Senior Office Assistant

CalHR; Sonora (CA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

CalPERS retirement benefits

Generous leave accruals

Job summary

CalHR in California seeks an Office Assistant III to perform high-level clerical duties, guide staff, and train others. You will explain policies, manage records, and operate department systems while ensuring accuracy and timely service to the public.

The role requires supervising or leading staff, interviewing applicants, and handling complex or routine tasks within established guidelines. The position emphasizes adaptability and strong communication with diverse customers.

Qualifications

• General office functions, procedures, equipment, and filing systems.
• General goals and purposes of department programs, services, and operations.
• English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Standard formats and vocabulary used in business correspondence.
• Basic supervisory and training and development principles and practices.
• State, County, or Department computer systems.
• Word processing, spreadsheet, database, email, calendaring programs, and automated systems.

Responsibilities

• Explain policies, procedures, and regulations governing program operations.
• Analyze situations involving complex rules and regulations and exercise good judgment.
• Provide effective verbal and written instruction to others.
• Prioritize, plan, and organize one's own work.
• Conduct interviews and record information simultaneously.
• Enter and retrieve data using an automated data system.
• Identify and correct inaccurate or inconsistent information.
• Interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Provide direction to and train subordinate staff.
• Work cooperatively as part of a team.
• Listen attentively and understand oral information provided.
• Maintain flexibility in daily activities and decision making.

Job description

Under limited supervision, the Office Assistant III performs highly responsible, specialized, and technical office support activities; explains rules, policies, and operations related to department records, programs, and services; may serve as a lead-worker and provide training and work assignments to a group of office support staff; may conduct initial application screening interview and initiate cases through automated systems; and performs related work as required.

The Office Assistant III is the advanced journey level in the Office Assistant series. Incumbents either act as lead-worker to a group of office support staff, perform applicant screening in addition to other primary responsibilities, or exercise a detailed subject matter knowledge of a specific and complex program area or specialized record keeping system.

The Office Assistant III differs from the Screener in Social Services in that the Screener classification is assigned the screening function as a primary responsibility, while the Office Assistant III may have primary responsibility for other advanced clerical functions, and screening duties represent a less significant portion of the overall responsibilities of the position.

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provides interpretation and guidance to new employees, lower level clerical staff, and coworkers on new or revised policies and procedures.
• Coordinates, distributes, and reprioritizes work tasks to adjust to changing demands.
• Monitors the quality and timeliness of work.
• Assists others with complex or non-routine matters.
• Provides supervisor with feedback on employees and process improvements.
• Addresses complaints and explains regulations to customers or the public.
• Responds to inquiries regarding departmental functions, services, policies, and procedures.
• Obtains information from customers, visitors, or callers to determine appropriate resource, action, document, or staff referral to meet their needs.
• Explains the proper use of forms and documents.
• Operates a variety of standard office equipment.
• Composes correspondence, reports, memos, and other documents.
• Reviews and processes forms/documents in accordance with established guidelines and procedures.
• Monitors and updates manual or electronic files.
• Compiles information to respond to questions or address issues.
• Reviews submitted forms or applications to verify accuracy and completeness.
• Operates automated systems or other department-specific computer systems.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

Knowledge of:

• General office functions, procedures, equipment, and filing systems.
• General goals and purposes of department programs, services, and operations.
• English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Standard formats and vocabulary used in business correspondence.
• Basic supervisory and training and development principles and practices.
• State, County, or Department computer systems.
• Word processing, spreadsheet, database, email, calendaring programs, and automated systems.

Ability to:

• Explain policies, procedures, and regulations governing program operations.
• Analyze situations involving complex rules and regulations and demonstrate good judgment when resolving differences.
• Provide effective verbal and written instruction to others.
• Prioritize, plan, and organize one's own work.
• Conduct interviews and record information simultaneously.
• Quickly and accurately enter and retrieve data using an automated data system.
• Identify and correct inaccurate or inconsistent information.
• Interact with individuals from various educational, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Provide direction to and train subordinate staff.
• Work cooperatively as part of a team.
• Listen attentively and understand oral information provided.
• Maintain flexibility in daily activities and decision making.

Two (2) years of full-time experience performing clerical duties in an office environment, including one (1) year at the journey level.

Examination Information

Training & Experience Examination – Weighted 100%

The Training & Experience Examination is designed to elicit a range of specific information regarding each candidate’s knowledge, skill, abilities, and potential to effectively perform the duties relative to the classification. Responses to the questionnaire will be assessed based on pre-determined rating criteria. All applicants must complete the entire examination to receive a score. To obtain a position on the eligible list, candidates must receive a minimum rating of 70% on the examination.

Examination administration and processing time is approximately two weeks after the closing date of the job bulletin.

Eligible List Information

A departmental open eligible list will be established for the county of Tuolumne. The list will be utilized for 12 months after it is established unless the needs of the service and conditions of the list warrant a change in this period.

Retest Period

Once you have taken the examination, you may not retest for SIX (6) MONTHS from the established eligibility date.

Special Testing Arrangements

Special testing arrangements may be made to accommodate applicants for disability, military, or religious reasons. If you require such arrangements, please contact CalHR at [e-mail] or 916-909-3701 upon notification that your application has been approved. Documentation from medical, military, school or church officials outlining the accommodation request must be received by our office a minimum of five business days prior to a scheduled examination.

Education Documents

If you are using education to meet the minimum qualifications, you must attach your transcripts to your application. Applicants with foreign transcripts must provide a transcript evaluation that indicates the number of units to which the foreign course work is equivalent. Transcripts and evaluations may be unofficial; official transcripts may be required upon appointment. Please redact birthdates and social security numbers.

General Information

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship by the start date of employment.

MSS reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the recruitment if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all competitors will be notified.

If you meet the requirements stated on this bulletin, you may take this examination. Your performance in this examination will be rated against predetermined rating criteria. All competitors who pass will be added to the eligible list. Meeting the entry requirements does not assure success in the examination or placement on the eligible list.

General Qualifications:

Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgement, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. As part of the hiring process, a background investigation may be required.

Additional Information

The ability to speak, read and write Spanish in addition to English would be an asset in this position but is not required.

A valid driver's license may be required at the time of appointment. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to a disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Positions may require pre-employment screening, including background checks, and fingerprinting.

Government agencies accessing US government information, which include federal tax information must ensure that background investigation requirements for all agency employees and contractors that have access to federal tax information are consistent to the IRS background investigation requirements for access to federal tax information. A background check may be required if the position requires access to these types of records. Background requirements consist of three components which include, fingerprinting, citizenship verification and local law enforcement checks. State agencies must conduct investigation during time of hire and ensure a reinvestigation is conducted 10 years from the date of the previous background investigation for each employee that has access to federal tax information.

Benefits

Generous leave accruals

• Step Increases upon each 2080 hours worked, until max salary is reached
• Longevity incentive
• Medical, dental, vision insurance with substantial employer paid contribution
• CalPERS retirement benefits