Legislative Secretary

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work, and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

 

The Office of the City Clerk is a service department within the municipal government upon which the City Council, all City departments, and the general public rely for information regarding the operations and legislative history of the City. The City Clerk serves as the liaison between the public and City Council and provides related municipal services, including delivering fiscal, human resources, and administrative and technical support services to the Mayor's Office, City Council Offices, and for the City's Boards, Commissions and Committees.The Office of the City Clerk is recruiting for a full-time Legislative Secretary to become part of a dynamic and productive team. The Legislative Secretary reports to the City Clerk and conducts activities unique to the Office of the City Clerk, in support of the Legislative process of the City Council, assigned Council Committees, and Boards or Commissions. Successful applicants must possess strong organizational skills with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships. They must possess exemplary customer service and communication skills to interact effectively and respond to inquiries from the general public, elected officials, and City staff throughout the organization. A successful applicant must work well under pressure, meeting frequent deadlines. Occasional evening work may be required. The Legislative Secretary coordinates preparation of City Council agenda packets, meeting minutes, and calendars; publishes legal notices, hearings, ordinances, etc.; follows-up on Council actions to ensure timely preparation; compiles original documents, transmittal letters, affidavits and exhibits from City Council Meeting agenda items; prepares meeting minutes; processes actions resulting from meetings.

Key Responsibilities

In order to fulfill these job duties, a Legislative Secretary should have good knowledge of English composition, grammar, spelling and punctuation and be experienced with standard office practices and procedures with the skills necessary to organize, coordinate, and prioritize assigned tasks in order to meet established daily deadlines. The position requires the ability to type 55 words per minute with proficiency using MS Word, or equivalent, with the ability to follow strict formatting requirements for the preparation of meeting agenda, synopsis, and/or minutes for each Council, Committee, Board or Commission meeting. The employee may be expected to learn various software systems including Granicus and become proficient at posting or editing documents for publication on the web and to the GILES Records Database.

 

Agenda: The Legislative Secretary is responsible for preparing a variety of documents (Agendas for City Council, Council Committee, Boards or Commissions) utilizing wording and layout based upon standard formats to ensure consistency and compliance with the City's legislative procedures; posting documents in accordance with State Brown Act and City Open Government requirements. The Legislative Secretary may be responsible for the assembly and distribution of those documents to elected officials, City Administration, media and the public under tight deadlines.

 

Minutes: Responsibilities include attending City Council, Council Committee, Board or Commission meetings and taking complete notes of actions taken while utilizing Granicus software and/or other audio recording equipment to provide for storage and playback. Subsequently, the Legislative Secretary is responsible for preparing a synopsis and/or minutes of the meeting which accurately reflect the course of the proceedings and actions taken by the body for the approval by the City Clerk for publication and distribution within prescribed deadlines. The Legislative Secretary must selectively condense and paraphrase the discussions while exercising care to include relevant materials and to accurately record the vote(s) taken. The development of complete synopsis and/or minutes requires the Legislative Secretary to review all documents on which the Council, Council Committee, Board or Commission has taken action to ensure that the documentation is complete and accurate.

 

Records Management: The Office of the City Clerk is responsible for maintaining records and documents and other public disclosures required under State and local laws to be filed by elected officials, candidates for public office, lobbyists, campaigns, Board and Commission members, designated employees, and other governmental agencies. The Legislative Secretary is responsible for reading, indexing, filing, researching and retrieving documents considered and acted upon by the City Council, Council Committee, Board or Commission, as well as other documents required to be filed with the City Clerk including contracts, agreements, maps, disclosure forms, etc. The Office must respond to requests under the California Public Records Act for information from members of the public and media and/or research information, as well as records and documents requested by various City departments and other public agencies.

Competencies

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

* Job Expertise - demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and Departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.
* Initiative - exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promote job performance.
* Customer Service - demonstrates the ability to anticipate customers' needs and deliver services effectively and efficiently in a timely, accurate, respectful and friendly manner.
* Problem Solving - approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem(s); collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.
* Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - demonstrates a positive attitude and flexibility along with the ability to develop effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
* Computer Skills - experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Office 365, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel. Experience using database applications, PeopleSoft, and FMS. Ability to learn new applications as changing technology and procedures require.
* Communication Skills - communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive, and respectful manner, displaying openness to other people's ideas and thoughts; written reports and correspondence are accurate, complete, current; well-organized, legible, concise, neat, and in proper grammatical form.
* Multi-Tasking - can handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s).
* Reliability - completes quality work assignments in a timely and efficient manner; fulfills responsibilities and maintains confidentiality as appropriate.

Combination of training and experience equivalent to the following:

Education: Successful completion of high school or equivalent General Education Development (GED) Test or California Proficiency Certificate

Experience: Six (6) years of experience in clerical and secretarial work, including two (2) years providing individual support to an executive.

Acceptable Substitution: Completion of two (2) years undergraduate course work from an accredited college or university and one (1) year experience assembling and verifying data for complex reports, records, or databases OR acting as lead to clerical staffSelection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to the Job Specific Questions. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews, one of which may include a practical/writing exercise.

 

You must answer all job-specific questions in order to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. In addition, please attach your resume as part of the application process. If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Joy Rodriguez at joy.rodriguez@sanjoseca.gov.