County of Alameda

DESCRIPTION

Under general supervision, performs confidential secretarial and administrative support duties for the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chiefs, and/or Administrative Services Director of the Alameda County Fire Department.  

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES  

This is a confidential classification reporting to the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chiefs, and/or Administrative Services Director and has assigned responsibility for relieving them of administrative details.  This class is distinguished from the Fire Department Secretary II in that the former performs the more difficult and complex secretarial and administrative support duties as well as has supervisory responsibility of administrative support staff.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

NOTE:   The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification.  However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level.  Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all duties listed.

1. Plans, organizes, directs and reviews the work of assigned administrative support staff.
2. Prepares and composes correspondence from brief instructions requiring discrimination and judgment in the selection of data or interpretation of laws, rules, policies or the resolution of debatable points where mistakes or poor judgment may entail serious consequences.
3. Maintains an appointment calendar for the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chiefs and/or Administrative Services Director exercising considerable judgment in committing the administrator’s time; schedules meetings, reserves rooms, prepares notices and agenda and assembles materials/documents needed for such meetings.
4. Relieves the Fire Chief of certain administrative details by routinely and independently performing administrative support tasks such as researching operating problems; refers matters to other staff members for research; contacts outside vendors, general public or other agency representatives on matters requiring independent judgment.
5. Handles confidential information which has not yet been made public and is available only to the Fire Chief and their top-level staff; records actions to be taken on sensitive matters, based on a thorough knowledge of departmental policies; takes responsibility for releasing information to authorized parties, attorneys, and the press.
6. Screens phone calls, often personally handling those originally intended for the Fire Chief or their staff; provides information requiring knowledge of an administrator’s particular area of responsibility; answers questions that involve searching for and abstracting data and detailed explanations of laws, policies or procedures.
7. Compiles a variety of narrative and statistical reports, locating sources of information, devising forms to secure data, and determining proper format for completed reports; may maintain cost records, prepare departmental budgets and assist in maintaining financial controls throughout the year.
8. Sorts, screens, prioritizes and routes mail attaching pertinent correspondence and other relevant data for reference; determines in what priority material should be referred to the Fire Chief’s attention.
9. Develops and maintains workflow and other procedures and revises procedures manuals.
10. Attends and takes minutes at Fire Advisory Commission meetings.
11. Assists with Public Records Act requests.
12. Organizes Department’s annual events.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EITHER I  

Experience:  

The equivalent of two (2) years of full-time experience in the class of Fire Department Specialist Clerk or in an equivalent or higher-level clerical/secretarial class within the Alameda County Fire Department.  

OR II  

Experience:  

The equivalent of four (4) years full-time increasingly responsible secretarial and administrative support experience, which must include one (1) year of full-time experience directly supervising administrative support staff.    

Special Requirements:  

All candidates must be able to type at a speed of not less than 50 net words per minutes, with 80% accuracy.

NOTE:  The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

NOTE:   The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.  

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of supervision and leadership.
• Modern office practices and procedures, including business correspondence, recordkeeping systems sand standard office equipment operations.
• Correct use of the English language, including spelling and grammar, business letter writing and proper format for typed materials.
• Word processing and/or spreadsheet applications.
• Principles of managing and coordinating secretarial aspects of an administrative office.
• Organization and functions of a fire department.  

Ability to:  

• Perform difficult clerical work involving independent judgment and typing with speed and accuracy.
• Prepare clear and comprehensive reports; draft, compose and edit correspondence from brief oral or written instructions using word processing applications.
• Speak clearly and concisely to obtain and relate information.
• Identify and correct errors in English usage and grammar and mathematical calculations in a variety of documents.
• Organize and prioritize workloads; complete work under time deadlines.
• Learn to interpret and apply laws, rules and written directions to specific situations.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers and the public.
• Assist in devising and keeping office records of a confidential nature; maintain confidentiality.
• Evaluate demands on an administrator’s time; arrange schedules accordingly.
• Work with officials and the public in routine, emergency and emotional situations.
• Take responsibility and use good judgment in recognizing scope of authority and chain of command.

CLASS SPEC HISTORY

 

BG:bl

7/12/00

Newspecs:  8161.doc

RC:pf  Revised 10/28/05

CSC Date:   12/7/2005

DR:sa Revised 03/03/2022

CSC Date: 03/23/2022

BENEFITS

*** For benefit information, please refer to the recruitment brochure.