San Mateo County's Human Services Agency is seeking an experienced, dynamic individual for the position of Administrative Secretary III, who will, under general supervision, perform varied secretarial and office administrative assistance; use discretion in determining alternatives from well-defined guidelines in relieving management of routine administrative details; and may provide direction to office support staff on a project basis.  Day-to-day activities require the use of initiative and independent judgment, particularly when prioritizing work from several staff members or when dealing with a variety of County staff and representatives of the public.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Experience performing a variety of secretarial and administrative support duties.
• Ability to compose correspondence independently or from brief instructions.
• Strong computer skills with high proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Possess excellent verbal and written business communication skills, in order to prepare clear and concise reports, meeting minutes and agendas, and conduct positive interactions with County staff, community partners, outside agencies, and the public.
• Experienced in working successfully as part of a team and ability to work independently.
• Flexibility to provide effective back-up coverage of various positions as needed.
• Ability to organize workload and set priorities to meet critical deadlines.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments while maintaining attention to detail.
• Proven ability in using initiative and independent judgment.
• Ability to exercise a high degree of discretion and observe confidentiality.
• A sense of ownership and responsibility.
• Ability to research and find information as needed.
• Desire to strive for professional development and growth; and keep up-to-date with HSA technology and policy/procedure changes.

• Provide primary support for the Chief Financial Officer and Managers.
• Support a variety of meetings: book meeting rooms, provide administrative support for meeting materials, assist with room set up, reserve, set up, and collect required equipment (laptop, projector and digital recorder).
• Attend meetings and prepare meeting agendas and meeting minutes and action items.
• Maintain and order office supplies and materials as needed.
• Manage the office facility needs and follow-up with the building owner on any facility needs / requests.
• Assist to coordinate any necessary staff moves within the Finance Branch.
• Coordinate the timely completion of reports from assigned Managers.
• Open and sort mail and attach pertinent back-up materials; process outgoing mail or financial invoices as required.
• Organize and maintain various office files, and purge files as required.
• Follow-up on projects, transmit information, and keep informed on division activities.
• Keep lunch room bulletin boards up-to-date.
• Provide project direction to support staff as needed.
• Plan and coordinate department functions and events, and perform other duties as assigned.
• Receive and screen visitors and telephone calls as needed and provide factual information which may require the interpretation and applications of policy and procedures.
• Greet the public and provide front desk coverage as needed.
• Organize own work, set priorities, and develop and meet critical deadlines.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Typing Requirement: Ability to type accurately at a rate of 50 net words per minute from printed copy.  (A typing certificate issued in the last two years, indicating your ability to type 50 words per minute will be required and be submitted with the application prior to the filing deadline.)

County Status:  An applicant must be a current County of San Mateo employee in the Human Services Agency with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, SEIU or AFSCME represented extra-help, or term position prior to the final filing date.

Education and Experience:  
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. 

• A typical way to qualify is two years of secretarial experience which has included providing office and administrative support to management staff.  
• Experience providing administrative assistance to upper-level management is preferred.

• Office administrative and secretarial practices and procedures.
• Basic organization and function of public agencies, including the role of an elected Board of Supervisors and appointed boards and commissions.
• Record keeping, report preparation, filing methods, and records management techniques.
• Correct English usage, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.
• Standard business arithmetic, including percentages and decimals.
• Basic supervisory principles and practices.
• Basic budgeting principles and practices.

• Provide varied, responsible, and often confidential secretarial and office administrative assistance to high-level management and other associated supervisory and professional staff.
• Plan, direct, and review the work of assigned staff, and instruct staff in work procedures.
• Interpret, apply, and explain complex policies and procedures using tact, discretion, initiative, and independent judgment within established guidelines.
• Analyze and resolve office administrative situations and problems.
• Research, compile, and summarize a variety of informational materials.
• Compose correspondence independently or from brief instructions.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Organize work, set priorities, and meet critical deadlines.
• Follow up on assignments with a minimum of direction.

This is a Department Promotional Only recruitment. Only current San Mateo County employees in the Human Services Agency, with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, SEIU or AFSCME represented extra-help, or temporary position prior to the final filing date may apply. Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire. 

The examination process will consist of an application screening based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in San Mateo County, California and applicants must participate at their own expense. 

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button above. If you are not on the County's website, please go to  https://jobs.smcgov.org to apply.

~ TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE ~
Final Filing Date: Monday, April 19, 2021 11:59 P.M. 
Application Screening: Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Combined Panel Interviews: Tuesday, April 27, 2021