County of Alameda

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES 

 The Fire Department Executive Assistant classification is located in the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) and reports directly to a Deputy Chief or the Administrative Services Director. This classification is expected to streamline managers’ workload by handling routine administrative duties such as calendaring, agenda preparation, and scheduling meetings. 

 This classification is distinguished from the Fire Department Supervising Executive Assistant in that the latter reports directly to the Fire Chief, is responsible for providing day-to-day supervision, while the former does not have any supervisory responsibility.

1. Prepares correspondence from the Fire Department administration.  Correspondence may be in the form of letters, memos, reports, official documents, or notices to the public.
2. Maintains general departmental and confidential files and records.
3. Acts as liaison with various county departments, elected and appointed officials, and the public regarding Fire Department business; may represent the department in meetings and dealings with the public.
4. May arrange the schedules of one or more administrators, exercising considerable discretion in committing the administrator's time; set up meetings, makes room arrangements, develops agendas, records meeting minutes, and contacts other participants.
5. Handles confidential information regarding personnel and policy matters based on a thorough knowledge of departmental policies, takes responsibility for releasing information to authorized parties; compiles a variety of narrative and statistical reports.
6. Screens phone calls, often personally handling those originally intended for an administrator or referring the caller to another appropriate source of information or service. 
7. May manage electronic communications, including sorting and filing messages.

Experience:

The equivalent of three (3) years of full-time experience as a Fire Department Administrative Support Specialist in the ACFD service. 

The equivalent of three (3) years of full-time experience in clerical or secretarial administrative duties of a confidential and/or complex nature. 

Special Requirement:

Employees in this classification require a typing proficiency of not less than forty (40) words per minute (wpm).

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

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.

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