THE GENESEE COUNTY HUMAN RESOURCES
COUNTY BUILDING I, BATAVIA, NEW YORK
ANNOUNCES
A PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION FOR:
CONFIDENTIAL SECRETARY-SCHOOLS, PROM #75-755
SALARY: Salary varies at school districts under the jurisdiction of Genesee County Civil Service.
VACANCY: This examination is being held to establish an eligible list to fill future vacancies as they occur. An eligible may receive only one permanent appointment from this list. Once appointed, there will be a Probationary Period of 8-26 weeks based on performance of duties.
ELIGIBLE LIST: ONLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES EMPLOYED WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WHERE THE VACANCY EXISTS WILL BE CERTIFIED FROM THE ELIGIBLE LIST.
LAST FILING DATE----------JANUARY 23, 2019
WRITTEN EXAMINATION DATE----------MARCH 2, 2019
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:
Applicants must be current employees of a school district within the jurisdiction of Genesee County Civil Service with twenty-four (24) months of permanent, Competitive status, prior to the date of the examination, in a lower-level clerical title and must have received a permanent appointment from an eligible list established from an examination which included a typing performance test. Candidates must have continued their above employment through the period leading to the date of appointment from this Eligible List [PLEASE INDICATE YOUR EXPERIENCE ON YOUR APPLICATION].
CANDIDATES, PLEASE NOTE: It is vital that you submit, with your application, all information necessary to show your qualification for examination. APPLICATIONS WHICH DO NOT SHOW TRAINING AND/OR EXPERIENCE TO MEET MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS WILL BE DISAPPROVED, AND WE WILL NOT REFER TO OTHER APPLICATIONS ON FILE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
NOTE: PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED ON THE DAY OF THE EXAMINATION.
NOTE – FILING FEES: (The acceptance of your application is dependent upon your following these instructions accurately):
A fee of $20.00 is required for each separately-numbered examination for which you apply. The required fee must accompany your application. The fee may be submitted in the form of either CASH or CREDIT CARD (if delivered in person), PERSONAL CHECK or MONEY ORDER, (if by mail). Personal Checks and Money Orders must be payable to the GENESEE COUNTY TREASURER. Please write the examination number(s) on your personal check or money order. YOUR APPLICATION FEE WILL NOT BE REFUNDED if you do not meet the requirements for admission to the examination. Compare your qualifications carefully to the requirements stated on the announcement and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified. A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are receiving unemployment and are primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible for Medicaid, or are receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Family assistance or Safety Net Assistance, or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency. All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification. In order for us to verify your eligibility for an application fee waiver, you must complete a “Request for Fee Waiver” form and submit it with your application by the close of business on the Last Filing Date as indicated on the Examination Announcement. The “Request for Fee Waiver” form can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website, www.co.genesee.ny.us.
TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:
Acts as personal secretary to an Administrative Head of an educational agency;
Acts as a liaison between agency officials and public and non-public officials covering specialized or designated programs;
Functions in a secretarial capacity for setting up meeting dates, appointments, and confidential personnel matters;
Performs the confidential aspects of the Administrator's work including maintaining and processing personnel data;
Maintains confidential files related to disadvantaged students, on-going law suits and claims against the District;
Answers correspondence of confidential nature regarding the District's legal matters, labor negotiations and student information;
Reviews confidential student data related to qualifications to participate in disadvantaged programming;
Does research related to the Collective Bargaining process;
Prepares, assembles, and distributes to members of contract negotiating teams minutes, agenda, proposals and counter proposals, position and tactical reports, reference and research material;
Contacts specified sources for information relating to issues at hand in negotiations;
Complete budget analysis with information presented by the Administrative Head and assists in computing budget information;
Maintains confidential personnel records and updates confidential files of current employees;
May assist in the development of competitive bid specifications and quotes.
SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION:A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:
1. Grammar/Usage/Punctuation
2. Keyboarding Practices
3. Office Practices
4. Spelling
USE OF A CALCULATOR IS RECOMMENDED FOR THIS EXAMINATION. QUIET, HAND-HELD, SOLAR OR BATTERY POWERED CALCULATORS ARE PERMITTED. CELL PHONES OR DEVICES WITH TYPEWRITER KEYBOARDS ARE PROHIBITED.
EXPANDED SUB-TEST DESCRIPTION:
Grammar/Usage/Punctuation-The grammar and usage questions test for the ability to apply the basic rules of grammar and usage. The punctuation questions test for a knowledge of the correct placement of punctuation marks in sentences. You will be presented with sets of four sentences from each of which you must choose the sentence that contains a grammatical, usage, or punctuation error.
Keyboarding Practices-These questions test for a knowledge of preferred practices in such areas as letter format, capitalization, hyphenation, plurals, possessives, word division, word and figure style for numbers, and common proofreading marks. In addition, there will be a passage to proofread followed by questions on how to correct the errors in the passage.
