Job Details

Administrative Specialist

The City of Chico is seeking a detail-oriented Administrative Specialist to provide high-level support to the City Manager's Office. The ideal candidate is a highly organized, responsive, and service-oriented professional who excels at coordinating schedules, preparing correspondence and documents, and supporting meetings and Council-related activities. They are skilled at managing multiple priorities, maintaining accurate records, and communicating effectively with staff, community members, and external partners. The successful candidate demonstrates sound judgment, attention to detail, professionalism, and a commitment to providing exceptional administrative and community support. Employees in this bargaining unit will receive a 4.5% General Salary Increase in January 2027.

Job Description

Under general supervision, provides specialized para-professional administrative and analytical support duties to assigned departmental projects and programs; conducts research and analysis and prepares a variety of reports and documents in support of departmental goals; participates in the preparation of operating budgets; develops, summarizes, and maintains administrative and fiscal records; and performs related duties as assigned.

Supervision Received and Exercised Receives general supervision from assigned supervisory or management personnel. Some incumbents exercise technical and functional direction over and provide training to less experienced staff, as assigned.

Class Characteristics This journey level classification is responsible for independently performing specialized para-professional administrative and analytical support duties for departmental operations. Positions at this level exercise judgment and initiative in their assigned tasks, receive only occasional instruction or assistance as new or unusual situations arise, and are fully aware of the operating procedures and policies of the work unit.

Examples of Typical Job Functions (Illustrative Only)

• Attends to a variety of office administrative details, such as keeping informed of departmental activities, transmitting information, ordering and coordinating department supplies and equipment, preparing and monitoring contracts and agreements, arranging for equipment purchases and maintenance, attending meetings, and serving on various task forces and committees.
• Assists management and professional staff in performing and conducting studies, special projects, and administrative activities; performs data collection, research, and analysis on administrative, fiscal, personnel, and operational problems or issues; analyzes alternatives and makes recommendations; works with department staff to develop and improve operational and administrative practices; prepares technical reports to interpret data; performs other technical work related to the department to which assigned.
• Screens calls, visitors, and incoming mail; responds to complaints and requests for information or service; interprets and applies regulations, policies, procedures, systems, rules, and precedents in response to inquiries and complaints from the public; directs callers to appropriate City staff; assists the public at the front counter and directs the public to appropriate locations/staff; creates service requests and work orders.
• Independently prepares memoranda, letters, summaries, lists, reports, meeting minutes, and other forms of correspondence; responds to written correspondence.
• Administers specialized departmental programs including working directly with citizens, and preparing associated staff reports and resolutions for Council Agendas and grant-funded projects.
• Participates in equipment and/or fleet administration including acquisition and disposition of vehicles and equipment, database entry and maintenance, and upkeep of various spreadsheets, records, and inventory lists.
• Participates in the preparation and presentation of operating budgets; creates budget worksheets; maintains, monitors, and inputs budget tracking and controls; compiles financial documents and performs budget transactions; analyzes and reviews end of year budget adjustments; analyzes various accounts for auditing and other purposes; determines availability of funds for projects; forecasts and justifies budget requests.
• Ensures expenditures remain within appropriate budget limits; reviews and ensures accuracy for department expenditures; generates reports and exports data to track budget expenditures; communicates with Finance regarding corrections to expenditures and purchase order requests; provides proper budget expense codes to staff; organizes, plans, and conducts budget meetings with department supervisors.
• Submits purchasing requests for various vendors; requests and provides status updates regarding purchase orders for department supervisors; contacts vendors for insurance certification, agreement amendments, and any exception to bidding requests.
• Processes bills and invoices for payment; prepares and transmits a variety of financial documents; maintains records of purchase orders, expense statements, and other fiscal transactions; prepares and reviews purchase orders and purchase requisitions; closes unnecessary encumbrances; confirms contract amendments; conducts internal auditing processes; ensures contracts, agreements, and change order documents are accurate; performs specialized projects.
• Attends and/or acts as staff to citizen advisory committees where necessary.
• Assists in the formulation and implementation of management policies relating to labor relations and other confidential personnel matters as directed.
• Collaborates with other departments to perform a variety of technical support and administrative duties in the preparation, processing, maintenance, reconciliation, tracking, storage/archiving, and reporting of department grants and loans; prepares and submits required documentation in a timely manner to ensure reimbursement of grant-funded activities and costs.
• Performs technical administrative assistance and support duties for an assigned department; participates in various technical processes, procedures, and programs; provides information and assistance to the public on processes, procedures, and programs.
• Creates, organizes, maintains, and updates departmental records, databases, and filing systems; collects, organizes, reviews, and purges department records in accordance with the City's records retention policy; enters and updates information with departmental activity, inventory files, and report summaries; prepares documents for imaging; responds to requests for records.
• Coordinates and integrates department services and activities with other City departments and outside agencies; schedules standing meetings.
• Processes and receives warehouse orders; conducts quarterly and year-end inventory counts and reconciliations; reviews and submits warehouse transactions to Finance.
• Schedules and coordinates departmental meetings and provides training coordination, tracking, and administration including training, travel, or online seminar setup; processes per-diem requests.
• Prepares personnel transaction documents; processes Workers' Compensation claims and exposure reports; updates and maintains employee performance evaluation tracking systems; processes timecards comparing hours of leave and overtime utilized against approved leave; ensures coverage for leave matches leave taken and correct coding has been utilized; performs CalCard reconciliations, processes public record requests; assists in developing and administering Professional Services Agreements, Service Provider Agreements, Purchase Order Agreements, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Requests for Qualifications (RFQs), and other contracts.
• Manages mandatory requirements of grants to ensure guidelines are adhered to, including preparing and submitting mandatory performance reports.
• Observes and complies with all City and mandated safety rules, regulations, and protocols.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

When assigned to the Police Department:

• Serves as a custodian of records with access to the California Department of Justice background check results.
• Complete the necessary requirements to become a Notary Public and perform notarial acts.

Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• General principles and practices of municipal government operations, organizational practices, grants, budget preparation, monitoring, and administration.
• Research and reporting methods, techniques, and procedures.
• Principles and procedures of record keeping, document processing, and filing systems.
• Standard office procedures and practices.
• City-wide policies, processes, and procedures.
• Business arithmetic and basic statistical techniques.
• City and department programs, goals, and policies and procedures of the assigned department or division.
• The City's operating budget.
• City finance procedures related to accounts payable, accounts receivable, agreements and purchasing policies.
• Applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulatory codes, ordinances, and procedures relevant to assigned area of responsibility.
• Principles and practices of data collection, database maintenance, and report generation.
• Methods of preparing and processing various records, reports, forms, and other documents particular to assigned department or program.
• Basic budget principles for monitoring and tracking revenue and expenditures for assigned department.
• Principles and practices of contract monitoring for operational and fiscal purposes.
• City procurement principles and practices.
• Principles and practices of business correspondence and report writing.
• Business administration practices.
• City and mandated safety rules, regulations, and protocols.
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and City staff.
• The structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Modern equipment and communication tools used for business functions and program, project, and task coordination, including computers and software programs relevant to work performed.

Ability to:

• Prepare clear and concise correspondence and reports on a variety of financial, budgetary, and administrative issues.
• Perform technical financial work.