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Administrative Assistant – City Page 1 I 3 Jurisdiction: City of Cortland Jurisdictional Class: Competitive Adopted: 1/27/79 Amended: 12/21/90; 6/28/91; 12/12/91; 10/21/99; 8/25/00; 1/24/03; 9/27/04; 11/9/15; 12/7/22 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: This is important, office management and liaison work involving the planning and coordinating of the non-technical activities of a department or major unit. The work involves handling the details of the business office management procedures, collecting information and data for administrative studies and making recommendations for methods of handling a wide variety of administrative problems. Duties are performed in accordance with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment. Supervision is exercised over subordinate personnel. The incumbent assumes the responsibilities of the Department Head in his/her absence. Does related work as required. TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES: Secures budget estimate data, makes budget estimate studies, prepares the budget and the maintenance of budget control; Processing municipal utility billing; Coordinates and supervises the maintenance of departmental account-keeping records, personnel records and preparation of payrolls; Administers and closes out State/Federal contracts/grants; Supervises the requisitions, purchase, receipt and inventory of departmental supplies and equipment and the processing of related records; Obtains cost estimates, purchasing, management, and use of computers, printers, and assorted software programs; Maintains contacts with units within a department and with other public and private agencies to assist in solving mutual problems and developing improved services and public relations; Interviews, trains and supervises clerical staff; Collects and compiles data and statistics, makes organizational work flow and procedures and the solution of administrative problems; Assists administrative superiors in carrying out specialized services of a department or major unit; Reading incoming mail, conducts general correspondence and routes balance to proper official or unit; Processes and follows up various types of requests and claims; Interviews office callers, newspaper reporters, sales representatives, and others, and furnishes general information about departmental functions and activities; May train staff and other departments in computer and software use; May maintain departmental leave accruals, payroll information, incident reports, and workers compensation claims; May maintain and check a wide variety of financial records and reports and train employees in the specialized details of the work; May classify a complex variety of receipts and expenditures and the distribution of costs according to prescribed procedures; May post to journal or ledger accounts from appropriation, expense, receipts, voucher record and other original entry material; ---PAGE BREAK--- Administrative Assistant – City Page 2 I 3 May receive and account for large amounts of money in payment for a variety of bills, taxes and related obligations; May revise and supervise account-keeping methods and procedures, manually or by computer; May supervise, direct and participate in the compilation of preparation and analysis of a variety of complex financial and statistical records and reports. FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Thorough knowledge of office terminology, procedures and methods; Thorough knowledge of business arithmetic principles and modern practices of office and personnel management; Good knowledge of the principles and modern practices of account-keeping and budget control; Good knowledge of the functions of local government and the character of relationships between departments and between public and private agencies; Ability to organize, assign, coordinate and review the work of clerical subordinates; Ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written directions; Ability to prepare correspondence and reports; Ability to present oral and written comments and opinions clearly and concisely; Ability to secure the cooperation of others; Ability to deal effectively with the public; Ability to readily acquire familiarity with departmental organization functions, laws, policies and regulations; Good judgment in solving complex clerical and administrative problems; Initiative with resourcefulness; Tact and courtesy, integrity; Physical condition commensurate with demands of the position. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Either: Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a bachelor’s degree including or supplemented by 24 semester credit hours in accounting, business administration, public administration or a closely related field and one year of work experience in accounting and/or budgeting duties; OR Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered two year college or university with an associates degree in business administration or a closely related field and three years of work experience in accounting and/or budgeting duties; OR Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and five years of work experience in accounting and/or budgeting duties; OR An equivalent combination or training and experience as defined by the limits of and above. NOTE: Degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. ---PAGE BREAK--- Administrative Assistant – City Page 3 I 3 Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If the degree was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, applicant must provide independent verification of equivalency. A list of acceptable companies who provide this service can be found at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/cfm. Applicants must pay the required evaluation fee.