New York State

Stores and Mail Operations Supervisor & Office Assistant 3

Multiple-choice Test To Be Held
October 26, 2024
You may be assigned to either Saturday or Sunday to take your test.
You cannot request or change your scheduled day.
Applications Must Be Submitted or Postmarked By
September 18, 2024

 

Exams Included on This Announcement
Exam Number Exam Title Open to Employees of Salary Salary Grade Non−Refundable Processing Fee (Waivers available)
31-183010 Stores & Mail Operations Supervisor Multiple Agencies * G-12 $0
31-184010 Office Assistant 3 Multiple Agencies * G-14 $0
31-185010 Office Assistant 3 (Calculations) Multiple Agencies * G-14 $0
31-186010 Office Assistant 3 (Human Resources) Multiple Agencies * G-14 $0
Salary Grade*Salary
G-12
$48,956 (CSEA)
$49,068 (M/C)
Salary Grade*Salary
G-14
$54,860 (CSEA)
$55,005 (M/C)
*Salary: The salary you receive will depend upon the negotiating unit of the position.

***Due to the size of the candidate population for this date, candidates may be scheduled to take their test on either October 26, 2024, October 27, 2024, November 2, 2024, November 3, 2024, or November 9, 2024, or a subsequent date. Your admission notice will tell you where and when you are scheduled to appear. You cannot request or change your scheduled day or location. Due to current testing space limitations, candidates may need to travel to a test site to take this examination. Candidates will be notified of their test site location on their admission notice.

Due to current testing space limitations, candidates may need to travel to a test site to take this examination. Candidates will be notified of their test site location on their admission notice.

Interdepartmental promotion examination open to all qualified employees of New York State.

For Promotion in State Departments, Facilities, and Agencies

1. Within Promotion Units 2. Within Entire Departments 3. To Other Departments

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before October 26, 2024, you must be a qualified employee of New York State and have had 45 days of permanent competitive, non-competitive NY HELPS***, or 55-b/55-c service in a clerical, keyboarding, or paraprofessional**** title allocated to Grade 7 or higher. † If you have received a permanent appointment to a qualifying title listed and served provisionally****** in that title immediately preceding your permanent appointment, such provisional service may be counted towards meeting the time in title required for this examination.

To view a list of qualifying titles visit: https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/announcements/31183010qualifying.cfm.

If on or before September 11, 2024 you were permanently appointed to a qualifying title competitively, or in the non-competitive class via the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide (NY HELPS)*** program, or via the 55-b/55-c program, and have served continuously in this title since that date, you are eligible to file for this examination..

****Only paraprofessional titles in an office environment will be considered qualifying. Service in a direct care title is not qualifying experience. Examples of non-qualifying titles are Developmental Disabilities Secure Care Treatment Aide 1, Direct Support Assistant, Food Service Worker 2, Licensed Practical Nurse, Mental Health Therapy Aide, Security Services Assistant 2, Youth Support Assistant, and Youth Support Specialist.

******If you were permanently appointed to a qualifying title and had provisional service in the same title immediately preceding the permanent appointment, such provisional service may be counted towards meeting the time in title required to apply for this examination. Your provisional appointment must have been on or before September 11, 2024 to qualify for this examination.

Only the title or titles listed are qualifying.

Qualifying Experience For Appointment From The Eligible List: After one year of service described in the Minimum Qualifications, successful candidates will be qualified for appointment from the eligible list. † If you have received a permanent appointment to a qualifying title listed and served provisionally****** in that title immediately preceding your permanent appointment, such provisional service may be counted towards meeting the one year time in title required for appointment from the eligible list.

Employees appointed to a non-competitive position via the NY HELPS program to a qualifying title in the non-competitive class will have their names restricted from appointment from the eligible list until their position is covered-in to the competitive class by action of the New York State Civil Service Commission or otherwise obtain permanent competitive status in the position.

Additional Requirements for Appointment:

  1. Background Investigation/Justice Center Review: In some agencies, the names of all prospective employees will:

    • be checked against the Staff Exclusion List (SEL), maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Prospective employees whose names appear on the SEL as having been found responsible for serious or repeated acts of abuse or neglect will be barred from appointment and may have their names removed from the eligible list(s) for the title(s);
    • be investigated through a Criminal Background Check (CBC). You must report all convictions. Conviction of a felony or misdemeanor or any falsified or omitted information may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment. Each case will be determined on its own merits, consistent with the applicable provisions of state and federal law;

    And may:

    • be screened against the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Prospective employees whose names appear on the SCR may be barred from appointment.

    You are responsible for payment of all required fees.

  2. Medicaid and Medicare: To be eligible for appointment and maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of the Federal and/or State Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program). You may be barred from appointment, or your employment may be terminated at any time if you are listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program).

The Positions: These positions exist in multiple New York State agencies and are located Statewide.

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Duties

As a Stores & Mail Operations Supervisor, you would work as a second-level supervisor over lower-level clerical staff, vehicle operators, and/or unskilled staff, in the performance of office support and clerical work, or manual labor, related to storing, receiving, and distributing goods, materials, commodities, or other property.

