Administrative Assistant 1/Trainee, Central Office

New York State Office of Mental Health; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NYS pension and retirement programs

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vis

Flexible spending accounts

Paid holidays and leave

Job summary

The New York State Office of Mental Health seeks an Administrative Assistant 1 in the Division of Crisis Services to support executive calendars, travel, and document preparation. The role entails confidential communications handling and coordinating meetings and events in a fast-paced government office.

The position includes onboarding/offboarding staff, maintaining organizational charts, and contributing to streamlined administrative workflows within OMH’s crisis response framework.

Qualifications

• Two years of administrative support experience including use of office software, customer service, business writing, and/or office administration.
• Certification (e.g., IAAP Certified Administrative Professional) or associate’s degree substitutes for two years of experience.
• A traineeship leading to Administrative Assistant 1, with required courses, approved to advance after completion.

Responsibilities

• Schedule meetings and manage calendars for executive staff.
• Prepare travel paperwork and arrange travel for multiple employees.
• Submit employee travel in the Statewide Financial System for reconciliation and reimbursement.
• Coordinate events as needed.
• Provide travel training and guidance for other administrative staff.
• Monitor confidential communications and documentation.
• Format and proofread documents onto letterhead.
• Onboard/offboard new employees.
• Track and manage routine business transactions.
• Assemble background materials for meetings and conferences.
• Interact with staff across OMH facilities and other agencies.
• Support administrative processes and implement new processes as needed.

Skills

Administrative support

Customer service

Business writing

Office administration

Education

IAAP Certified Administrative Professional

Associate’s degree in office administration

Secretarial science

Job description

The Office of Mental Health (OMH) is recruiting to fill one Administrative Assistant 1, Grade 11, position in the Division of Crisis Services. The Division will be responsible for designing, implementing and overseeing OMH crisis services and coordinating with other crisis response systems to fulfill the vision of a coordinated crisis system. The Division will be responsible for implementing the Behavioral Health Crisis Technical Assistance Center.

Duties Description

Under the general direction of the Director of the Division, the incumbents’ specific duties to be performed may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Management of very active executive staff and senior staff calendars by scheduling meetings, appointments, interviews, reserving conference rooms, and assisting in conference room preparations.
• Prepare travel paperwork for approval submission and arrange travel for multiple employees - reserve hotel rooms, mass transit, fleet vehicles, or rental cars.
• Submit employee travel in the Statewide Financial System for reconciliation and reimbursement.
• Coordination for events as needed.
• Provide travel training and guidance for other administrative support team members and new support team members.
• Monitor central office administrative support email inbox for high-priority information as well as ensure and maintain the confidentiality of communications and documentation.
• Format and proofread Word and PDF documents onto letterhead.
• Moving documents through approval levels.
• Answer and screen phone calls.
• Perform routine clerical tasks such as distribution of mail, copying, faxing, filing, scanning, maintaining office and printer supplies.
• Ensure daily operation functions are adequately covered.
• Update division organizational chart and phone list, including personal Webex call in #s
• Onboard/offboard new employees.
• Tracking and managing routine business transactions.
• Assembling and coordinating background materials for meetings and conferences.
• Interacting, in-person and by telephone, with staff from OMH facilities and other agencies, community providers, constituent groups, recipients and families.
• Supporting general administrative processes, including collaborating to identify and implement new processes as needed.
• The incumbent will be expected to keep a continuous knowledge of updated software to complete the tasks.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Transfer:

• Candidates must have permanent status as an Administrative Assistant 1, Grade 11 and be eligible for lateral transfer; OR be eligible to transfer via Section 70.1 of the Civil Service Law.
• Non-Competitive: Candidates must have two years of experience in administrative support, which includes use of office software (e.g., email, word processing), provision of customer service, business writing, and/or office administration.
• Certification (e.g., IAAP Certified Administrative Professional) or associate’s degree in office administration, secretarial science, administrative assistance, paralegal, business technology, or office technology substitutes for two years of experience.
• In addition, a new two-year traineeship (Administrative Assistant Trainee 1 & 2, NS=Grade 8 & 10) leading to Administrative Assistant 1, Grade 11, has been approved effective October 31, 2019. Trainees will be required to take four mandatory courses the first year of the traineeship and four elective courses in each the second year of the traineeship in four competency areas through the CSEA Partnership, or equivalent offerings through another entity as determined by the agency. All trainees are required to successfully complete all courses before advancing to Administrative Assistant 1, G-11.

Additional Comments

The starting salary for this position will vary based on the selected candidate’s education and/or experience. Candidates appointed at a trainee level will be required to successfully complete the traineeship to advance to the full performance level title and salary:

• $42,209 (Administrative Assistant Trainee 1)
• $47,110 (Administrative Assistant Trainee 2)
• $49,841 (Administrative Assistant 1, full performance level)

For current New York State employees, the starting salary is based on the candidate’s salary at the time of hire.

Employment with New York State offers unmatched benefits, individual support, and career mobility for motivated individuals including: NYS pension and retirement programs; annual cost of living and performance advance increases; comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans; flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care; paid time off, including thirteen paid holidays per year, and paid personal leave, vacation leave, and sick leave.

The Mission of the New York State Office of Mental Health is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a focus on providing hope and supporting recovery for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. Applicants with lived mental health experience are encouraged to apply. OMH is deeply committed to supporting underserved individuals, organizations, and communities. To this end, OMH is focused on implementing activities and initiatives to reduce disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes for underserved populations. A critical component of these efforts is ensuring OMH is a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees' unique attributes and skills are valued and utilized to support the mission of the Agency. OMH is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Specific scheduled hours and telecommuting availability for this position will be discussed during the interview process. Please note, employees are required to apply and obtain approval through management to telecommute according to operational needs and Agency Telecommuting Program Guidelines.

This position may be designated 55 b/c and is subject to verification of applicant eligibility.

This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). For the duration of NY HELPS, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply.

At a future date, it is expected that employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.