenance throughout.

United States citizenship is also required prior to permanent appointment.

Notes:

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

Examination date:

June 5, 2021

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

April 28, 2021

A Guide for the Written Test for Investigators is available at the New York State website:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm. Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

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.

Evaluating information and evidence
These questions test the candidates' abilities to evaluate and draw conclusions from information and evidence. Each question consists of a set of facts and a conclusion based on the facts. The candidate must decide if a conclusion is warranted by the facts.

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.

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.