Administrative Assistant I
California State Personnel Board Specification
Schematic Code: KG40
Class Code: 5361
Established: 12/05/1947
Revised: 07/11/1979
Title Changed: --
Definition
Under direction, to assist an administrator by performing varied administrative tasks; and to do other related work.
Distinguishing Characteristics
Employees in this class are responsible for relieving an administrator of assigned administrative detail, for carrying out assignments on their own initiative without detailed instructions, and for obtaining facts on which decisions or recommendations may be based. They serve to increase the capacity of an administrator to carry out the duties and responsibilities of his/her position and are to be considered as an augmentation of the administrator rather than a separate entity in the organization of the agency.
The level of this class is determined by the fact that the problems and activities dealt with either are of a moderate degree of difficulty or involve preliminary research on problems of major consequence. Recommendations made are concerned chiefly with specific cases.
Employees in the next higher class of Administrative Assistant II assume a greater degree of responsibility in dealing with problems and activities of considerable size, scope, and importance, and are responsible for making recommendations of major consequence relating to the determination of policy or administrative action.
Administrative Assistants are distinguished from the Secretary classes in that although the Secretary classes occasionally perform some of the less responsible Administrative Assistant tasks, the primary emphasis of the Secretary classes is the performance of such clerical tasks as screening phone calls and visitors, scheduling appointments and taking and transcribing minutes of meetings.
Typical Tasks
Assists an administrator by relieving him/her of administrative detail; makes special studies and investigations and prepares administrative reports; assists in interpreting departmental policies to operating divisions; assists operating heads on administrative problems and procedures; makes studies and evaluations of operating programs and procedures and assists in the installation of new programs and procedures; develops criteria on which to evaluate the personnel needs, operating effectiveness, and budgetary requirements; prepares manuals of procedures; cooperates with other agencies, groups, and individuals in connection with the coordination of departmental activities; studies proposed legislation and advises the administrator regarding its possible effect on departmental programs; on occasion, represents the department at conferences, meetings, and legislative hearings; may supervise and review the work of the staff of the administrator's immediate office; prepares articles for publication; addresses interested groups; dictates correspondence and prepares reports.
Minimum Qualifications
Either I
Twelve months of work experience in the California state service performing staff work in a class with a level of responsibility equivalent to that of Junior Staff Analyst, Range B, or Staff Services Analyst, Range B.
Or II
Eighteen months of experience in the California state service performing the duties of an Executive Secretary I.
Or III
Experience: Two years of progressively responsible experience in one or a combination of the following:
1. Relieving an administrator of assigned administrative detail and preparing reports and/or recommendations for administrative action. (Experience in California state service must be at a level of responsibility equivalent to that of Office Services Supervisor I.); or
2. Professional or technical experience in a field usually requiring an education of collegiate grade and involving duties and responsibilities which develop a working knowledge of the field of management, at least one year of which shall have been in a higher than trainee capacity.
(Possession of a Master's Degree in Public, Personnel, or Business Administration or related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience. Possession of a Master's Degree in Hospital Administration with a one-year internship in a hospital or its equivalent may be substituted for the required experience.) and Education: Equivalent to graduation from college. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for four years of the required education on a year-for-year basis. Any work experience gained in State service may be used to meet this education requirement on a year-for-year basis.)
(In appraising experience, more weight will be given to the breadth of experience and the evidence of the candidate's ability to accept and fulfill increasing responsibility than to the length of his/her experience.)
Knowledge and Abilities
Knowledge of: Principles, problems, and methods of public and business administration, including organization and personnel and fiscal management; office management principles, methods, and procedures; administrative survey techniques and skill in their application; statistical and research methods. Ability to: Think clearly and quickly and analyze and solve problems of organization and management; supervise the staff of an administrative office; establish and maintain cooperative working relationships; carry out assignments without detailed instructions; speak and write effectively.
Special Personal Characteristics
Demonstrated capacity for assuming increasing responsibility, originality, open-mindedness, and tact.
