Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Fire Department Secretary II

Recruitment #23-8154-01

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Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and supplemental questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

DESCRIPTION

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

THE ALAMEDA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT (ACFD) provides all-risk emergency services to the unincorporated areas of Alameda County (excluding Fairview), the cities of San Leandro, Dublin, Newark, Union City and Emeryville, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. With 28 fire stations and 34 companies serving a population of 394,000, the ACFD serves densely populated urban areas, waterways, industrialized centers, extensive urban interface, agricultural and wildland regions. Over 400 personnel and 100 Reserve Firefighters provide a wide variety of services to an ever expanding, dynamic and diverse community of roughly 508 square miles. These services include:

  • Advanced Life Support
  • Fire Suppression
  • Hazardous Materials Response
  • Urban Search & Rescue
  • Water Rescue
  • Community Outreach & Education
  • Disaster Preparedness
  • Fire Prevention and Code Compliance
  • Regional Dispatch

The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) was formed on July 1, 1993 as a dependent special district with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors as its governing body. This consolidation brought together into a single jurisdiction the Castro Valley Fire Department, Eden Consolidated Fire Protection District and County Fire Patrol. Subsequently, the following communities have contracted with the ACFD:

  • July 1, 1995 City of San Leandro
  • July 1, 1997 City of Dublin
  • August 1, 2002 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • October 1, 2007 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • May 1, 2010 City of Newark
  • July 1, 2010 City of Union City
  • July 1, 2012 City of Emeryville

On January 20, 2008, the ACFD became responsible for the administration and operation of the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC). The dispatch center provides dispatch and regional communication center services for the ACFD, the Alameda County Emergency Medical Services Agency, Camp Parks Combat Support Training Center, and the cities of Alameda, Fremont, Livermore and Pleasanton. ACRECC is also the Dispatch/System Status Management Center for Falck ambulance service.

For more information about the agency, please visit:  Alameda County Fire Department.


THE POSITION

Under the general direction of the Fire Department administration or the Fire Prevention Bureau, Fire Department Secretary positions have responsibility for performing a wide variety of difficult clerical and secretarial work and for relieving administrators of administrative details.

For more detailed information about the position, please visit:  Fire Department Secretary II.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Experience:

The equivalent of three years of full-time experience in clerical work that requires a typing proficiency of not less than 40 wpm.

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

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

  • Modern office practices and procedures, including business correspondence, record-keeping systems and standard office equipment operations, including automated systems.
  • Special knowledge of managing and coordinating secretarial aspects of a moderate-sized fire department.
Ability to:

  • Perform difficult clerical work involving independent judgment and requiring accuracy and speed.
  • Make clear and comprehensive reports and keep difficult records.
  • Understand, interpret, and apply laws, rules and written directions to specific situations.
  • Effectively meet the public in situations requiring tact and poise.
  • Identify and correct errors in English usage and grammar and arithmetic calculations in a variety of documents.
  • Evaluate demands on an administrator's time and arrange schedules accordingly.
  • Use good judgment in assigning priorities to workload, and working with officials and members of the general public in routine, emergency and emotional situations.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

  1. A review of the applicants’ application to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
  2. A computer skills assessment with the following components (pass/fail): Typing Test
  3. A review of candidates' supplemental questionnaire to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. Those candidates considered the best qualified will move on to the final step of the examination process. 
  4. An oral examination weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview will be administered virtually and may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION COMPONENTS. 

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing: 

5:00 PM, Monday, November 27, 2023

Review of Application to Determine Minimum Qualifications:

Week of November 30, 2023
Virtual Typing Test: December 22, 2023 - January 2, 2024
Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:  Week of January 15, 2024
Virtual Civil Service Pre-Recorded Oral Exam: January 29 - February 9, 2024

Notification of Results: 

Week of February 26, 2024
Civil Service Commission Promulgation of the Eligible List:  TBD
Hiring Interview Date: Week of March 18, 2024


WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statues.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

BENEFITS

*** For benefit information, please contact Fire Administration at 925-833-3473.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org, @jobaps.com, NoReply@jobaps.com, and NoReplyAlamedaCountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.


Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.


NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email boxes Noreply@acgov.org and NoReplyAlamedaCountyHR@acgov.org are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.


Maria Tabora | Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
(510) 272-6463 | Maria.Tabora@acgov.org

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.


EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.