Executive Secretary - Public Defender

COUNTY OF LEHIGH; Allentown (Lehigh County); On-site; USD 29,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

The County of Lehigh in Allentown, PA seeks an Executive Secretary to provide typing, organizational and related support to the highest-level elected executives or members of the Judiciary. The role includes traditional secretarial duties and assisting in management or judicial functions to ensure efficient operations.

Responsibilities include scheduling, correspondence, meeting minutes, mail handling and maintaining confidential information, with a focus on accuracy and timely delivery of

Qualifications

• Comprehensive knowledge of procedural and processing requirements governing record keeping in governmental or judicial offices.
• Excellent English usage, grammar, spelling and punctuation as used in clerical-processing assignments.
• Thorough knowledge of administrative clerical methods to manage meetings, workflow, and related functions.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within County, Court, and related organizations.

Responsibilities

• Evaluates efficiency and effectiveness of office procedures; coordinates improvements with management and clerical staff.
• Maintains calendar for executive or judge; schedules appointments, meetings and conferences; prepares agendas and minutes.
• Reviews incoming mail, determines priority, and forwards materials; greets visitors and redirects to appropriate offices.
• Types letters, reports and associated documents from dictation or drafts; maintains office files and record systems.
• Attends meetings, takes notes, and distributes summaries of main points and actions.

Skills

Procedural knowledge

Office organization

Interpersonal skills

English grammar

Typing / word processing

Education

GED or High School Diploma

Five years clerical government/judicial experience

Spanish language (preferred)

Tools

Word processing software

Spreadsheet software

Office equipment operation

Job description

• An Executive Secretary provides typing, organizational and related support to the highest-level elected executives or members of the Judiciary. A position in this class provides traditional secretarial support services and substantive assistance in the organization and implementation of management or judicial functions and assures the effective accomplishment of such support functions. Work may include individual responsibility for substantive processing of particular functions and/or the oversight of other clerical positions, but the primary emphasis is on the provision of traditional secretarial support services. A position in this class is differentiated from those in related ones by the executive or judicial nature of the work supported and the incumbent's concomitantly greater responsibility and accountability for the orderly and efficient accomplishment of assistance provided. A position in this class reports directly to an elected executive or judicial official.

General Definition

• An Executive Secretary provides typing, organizational and related support to the highest-level elected executives or members of the Judiciary. A position in this class provides traditional secretarial support services and substantive assistance in the organization and implementation of management or judicial functions and assures the effective accomplishment of such support functions. Work may include individual responsibility for substantive processing of particular functions and/or the oversight of other clerical positions, but the primary emphasis is on the provision of traditional secretarial support services. A position in this class is differentiated from those in related ones by the executive or judicial nature of the work supported and the incumbent's concomitantly greater responsibility and accountability for the orderly and efficient accomplishment of assistance provided. A position in this class reports directly to an elected executive or judicial official.

Typical Examples Of Work

• Evaluates efficiency and effectiveness of existing office procedures and workflow; develops new, or changes in, processing, order of work accomplishment, nature and/or extent of verifications, and similar office workload activities; coordinates such efforts with individuals in offices affecting work accomplishment; works with management, technical and/or other clerical personnel to improve timeliness, completeness and effectiveness of such work accomplishment; may oversee work of other office clerical staff.
• Maintains calendar for executive or judge; schedules appointments and meetings; reminds individual of such commitments on a daily basis; places telephone calls to secure and provide information on executive's or judge's behalf; schedules conferences, coordinating participants' schedules; develops agenda from information in records, prior agenda, or canvassing attendees for input; makes arrangements for meeting room, equipment or other support; prepares summaries of background information for use in such conferences; makes or arranges for copies of such materials; attends meetings and conferences; takes stenographic or other notes of discussion, decisions reached and assignments made; writes and distributes minutes of main points of meetings.
• Reviews incoming mail; determines priority and nature of material, procedural action required, and need for personal review by executive or judge; determines existence of related topics or activities and assembles available records and correspondence; attaches same or prepares summaries for others' use and forwards to appropriate individuals, both within and outside of office; greets visitors and callers and determines nature of business; explains circumstances, decisions, activities underway or anticipated, approvals, and/or status of items being treated by executive or judge; assists or refers visitors, callers, officials and representatives of other County, Court, local and private agencies to more appropriate office or individual for further assistance; may oversee work of other office clerical staff.
• Types correspondence, memoranda, reports, opinions, petitions, agreements, contracts, and similar narrative and statistical material from recorded dictation, stenographic or other notes, handwritten drafts or other source material; proofreads such work and corrects errors; may take stenographic or other notes of dictated correspondence, documents and other items; composes routine correspondence such as cover letters, responses to invitations and referrals; establishes and maintains office files and other record keeping systems.
• Performs related work as required.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of procedural and processing requirements governing record keeping, documentation and similar office functions in governmental or judicial offices.
• Comprehensive knowledge of English usage, grammar, spelling and punctuation as used in clerical-processing assignments in governmental or judicial offices.
• Thorough knowledge of administrative clerical methods and techniques used to manage and coordinate meetings, workflow, and similar functions.
• Thorough knowledge of the organizational and functional relationships within the County, the Court and related organizations.
• Skill in gathering information from and explaining procedural and/or processing requirements to visitors, callers, clients, members of the public and officials of public and private organizations.
• Skill in operating typewriting, word-processing, copying and other office equipment, as required by work assignment.
• Ability to use word-processing, spreadsheet, database, graphics and/or similar computer programs, when required by work assignment.
• Ability to take accurate notes of discussions and dictated material in order to produce draft and/or final correspondence, documents and other items, when required by work assignment.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, callers, visitors, clients, representatives of other offices and members of the public.

Acceptable Training & Experience

• GED or High School Diploma
• Five years clerical experience in a government or judicial setting, three years which shall have been performing secretarial work at the full performance level.
• Bilingual in Spanish is preferred.
• Or any equivalent combination of acceptable training and experience which has provided the knowledge, skills and abilities cited above.

Salary: $24.66 - $24.66 per hour