Office Assistant 1 (NY HELPS)

New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal; New York (NY); On-site; USD 34,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal is seeking an Office Assistant 1 to be the first point of contact for participants, applicants, property owners, and other stakeholders at the Subsidy Services office. The role emphasizes courteous, efficient service, front desk management, document routing, and supporting daily Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Voucher operations.

Responsibilities include greeting visitors, handling phone inquiries, scheduling document

Qualifications

• No formal education or experience requirements for this NY HELPS title.
• Ability to interact professionally with participants, applicants and stakeholders.
• Familiarity with office procedures and documentation routing is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Greet visitors and determine the purpose of their visit, routing to the correct staff.
• Answer high volumes of calls and route messages to appropriate staff.
• Maintain front desk operations, process documents, and support program tasks.

Skills

Customer service

Front desk

Telephone handling

Records routing

Job description

Duties Description

The Office Assistant 1 serves as the first point of contact for participants, applicants, property owners, and other stakeholders contacting or visiting the Subsidy Services office. The position provides courteous and efficient customer service, manages front desk activities, receives and routes documents, and supports daily administrative operations of the Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Voucher programs.

Duties

Duties Description

The Office Assistant 1 serves as the first point of contact for participants, applicants, property owners, and other stakeholders contacting or visiting the Subsidy Services office. The position provides courteous and efficient customer service, manages front desk activities, receives and routes documents, and supports daily administrative operations of the Housing Choice Voucher and Project-Based Voucher programs.

Reception and Visitor Assistance

• Greet visitors, determine the purpose of their visit, and notify the appropriate staff member or collect documents as necessary.
• Schedule document drop off appointments when requested and ensure front desk coverage at the scheduled date and time.
• Provide general information about office procedures, submission methods, and required forms using approved guidance.
• Identify language assistance or accessibility needs and coordinate appropriate support, using Language Line translation service as needed.
• Date‑stamp received legal documents and promptly route to the appropriate staff member or unit.
• Maintain an orderly reception area and protect visitors’ privacy during front desk interactions.

Telephone and Inquiry Management

• Answer a high volume of incoming calls, identify the nature of inquiries, and direct callers to the appropriate staff member or unit.
• Record accurate messages, including contact information and the reason for the call.
• Monitor and route messages received through designated reception voicemail or shared inboxes, as assigned on a daily basis.
• Recognize time-sensitive concerns and promptly refer them to the appropriate staff member.
• Respond professionally to frustrated callers and visitors and request supervisory assistance when needed.

General Program Support

• Assist in ensuring front desk operations continue efficiently during absences or periods of high volume.
• Ensure certified mail items received from staff are delivered to the mailroom no later than 1pm each day; Keep reliable record of items received for mailing.
• Support all administrative functions as needed, including scanning and special projects.
• Proactively learn the basic functions of both HCV and PBV program operations to provide timely and accurate information to participants, applicants, property owners and other stakeholders.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS: This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, 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 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 of 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.

Non-competitive Minimum Qualifications

There are no minimum education or experience requirements for this title.

Competitive Minimum Qualifications

Must be immediately reachable on the Civil Service list or eligible for transfer.

70.1 Transfer Qualifications

One year of permanent or contingent permanent service in an eligible title for transfer determined to be similar by Civil Service. For transfers, a list of approved titles is available through Civil Service GOT-IT at https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/. The GOT-IT site will inform you if your title is transferrable.

55b/C Qualifications

Candidates must meet the open competitive minimum qualifications for this position. Please be sure to submit your 55B/C letter.

Salary

• PLEASE NOTE: If you are brand new to state service, you will start at the hiring rate of this position which is $37,862, plus $4,150 in location pay.

EEO/DEI Statement

NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Our work would not be possible without the diverse backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and abilities of our employees. HCR is committed to developing a workforce which represents the diverse population of New York State. HCR embraces a diverse and inclusive work environment by encouraging all individuals, including those with disabilities, to apply to open positions at the agency.

Accommodation

To view our agency’s Reasonable Accommodation policy, please follow this link: https://hcr.ny.gov/accessibility.