Are you a county employee with exceptional customer service, communication and organizational skills who would like to work in the Planning & Building Department? Are you looking for a challenging "stretch" assignment where you would have the opportunity to support appointed Commissions/Committees and the Department’s leadership team?

The Planning & Building Department is seeking to fill the Administrative Secretary III/Zoning Hearing Officer Secretary position, which takes the lead on orchestrating once or twice monthly public hearings for the Zoning Hearing Officer, three Design Review Committees, and the License Board. The position also supports the Executive Secretary/Planning Commission Secretary as needed to facilitate Planning Commission public hearings and items going to the Board of Supervisors for consideration. It requires knowledge of State and County regulations that prescribe detailed requirements for public hearing noticing and conduct, and superior organizational, customer service and Zoom/Teams/Drupal skills.

The selected employee must be interested in working directly with the public, in a fast-paced, dynamic office where important land use decisions are made impacting unincorporated County communities. The selected employee will also perform varied, complex, and often confidential secretarial and office administrative tasks in support of the Department’s leadership team.

The ideal candidate will be experienced in:

• Providing high-level administrative and secretarial support to top-level managers.

• Handling and maintaining extremely confidential materials and information.

• Communicating with elected officials, community leaders, the news media, and members of the public.

• Managing multiple assignments while maintaining attention to detail.

• Utilizing excellent computer and written communication skills.

Acting diplomatically, facilitating collaborative solutions, and treating all members of the public, including County staff, with respect are cornerstones of the position.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Communicating with governmental officials, commission members, representatives of business or community organizations, and the public.
• Organizing workload by setting priorities and meeting critical deadlines.
• Making appointments and maintaining calendars.
• Organizing and scheduling meetings by notifying participants, making room arrangements, preparing agendas and materials, and making travel arrangements.
• Providing information and resolving complaints using judgment and interpreting and applying policies and procedures.
• Receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls.
• Processing mail.
• Typing drafts and a wide variety of documents.
• Compiling and processing confidential materials.
• Independently initiating correspondence for signature by appropriate management staff
• Reviewing finished materials for completeness, accuracy, format, and compliance with policies and procedures.
• Explaining administrative policies and procedures.
• Researching and compiling a variety of information.
• Organizing and maintaining various filing systems.

Education and Experience: Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying.

• A typical way to qualify is two years of secretarial experience which has included providing office and administrative support to management staff.

• Experience providing administrative assistance to upper-level management is preferred.

Typing Requirement:

• Type at a rate of 50 net words per minute from printed copy.

Knowledge of:

• Office administrative and secretarial practices and procedures

• Basic organization and function of public agencies, including the role of an elected Board of Supervisors and appointed boards and commissions.

• Record keeping, report preparation, filing methods, and records management techniques.

• Correct English usage, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.

• Standard business arithmetic, including percentages and decimals.

• Basic supervisory principles and practices.

• Basic budgeting principles and practices.

Skill/Ability to:

• Provide varied, responsible, and often confidential secretarial and office administrative assistance to high-level management and other associated supervisory and professional staff.

• Plan, direct, and review the work of assigned staff, and instruct staff in work procedures.

• Interpret, apply, and explain complex policies and procedures using tact, discretion, initiative, and independent judgment within established guidelines.

• Analyze and resolve office administrative situations and problems.

• Research, compile, and summarize a variety of informational materials.

• Compose correspondence independently or from brief instructions.

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.

• Organize work, set priorities, and meet critical deadlines.

• Follow up on assignments with a minimum of direction.

County Promotional Only. Only current County of San Mateo employees and County of San Mateo Superior Court employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, SEIU or AFSCME represented extra-help/term position may apply.

The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview which may include a pre-interview exercise (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in San Mateo County, California, and applicants must participate at their own expense.

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to http://jobs.smcgov.org to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date. Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required application materials.

Tentative Recruitment Schedule
Application Deadline: Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 11:59 PM PST
Screening: Week of December 19, 2022
Panel Interviews: January 3rd and/or 4th 2023

The County of San Mateo may require that all employees provide proof of COVID-19 vaccine or comply with weekly COVID-19 testing. Employees hired into specified health care facilities and other high-risk settings where there is potential for frequent COVID-19 exposure to staff and highly vulnerable patients are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. For more specific information, please refer to the County's COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Policy.