Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Administrative Legal Secretary

Recruitment #24-1226-01

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Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.


Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted online.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: TYPING CERTIFICATE

If you have a typing certificate with a net typing speed of 40 words per minute from a temporary agency, employment agency, or community college, printed on letterhead with the address and phone number of the agency or college, please upload it to your online application (under the "Typing Certificate" tab) by 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing. The typing certificate must be dated within six (6) months of the filing deadline.


To obtain a typing certificate, you may wish to contact East Bay Works - Career Centers. Click on the following link, and go to the "locations" tab to locate a center near you: www.eastbayworks.com

Additional typing test resource information is available HERE.  

If you are unable to obtain a typing certificate by the last day to file, you will be required to take a typing test with Alameda County Human Resources Services.

DESCRIPTION

THE POSITION

Under general direction, provides the County Counsel or the Public Defender the full range of administrative legal office support services. Duties performed are of considerable variety, highly confidential, complex, and require independent judgment; requires preparing time sensitive, confidential, legal documents; and performs other assigned duties as required.

For more information about the job classification, please visit: Administrative Legal Secretary (#1226)

THE VACANCIES

We are currently recruiting to establish a countywide eligible list that will be used by any County department or agency needing to fill a vacancy in this classification. There are immediate vacancies in the Alameda County Public Defenders.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EITHER I

The equivalent of one year of full-time experience in the class of Civil Legal Secretary in the Alameda Office of the County Counsel.

OR II

Experience:

The equivalent of three years of full-time increasingly responsible clerical experience providing office and administrative support in a public or private agency law office. (Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for two years of the required experience.)


Special Requirements:

Must be able to type into a word processor at a minimum of 40 words per minute from clear copy.

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

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• Legal terminology, court rules, and statutes
• Format for standard professional business communications, general legal forms and documents.
• Business English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and punctuation.
• Filing, indexing, and cross-referencing methods.
• Proper telephone etiquette and procedures.
• Law office practice, work procedure and equipment practices.
• Word processing/computer applications and techniques, efficiency in PowerPoint, Word and Excel.
• State and federal court filing and calendar procedures.
• Principles of managing and coordinating secretarial aspects of a large or complex program.

Ability to:

• Apply specialized knowledge of complex legal procedures.
• Abstract pertinent information from files to prepare legal documents and other complex, sensitive communications.
• Analyze and problem solve.
• Work independently in the absence of specific instructions exercising good judgment.
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Deal tactfully with members of the public, co-workers and clients under stressful situations.
• Prepare clear and comprehensive reports; draft, compose and edit correspondence from brief oral or written instructions, using word processing applications; type with speed and accuracy at not less than 40 words per minute.
• Organize and maintain legal, personnel and other files.
• Identify and correct errors in English usage, grammar, and mathematical calculations in a variety of documents.
• Organize and prioritize work load; complete work competently under time deadlines.
• Interpret and apply laws, rules, and written directions to specific situations.
• Assist in devising and keeping office records of a confidential nature; maintain confidentiality.
• Evaluate demands on the County Counsel or Public Defender’s time; arrange his/her schedule accordingly.
• Work with officials and the general public in routine, emergency, and emotional situations.
• Take responsibility and use good judgment in recognizing scope of authority and prioritizing work.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

  1. A review of applicants' application to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
  2. A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to determine the best qualified. Those candidates considered the best qualified will move on to the final step in the examination process.
  3. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. 

The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.

TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT PLAN:  
 
Deadline for Filing:    

 
5:00:00 p.m., Friday, October 4, 2024

Review of Minimum Qualifications:

 By Friday, October 25, 2024
Typing Test for Applicants without a Typing Certificate:

     Week of October 21, 2024
Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:

 Week of November 4, 2024
Civil Service Oral Examination*: 
 		   Week of December 16, 2024
TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN:  
Departmental Hiring Interviews: 

 January 2024

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing.   Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

BENEFITS

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Vision or Vision Reimbursement
  • Share the Savings
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
  • County Allowance Credit
  • Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
  • Short-Term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 12 paid holidays
  • Floating Holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Catastrophic Sick Leave
  • Pet Insurance
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Guaranteed Ride Home
  • Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
  • Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
  • Child Care Resources
  • 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com, @acgov.org, Noreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box Noreply@jobaps.com and Noreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Rosario Jones | Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-891-5737 | Email: Rosario.Jones@acgov.org
https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

Disaster Service Worker

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.