Office Practices-These questions test for a knowledge of generally agreed-upon practices governing the handling of situations which typists, stenographers, secretaries, and office assistants encounter in their work, as well as a knowledge of efficient and effective methods used to accomplish office tasks. The questions cover such topics as planning work flow; setting priorities; dealing effectively with staff, visitors, and callers; filing and retrieving information; safeguarding confidentiality; using office equipment; and making procedural decisions and recommendations which contribute to a well-managed office.
Spelling-These questions test for the ability to spell words that are used in written business communications.
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: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.
CROSS-FILING:If you have applied for other local government or state examinations, call or write to each civil service agency to make arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of the examinations. You must notify all local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the test site at which you wish to take your examinations. The “Cross-filer Form” for Genesee County can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website, www.co.genesee.ny.us.
NOTE: Religious Accommodations, Persons with Disabilities or Active Military: If special arrangements for testing are required, please indicate this on your application. An explanation of your need for special testing accommodations must be attached to your application. If due to disability – medical documentation must be provided.
ACTIVE MILITARY MEMBERS: Any member of the armed forces of the United States who has duly filed an application to compete in a scheduled competitive examination but was deprived of the opportunity to compete in the examination due to active military duty could be provided with a special military make-up examination.
Current members of the Armed Forces may apply for Veteran’s credits by filing an "Application for Veteran’s Credits” (Form VC-1). The “Application for Veteran’s Credits” can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website at, www.co.genesee.ny.us. Proof of military status must also be presented and verified in order for consideration of granting of “conditional” Veteran’s credit. Acceptable proof may include a military I.D. card, military orders, or other official military document that substantiates active military service at time of exam. This documentation and VC-1 Form must be received prior to the establishment of the Eligible List for this examination. The “conditional” status of the additional credits will remain until proof is provided indicating that the service was in time of war and that the veteran received an honorable discharge, or was released under honorable circumstances.
VETERANS: Additional credits are available to veterans who meet certain established requirements. Veterans who have not exhausted their credits should make application for their use, if desired. A COMPLETED APPLICATION FOR VETERANS CREDITS (FORM VC-1) AND a COPY OF SEPARATION PAPERS (FORM DD-214) MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE THE ELIGIBLE LIST FOR THIS EXAMINATION IS ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO UTILIZE ADDITIONAL CREDITS. DISABLED VETERANS MUST SUBMIT, IN ADDITION, A COPY OF FORM VC-3 (AUTHORIZATION FOR DISABILITY RECORD). The “Application for Veteran’s Credits” can be obtained at Genesee County Human Resources, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020 or from our website at, www.co.genesee.ny.us.
ADDITIONAL CREDIT AUTHORIZED: Additional credits shall be allowed for children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty, as “child” in this section in competitive examinations for original appointment. (a) On all eligible lists resulting from competitive examinations, the names of eligible persons shall be entered in the order of their respective final earned ratings on examinations, with the name of the eligible person with the highest final earned ratings at the head of such list, provided, however, that for the purpose of determining final earned ratings, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten (10) points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. (b) Such additional credit shall be added to the final earned rating of such child, as the case may be, after he or she has qualified in the competitive examination and shall be granted only at the time of establishment of the resulting eligible list.
PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS: College graduates with student loans may be eligible to have part of their loan paid for after being employed in a full-time position at Genesee County. Additional information is available at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/public-service-loan-forgiveness.pdf.
SENIORITY CREDITS: Candidates who pass the written and qualifying tests will have seniority credits added to their scores as follows:
Less than 1 year 0 Points
1 year up to 6 years 1 Point
Over 6 years up to 11 years 2 Points
Over 11 years up to 16 years 3 Points
Over 16 years up to 21 years 4 Points
Over 21 years up to 26 years 5 Points
PLACE TO FILE: To get an application, come in or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Genesee County Human Resources, County Building I, 15 Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 or download from website: www.co.genesee.ny.us. Phone 344-2550, Ext. 2221.
Applications mailed to us must be postmarked with a date no later than the last filing date indicated on this announcement.
All correspondence will be sent only to the address provided on the application for examination. It is your responsibility to inform the Genesee County Human Resources office of any change of address. Correspondence returned for incorrect address will not be forwarded. All address changes must be submitted to the Genesee County Human Resources office in writing.
APPLICANTS: Please contact this office three days prior to examination if you have not been notified by us, as to your eligibility to participate in this examination.
This examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of the Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with this rating of the examination will apply to this test.
GENESEE COUNTY DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, CREED, RELIGION, SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AGE, DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, CITIZENSHIP STATUS, MILITARY OR VETERAN STATUS, CRIMINAL CONVICTION STATUS, PREDISPOSING GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS OR GENETIC INFORMATION, PREGNANCY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM STATUS, OR STATUS AS A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER PROTECTED GROUP OR ACTIVITY IN ALL ASPECTS OF EMPLOYMENT.
GENESEE COUNTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER