TECHNICAL ASSISTANT 2, CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

Definition

Under direction of a supervisory official in the Civil Service Commission, is responsible for performing clerical, technical, or paraprofessional functions, and may take the lead over paraprofessional and/or clerical employees; does other related duties as required.

Examples of work

• May prepare Merit System Board (MSB) agenda in its final format and ensure distribution thereof.
• May attend MSB meetings and record the proceedings thereof.
• May prepare MSB minutes and ensure distribution thereof.
• May coordinate the preparation of court case files to be forwarded to the Attorney General's Office, as well as coordinate requests by attorneys on behalf of appellants.
• May coordinate administrative functions relative to MSB meetings and public hearings.
• May coordinate the hearings function of the division.
• May coordinate functions between the Civil Service Department and the Office of Administrative Law.
• May organize hearing transcripts which include arranging for a court reporter at each hearing, ensuring that transcripts are received in a timely manner, and reporting and resolving complaints with the court reporting firm under contract.
• May review Administrative Law Judges' and Hearing Officers' reports and recommendations for format and completeness, and forward same to necessary parties for exceptions and crossexceptions.
• May ensure that Administrative Law Judges' and Hearing Officers' reports and recommendations are received in a timely manner which includes setting due dates and granting extensions.
• May review new appeals to determine the proper appeal system, and prepare same for processing.
• May prepare standard letters to employees who are not entitled to a hearing (provisionals, temporaries, or suspensions of five days or less).
• May type memos, letters, and reports using office keyboard equipment.
• May respond to telephone inquiries concerning hearings and appeals.
• May set hearing dates which include contacting hearing officers, and arranging for rooms.
• May handle postponement requests (written and telephone), and either grant or deny postponements in accord with Civil Service Commission directives and policy, and follow up in writing.
• May prepare the hearings and appeals calendar.
• May follow up with appellants and attorneys regarding cases pending on hearing calendar.
• May schedule informal reviews for salary and classification appeals, and send notices to all parties involved.
• May request information on appeals handled by unit to ensure they are complete and ready to be processed by the analyst assigned to it.
• May follow up on requests for information.
• May oversee and administer functions of special projects.
• May provide information concerning Civil Service Commission procedures.
• May interview walk-in job applicants.
• May process personnel requests from departments and agencies.
• May analyze and present personnel utilization data.
• May investigate and resolve discrimination complaints.
• May perform research involved in affirmative action and equal employment opportunity projects.
• May research and prepare updated state and local government job specifications and standards, both classified and unclassified.
• May assist in performing job analyses.
• May review draft job specifications for appropriate slotting in existing title series and for proper relationships with other title series.
• May perform technical work involved in processing Personnel Action forms.
• May maintain a log of various material received from administrative services and make determinations as to which require review by the appropriate analyst.
• May review Personnel Action forms and supporting documents to ensure all pertinent information has been submitted and that all rules, regulations, and procedures have met with compliance.
• May confer with personnel officers, administrative personnel, and others explaining the technical aspects of personnel actions and obtaining additional information.
• May coordinate and maintain, in current condition, the records of an assigned group of state employees, recording the action on individual record cards.
• May provide accurate and up-to-date information to employees, personnel officers, and others in assigned employee groups regarding leaves of all kinds, separation, suspension, seniority, salary increments, and other matters of record, and interpret Civil Service Commission Law, regulations, and policies.
• May process and check performance ratings of unsatisfactory for their possible effect upon the concerned employee salaries.
• May process personnel forms and seniority lists for corrections.
• May interpret new regulations and salary administration policies as they affect the processing of personnel action forms, and ensures that they are implemented.
• May assist personnel officers in resolving problems relating to the processing of Civil Service forms.
• May post audit supplementary overtime payrolls of assigned state departments.
• May assists other staff in developing routine and less complex personnel projects involving both field and office work.
• May answer and refer personnel questions from an information hotline.
• May perform complex clerical and technical work involved in reviewing and processing Civil Service Commission forms including suggestions and evaluations.
• May maintain records and files of employees in Civil Service Commission jurisdictions, and record personnel actions affecting them.
• May perform work involved in the certification of eligibles against vacant positions, and provisional appointees from appropriate employment lists, and record these appointments.
• May process promotional examinations including preparation of eligibility rosters and applications to local jurisdictions, and process seniority of eligibles who pass promotional examinations for inclusion into final score.
• May prepare seniority rosters for employees in titles affected by layoff and/or demotional procedures.
• May advise appointing authorities and other administrative personnel of technical aspects and consequences of certain noncomplex personnel actions.
• May compute seniority for promotional examinations.
• May manually score make-up examinations.
• May check lists that are to be issued for completeness.
• May check eligible rosters for residency in open competitive examinations, and the scores on promotional examinations.
• May retrieve applications and cards for lists to be issued.
• May assemble exam packages.
• May file original lists and keep them for permanent record.
• May perform inventory control functions of various materials within the organizational.
• May categorize new test items according to title area and add them to the inventory.
• May return test to their proper location.
• May maintain a log to ensure control over special exam materials such as oral direction tapes and calculators.
• May select test data from computerized resources in preparation of initial exam format.
• Maintains confidentiality and security of test materials.
• May prepare, format, and distribute monthly report data by special category of program or project.
• May schedule, inform, and prepare materials for subject matter expert (SME) panels.
• May check and report on status of examination job analysis documentation and statistics.
• May order, receive, and catalog books and periodicals for the resource library.
• May sign resource library materials in/out for those who wish to use same.
• May coordinate ordering of test materials from vendors, and maintain the budget for this service.
• May process out-of-state requests for test materials.
• May prepare routine correspondence and form letters which may or may not be signed by a supervisory official.
• May prepare clear, technically sound, accurate, and informative statistical, financial, and other reports.
• May maintain essential records and files.
• Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.