As an Office Assistant 3, you would perform office support and clerical work to meet the requirements of agency programs. Such work may consist of, but not be limited to: data entry; math or calculations; mail, supply, and inventory related tasks; keyboarding and other document preparation tasks; answering telephones; completing forms; assisting customers; creating or assisting in the preparation of reports, charts, graphs, and tables; and other related activities. This work is accomplished per applicable procedures, rules, regulations, and laws. Office Assistants 3 typically act as second-level supervisors within a large clerical or office support operation and generally supervise two or more Office Assistants 2.

As an Office Assistant 3 (Calculations), you would spend most of your time supervising mathematical operations, and/or clerical activities related to mathematical operations. These activities may include creating spreadsheets, using calculators, and retrieving information from various computer databases, including the Statewide Financial System and/or Microsoft Access or similar computer database software packages. The duties may incorporate but are not limited to, financial (including record-keeping, bookkeeping, and reconciliation activities), purchasing, or statistical functions. Positions at this level act as the head of a clerical operation, typically functioning as a second-level supervisor.

As an Office Assistant 3 (Human Resources), you would spend most of your work time performing activities related to human resources management. This work may closely resemble that of other Office Assistants, and tasks may encompass a broad range of Office Assistant tasks. Positions at this level typically supervise two or more subordinate staff.

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Subject of Examination

To be considered for appointment to this title, you must pass the multiple-choice test. The multiple-choice test evaluates your knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in the following areas: For Examination Numbers
31-18301031-18401031-18501031-186010
1. Office management - These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices of planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of an office and directing those performing office activities so as to achieve predetermined objectives such as accomplishing office work within reasonable limits of time, effort, and cost expenditure. Typical activities may include but will not be restricted to: simplifying and improving procedures, increasing office efficiency, improving the office work environment, and controlling office supplies. XXXX
2. Supervision - These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline. XXXX
3. Understanding and interpreting written material - These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic. XXXX
4. Storeskeeping and inventory control - These questions will test for general knowledge of storeskeeping and inventory control in a governmental setting including knowledge used to monitor rates of inventory usage; determine inventory order quantities and re-order points; assess the criticality of stores items; minimize obsolescence and spoilage; and respond appropriately to changes in availability and usage. X   
5. Working with office records - These questions test your ability to work with office records. The test consists of two or more sets of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of numerical data from several sources; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages and percents. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.  X  
6. Understanding and interpreting tabular material - These questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested. Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major factor in the test. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.   X 
7. Personnel principles and practices - These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices used in performing procedures and in addressing issues that are part of the personnel function in a governmental agency, and in responding to general questions about the personnel function.    X

If you pass, your seniority credit(s), if any, will be included in the computation of your final score. Your final score on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime Veterans' credits.

Credit For Seniority: Seniority is credited at the rate of one credit for each five-year period (or fraction thereof), excluding the first year of service.

Admission To The Test: If approved for a multiple-choice test, you will receive an admission notice which will indicate your assigned test date and the way your test will be administered. Your test may be administered with paper and pencil or online at a state test site using a state-provided Chromebook. You cannot request to change your scheduled day or request a specific type of test administration.

Applicants are required to have a Personal NY.gov account and keep their email address up to date. The Department of Civil Service and other state agencies will communicate with you through email correspondence. This may include notification of your application status, your test arrangements, examination results, and canvassing you for interest in appointment. It will be important for you to keep your email address, phone number, and mailing address current by logging into https://www.cs.ny.gov/home/myaccount.

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How To Apply

This announcement is for viewing purposes only.

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Religious Accommodation

Most multiple-choice tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

It is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to provide equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their application. Further information is available from the Test Accommodation Unit of the Department of Civil Service at Testaccommodation@cs.ny.gov.

Admission to Examination

Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the multiple-choice test three days before the date of the test, email us at AdmissionNotices@cs.ny.gov. Please provide your first and last name, address, and the last four digits of your social security number, and we will provide you with the information you need to attend your multiple-choice test. If you have an issue other than not receiving your admission notice, please contact our office at (518) 474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627. Please leave a clear concise message and provide your first and last name, last four digits of your social security number and a daytime phone number.

Taking State and Local Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

If you have applied to take a multiple-choice test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this multiple-choice test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions no later than two weeks before the test date to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the state examination center. For your convenience, contact information for all local civil service agencies is available on our website at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local.cfm.

Eligibility for Examination

To be considered a qualified employee eligible to compete in this examination, you must be employed in, or on leave from, the specified department or agency on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class, or in the non-competitive class or labor class if specifically noted on this announcement (or be on an appropriate preferred list), and have the specified time in the specified title or salary grade. You may not compete in a test for a title if you are permanently employed in that title (unless you are still on probation) or in a higher direct line of promotion.

Cell Phones or Electronic/Communication Devices at the Test Site

The use of cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices at your personal testing site or in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas, except as expressly authorized by the Department of Civil Service, could result in your disqualification.

S1/B2 JFG-dah
Issued: 8/9/24
*****Revised Material: 9/11/24
†Revised Material: 9/12/24

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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