City of Newburyport Hiring for Administrative Assistant at Newburyport, MA Full Time

CITY OF NEWBURYPORT
Temp to Permanent ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

CITY CLERK

Position Purpose:
The purposes of this position are to provide clerical and administrative assistance to the City
Clerk. The work involves attention to details to maintain accurate records; answering customer inquiries, and handling special licenses, vital statistics, elections, parking tickets, etc. The work involves coordinating requests for service from various customers and receiving appropriate fees and applications and documents. An Administrative Assistant II in the City

Clerk’s Office is responsible for maintaining and improving upon the efficiency and effectiveness of all areas under his/her direction and control.

Supervision:
Supervision Scope: Performs a variety of responsible functions of an administrative, clerical and technical nature requiring the exercise of judgment to interpret guidelines and carry out assignments independently; work at this level requires a working knowledge of departmental operations, local and state laws; work involves both standard and non-standard practices and techniques; incumbent is called upon to handle a significant amount of detail.

Supervision Received: Works under the general direction of the City Clerk; follows established department general and special orders, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

Supervision Given: None.

Job Environment:
Administrative and technical work is performed in a moderately noisy office with constant interruptions during the day from the general public at the counter, and sometimes to deal with citizens’ issues and problems;

Requires the operation office computers, printer, typewriter, calculator, telephone, copier, facsimile machine, and all other standard office equipment.

Makes constant and periodic contact with other municipal departments, City Councilor’s, municipal boards and commission, businesses, state agencies, and the general public; communication is frequently in person, by telephone, mail, and in writing and e-mail

Has access to department-oriented confidential information such as restricted vital statistic records, information from meetings and records which requires the application of appropriate judgment, discretion and professional protocols.

Essential Functions:

(The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.)

• Provides basic and technical information and assists the public in understanding regulations, policies and services of the department; assists the public with completing applications/forms and refers some complex issues or questions to appropriate persons; information provided relates to City Council Meetings, Vital statistics (birth, death, marriage certificates), business certificates, parking tickets, voter registration/elections, parking tickets, licenses (dog, fishing, etc.)
• Processes licenses and requests for documents and collects and records related fees.

Prepares and submits fees to appropriate Town officials; maintains records of all licenses, etc. and prepares appropriate reports.

• Screens incoming phone calls, complaints and correspondence; takes action if appropriate or refers to appropriate staff member and follows up to ensure a timely response
• Composes routine correspondence and memoranda for signatures of the City Clerk; types letters, monthly reports, and records from rough draft or shorthand notes and maintains manual and automated files and records as required; tracks various permits and applications.
• Processes election material, including absentee voting, using the State VRIS system
• Performs special assignments and routine administrative functions as requested; purchases supplies, materials and equipment for the department and processes payment for same; prepares warrant; monitors expenditures and revenues and provides information to his/her supervisor for Budget purposes; assists with budget preparation
• Exercises responsibility for the maintenance of, either manually or by computer, important departmental reports, correspondence, and/or records requiring the careful recording, classification and compilation of information; posts and records information; updates data; checks, sorts, records and files various materials
• Assists with the preparation of agendas for the City Council; compiles materials for

Council meetings; send notices to public as directed if their item is on agenda; prepares follow up correspondence as directed; prepare minutes of meeting as directed, record all actions taken as directed.

• Special projects include: responsible for daily cash reconciliation for office, preparing warrant of revenues for Treasurer’s Office, preparation and distribution of birth, marriage and death certificates; gathering vital statistic for reports; assist with voter registration, assists with absentee voting as directed; assist with elections as directed, process ordinance violation payments; issuing parking stickers, licenses, dog licenses, etc.
• Process parking ticket payments, record all payments, and report all payments as required using the ComplusData systems
• Assist with sending notices of appeal hearings and processing parking appeals.
• Work with the Clerk in the preparation of the parking permits annually or biennially.
• Works with all staff in the City Clerks Office as part of a team; assist all staff to complete projects;
• Assist with Public Records request.
• Maintain legally required posting and timely information on the required website and/or bulletin.

Other Functions:

• Performs similar or related work as required, or as the situation dictates.
• Provides administrative services and assistance to other staff in office

Minimum Required Qualifications:

Education, Training and Experience:
Bachelors Degree preferred with 3 years’ increasingly responsible work experience in a similar administrative assistant position preferably in municipal government or customer service; or any equivalent combination of education, experience and training. All employment offers are conditional upon passing a reference and Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check

Special Requirements:

Knowledge, Ability and Skill:

Knowledge: Thorough knowledge of office procedures, practices and terminology; complete

knowledge of the use of office automation applications and equipment, business arithmetic,

American business English and spelling; basic knowledge of bookkeeping techniques; good knowledge of recordkeeping methods; a general knowledge of local government and its operations is helpful; familiarity with pertinent state and local laws and issues relating to municipal operations and City Council preferred.

Ability: Ability to acquire working knowledge of regulations, state statues and legal requirements, related issues of assigned department activities; ability to make decisions in accordance with laws, ordinances, regulations and established policies; ability to work independently and process large volumes of paperwork; ability to type with speed and accuracy and to develop and maintain complex records and files; ability to utilize data & word processing applications as they related to the functions of the offices supported; ability to deal effectively with the public, businesses, state agencies, persons needing assistance and staff.; ability to prepare reports as assigned; ability to prioritize work assignments to meet established deadlines and ability to multitask; ability to perform basic arithmetic calculations with various units of measure manually and /or using office equipment; ability to handle cash accurately; ability to follow written and oral instructions; ability of work as a team with others to accomplish a project; ability to work efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision.

Skill: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; aptitude for working with people and maintaining effective working relationships with various groups; aptitude for working with paperwork and details; skill in using the above mentioned office equipment; skills in with dealing with public; administrative and secretarial skills; skill in utilizing personal computers, word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications; sensitivity to public communications.

Errors and Omissions:
Errors in judgment or omissions could result in delays in service, loss of funds and legal ramifications.

Physical and Mental Requirements:
The work is primarily of an intellectual nature but requires a variety of physical capabilities.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk use hands to finger and talk or hear; occasionally required to kneel, handle objects; push and pull items; and reach with hands and arms. The position involves often moving from a sitting position to standing position for counter work. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, color and distance vision. This position requires the ability to operate a keyboard and calculator at

efficient speed. The employee must be able to hear normal sounds, distinguish sound as voice patterns and communicate through human speech using American English.

(This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee. It is used as a guide for personnel actions and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.)

Job Type: Temporary

Pay: From $25.45 per hour

Schedule:

Work Location: One location