Experience

Three (3) years of experience in work involving the processing of highly technical clerical work.

License

Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Knowledge of office methods, practices, routines, machines, and equipment.
• Knowledge of problems encountered in planning a large scale clerical program, in organizing assigned clerical and supervisory work, and in developing effective work procedures in a technical field.
• Knowledge of the internal organization, personnel, functions, and established regulations, policies, and procedures of the Civil Service Commission with emphasis on those of the assigned unit after a period of training.
• Knowledge of approved English usage, filing systems, statistical procedures, and business and office equipment and machines and their advantages and limitations.
• Ability to read and understand Civil Service Commission law and regulations promulgated thereunder, and to interpret and apply same to specific situations particularly in the assigned unit.
• Ability to coordinate scheduling of examination administrations and other examination programs.
• Ability to read, understand, and communicate a variety of interrelated technical and nontechnical written instructions such as rules, manuals, guidelines, policies, and test results and statistics.
• Ability to translate written technical material into oral or written language appropriate to laypeople.
• Ability to comprehend and apply office methods, practices, routines, machines, and equipment and the internal organization, personnel, functions, and established regulations, policies, and procedures of the Civil Service Commission and the concerned organizational unit.
• Ability to organize assigned clerical work, analyze problems which arise therein, and develop effective work methods.
• Ability to work as team leader, give assignments and instructions to clerical employees, and review the performance of their work.
• Ability to comprehend, analyze, interpret, and apply basic law and regulations.
• Ability to direct a specialized unit of technical clerical work, devise appropriate schedules and routines, and see that emergency and peak-load periods are provided for.
• Ability to assist in the development of clerical examinations.
• Ability to receive and adjust complaints.
• Ability to interpret department laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and methods to persons within or outside the department.
• Ability to oversee and prepare materials for bulletins, pamphlets, and circulars of varied types.
• Ability to prepare detailed and technical correspondence for signature of a supervisory official.
• Ability to prepare and direct the preparation of statistical, budget, and other reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Ability to maintain essential records, reports, and files.
• Ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
• Ability to read, write, speak, understand, or communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
• Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform the essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodation is made to their known limitations. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.

Note

The definition and examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.