Administrative Secretary, Grants Development - RB #26-033

Salary: $52,961 - $62,605

Location: Grants Department, 428 City Hall, Buffalo, NY 14202

Civil Service residency requirements apply, except for Native Americans who are exempt from City of Buffalo residency but must provide tribal enrollment or community recognition.

About the Role

The Administrative Secretary performs a wide variety of complex, responsible clerical, secretarial, and administrative tasks while functioning as an office assistant to an administrator, program manager, technical specialist, or office supervisor. This role involves independently performing complex clerical operations, relieving a supervisor of administrative details, arranging conferences, and handling contacts with subordinate officials. Independent judgment is frequently required for providing information on departmental policies and planning office routines. Most correspondence is self-composed and reviewed only when new problems arise. Incumbents must exercise discretion with confidential or controversial information.

Work is performed under general supervision, with tasks assigned by an administrator. Only unusually important or complicated assignments are reviewed in detail upon completion. The Administrative Secretary may also supervise a clerical staff.

Responsibilities

• Reproduce and type dictation from various sources, including confidential materials such as minutes and proceedings of meetings, hearings, and conferences.
• Draft and type letters, reports, and memoranda for supervisor’s approval.
• Type correspondence, reports, documents, records, and materials using equipment with alpha-numeric keyboards (e.g., typewriters, electronic word processors, CRT terminals, personal computers, data terminals, and printers).
• Relieve supervisor of administrative details:
  • Receive calls and visitors, determine their needs, and provide factual information.
  • Schedule appointments and arrange conferences or meetings as requested.
  • Answer requests for administrative information.
• Set up and maintain confidential and regular correspondence.
• Read and summarize reports to facilitate review and conserve the supervisor’s time.
• Prepare office reports as directed and tabulate data from numerous reports.
• Organize and prepare work materials for meetings and conferences (e.g., agendas, reports, resolutions).
• Transcribe minutes and proceedings of meetings, hearings, and conferences from various sources.
• Assign specific and standing tasks, review typed correspondence and reports for accuracy and proper grammatical usage.
• Ensure proper processing and filing of documents by observing activities and instructing subordinates in procedures.
• Operate a personal computer using application programs for data input and retrieval.
• May supervise one or more employees in typing correspondence and reports.
• Perform related duties as required.

Requirements

Full Performance Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Personal Characteristics

• Thorough knowledge of office terminology, methods, procedures, and equipment.
• Good knowledge of proper grammatical usage, punctuation, and spelling.
• Good knowledge of the agency’s procedures, formats, and guidelines for processing and distributing correspondence and memoranda.
• Working knowledge of vocabulary and terms commonly used in the organization.
• Working knowledge of procedures for various clerical tasks.
• Ability to type at a rate of 35 words per minute.
• Ability to operate data processing equipment, including personal computers, for application programs and data input/retrieval.
• Ability to plan and supervise the work of others.
• Ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written directions.
• Tact, courtesy, neat appearance, and sound judgment.
• Physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.

Qualifications

Promotional

• Continuous and permanent status in any city department as one of the following for one year:
  • Legal Secretary
  • Legal Stenographer
  • Principal Clerk
  • School Clerk
  • Senior Account Clerk
  • Senior Account Clerk-Stenographer
  • Senior Account Clerk-Typist
  • Senior Clerk
  • Senior Stenographer
  • Senior Typist
• Completion of a course in typing or keyboarding (must be listed on application).
• Applicants who previously qualified on a qualifying typing/keyboarding test at 35 wpm administered by the City of Buffalo Civil Service are exempt from retesting.
• Note: Candidates may only participate in an exam and be certified for appointment to departments where the Administrative Secretary pay rate is higher than their current position.

Open Competitive

• Associate’s Degree from an accredited college, business, or technical institute in Secretarial Science, including or supplemented by a course in typing/keyboarding (must be listed on application), and one year of full-time responsible clerical experience at a supervisory level, including operation of an alpha-numeric keyboard.
• OR Graduation from high school, GED, or equivalency diploma, including or supplemented by a course in typing/keyboarding (must be listed on application), and three years of full-time responsible clerical experience at a supervisory level, including operation of an alpha-numeric keyboard.
• OR An equivalent combination of education and experience as defined within the limits of the above options.
• Applicants who previously qualified on a qualifying typing/keyboarding test at 35 wpm administered by the City of Buffalo Civil Service are exempt from retesting.
• Verifiable part-time experience will be pro-rated to meet full-time experience requirements.
• Proof of education must be presented at the time of appointment.