SECRETARY

SECRETARY
 Job Specification

 

Class Code: BJ5

    

Analyst: SA

 

Date Originated:

Dates Revised:

 1/81, 5/88, 7/89

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

DEFINITION

Under direction, to serve as a secretary to the head of a department or agency by relieving the administrator of a variety of administrative and clerical details; and to do related work as required.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

Positions in this class require considerable knowledge of the work of the official served and exercise initiative in relieving the superior of administrative details. The use of discretion and independent judgment is required in answering calls and correspondence and in organizing work. The regular use of typing and/or word processing skills is essential to the satisfactory performance of work of all positions in this class. Positions are assigned full secretarial duties for a department head.

 

Among the factors considered in distinguishing positions in this class from positions performing similar kinds of duties in the Typist Clerk and Stenographer Clerk series are: the nature and scope of the superior's functions, the extent to which the superior is willing and able to delegate routine administrative duties, and the nature and level of the administrator's contacts, access to and maintenance of confidential records. Positions in this class may supervise subordinate clerical positions.

 

The classification is designated CONFIDENTIAL due to the responsibility for handling departmental information related to employee relations.

TYPICAL TASKS

Processes correspondence and other material requiring the application of subject matter, knowledge and discrimination in the selection of data or interpretation of rules and policies; prepares and coordinates Board agenda items; corrects grammar, punctuation, and spelling; proofreads copy; types complex reports and statistical data and other finished copy from rough drafts, marginal notes, general instructions or machine dictation; performs complex clerical work involving the analysis of a variety of source documents and thorough familiarity with policies, procedures, terminology and various applicable regulations in order to obtain the necessary data; provides explanations to employees, departments, and the public which require thorough knowledge of departmental operations, rules, procedures and the functions and organization of the County; relieves administrator of administrative details; schedules appointments and maintains department head's calendar; arranges conferences and meetings; screens calls; sets up and maintains complex filing systems; provides orientation to new employees regarding departmental operations, policies and rules; gathers data for general information purposes, individual requests or for special reports or projects; contacts other departments, employees, agencies or individuals for additional material as necessary; operates word processing equipment or micro computers to input, access and print a variety of data and reports; may prepare reports for superior's approval on request; may supervise several subordinates; reviews work of employees for completeness, accuracy and adherence to procedures, and makes changes as appropriate; may take and transcribe difficult dictation which may involve technical terminology; may take minutes of committees, commissions and other meetings; may provide vacation or other temporary relief for other classes as required; may make travel arrangements for department employees, including airline and accommodation reservations.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

Knowledge:

 

  • Thorough knowledge of business English, vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation;
  • Thorough knowledge of office procedures, including preparing correspondence and reports, and filing systems;
  • Thorough knowledge of formats for business correspondence and reports;
  • Some knowledge of the application of data processing to business office operations;
  • Some knowledge of the principles of supervision and training may be required;
  • Some knowledge of the administrative processes unique to the County department or agency which assigned;
  • Some knowledge of the overall structure and functions of County governmental operations.

 

Ability to:

 

  • Maintain confidential files and privileged information;
  • Perform varied and difficult clerical work involving independent judgment and requiring accuracy and speed;
  • Use good judgment in recognizing scope of authority and in reflecting intent of supervisor;
  • Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with the public and others contacted in course of work;
  • Accurately type and/or utilize word processing to produce finished copy which may include technical terminology from rough copy or machine dictation;
  • Assemble and organize data and prepare reports from such information;
  • Compose and edit correspondence independently;
  • Communicate clearly and logically orally and in writing;
  • Maintain complex records;
  • Operate word processing equipment or micro computer to input, access and print correspondence and reports;
  • Operate standard office equipment;
  • Understand and follow oral and written directions;
  • Make arithmetic computations;
  • Take and transcribe dictation at 85 words per minute for certain positions.

 

Training and Experience: Any combination of training and experience, which would provide the required knowledge and abilities, is qualifying. A typical way to obtain such knowledge and abilities would be:

 

Three years of responsible clerical experience at the Journey level or higher, which demonstrates application or possession of the required knowledge and abilities.

 

Performance: Pass performance test, which demonstrates formatting, and keyboard and formatting proficiency.