Job Description

Summary:

Under general supervision, provides a wide variety of technical office administrative and secretarial support duties involved in the enforcement and communication of animal services and shelter services codes, ordinances, and regulations; performs related work as required.

Supervision Received and Exercised:

Receives general supervision from the Animal Services Supervisor. No supervision of staff is exercised.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

This is a journey-level class in the Animal Services division that performs technical, clerical, and administrative support activities. Responsibilities include overseeing and administering the division’s process for documentation, forms, reports, records, applications, notices, and other critical paperwork; ensuring the conformance of paperwork with division policies and procedures; conducting project research, analysis, and report preparation; and cash handling. Incumbents are required to exercise a large degree of initiative, discretion, and independent judgment in following policies and procedures. This class is distinguished from other administrative and secretarial classes in that it requires specialized technical knowledge and skills pertaining to the Town’s animal services function, in addition to standard office support duties.

Essential Functions:

Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following representative duties, knowledge, and skills. This list is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this class. Employees are required to be in attendance and prepared to begin work at their assigned work location on the specified days and hours. Factors such as regular attendance at the job are not routinely listed in job descriptions but are an essential function. Management reserves the right to add, modify, change or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job. Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following representative duties, knowledge, and skills. This list is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this class. Employees are required to be in attendance and prepared to begin work at their assigned work location on the specified days and hours. Factors such as regular attendance at the job are not routinely listed in job descriptions but are an essential function. Management reserves the right to add, modify, change or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job. Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Handles front counter traffic, including processing licenses, adoptions, issuing microchip registration forms, answering general questions, handling complaints, impounding animals and providing information to public.
• Performs a wide variety of general clerical duties to support departmental operations, including filing, preparing notices and citations, monthly reports, billing statements, and ordering and maintaining office and other related supplies.
• Collects and processes payments for licenses, fines, microchips, pet products, owner-turn-in animals and other fees; balances cash drawer, prints reports, and matches daily receipts.
• Screens calls, visitors, and mail; responds to complaints and requests for information; assists in interpreting and applying regulations, policies, procedures, systems, rules, and precedents in response to inquiries and complaints from public; directs callers to appropriate Town staff.
• Maintains animal shelter facilities, including cleaning and disinfecting kennels; provides food and water to animals.
• Dispatches calls using a two-way radio to Animal Services Officers, Sheriff’s department, or Code Enforcement Officers.
• Issues dog licenses and renewals by verifying rabies vaccination, sterility paperwork, collecting payments and issuing receipts.
• Creates impound records for animals brought to the shelter; enters information into database; collects applicable fees; prints applicable forms and obtains appropriate signatures; issues kennel cards.
• Processes adoptions, including explaining adoption fees and procedures, collecting applications and obtaining approval, checking applicant’s background, printing adoption contract, health record and necessary paperwork, and scheduling surgery appointment.
• Processes other animal shelter requests, such as return of animals to owners and animal trap issuance.
• Prepares and compiles administrative hearing packets, including researching property and animal owners for prior complaints, scheduling conference room, notifying Hearing Officer, preparing all documents and information for submission, and mailing notices to all participants; attends hearing and swears in witnesses; prepares and archives all documents and tape-recordings.
• Gathers, assembles, updates, and distributes a variety of department specific information, forms, records, and data as requested.
• Conducts breed rescues in coordination with available animal shelters.
• Advises supervisor of unusual circumstances or questionable conditions encountered in the area of responsibility.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

An equivalent combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be considered.  A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

Education, Training, and Experience Guidelines
An equivalent combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities may be considered. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:
Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth (12th) grade and two (2) years of varied clerical support experience preferably involving some public contact.

License and Certification Requirements:

• Valid California class C driver’s license with satisfactory driving record and automobile insurance.

Knowledge of:

• Identification of various breeds of dogs, cats, and other domestic and wild animals.
• Principles of animal behavior and care.
• Applicable codes, regulations, policies, and technical processes and procedures related to the department to which assigned.
• Modern office administrative and secretarial practices and procedures, including the use of standard office equipment.
• Business letter writing and the standard format for reports and correspondence.
• Principles and practices of data collection and report preparation.
• Business arithmetic and basic statistical techniques.
• Basic principles of record keeping and cash handling.
• Computer applications related to the work, including word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications.
• English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation.
• Techniques for effectively representing the Town in contacts with governmental agencies, community groups, various business, professional, and regulatory organizations and with property owners, developers, contractors and the public.
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service to public and Town staff, in person and over the telephone.

Ability to:

• Perform responsible technical, administrative, and secretarial support work with accuracy, speed, and minimal supervision.
• Provide varied, confidential, and responsible secretarial and office administrative work requiring the use of tact and discretion.
• Understand the organization and operation of the Town and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
• Interpret and apply administrative and departmental policies and procedures.
• Respond to and effectively prioritize multiple phone calls, walk-up traffic, and other requests or interruptions.
• Compose correspondence and reports from brief instructions.
• Organize, maintain, and update office database and records systems.
• Make accurate arithmetic, financial, and statistical computations.
• Enter and retrieve data from a computer with sufficient speed and accuracy.
• File materials alphabetically, chronologically, and numerically.
• Organize own work, coordinate projects, set priorities, meet critical time deadlines, and follow-up on assignments with a minimum of direction.
• Operate modern office equipment including computer equipment and software programs.
• Type 50 words per minute.
• Use English effectively to communicate in person, over the telephone, and in writing.
• Use tact, initiative, prudence and independent judgment within general policy and legal guidelines in politically sensitive situations.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Physical Demands and Working Environment:

Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer; vision to read printed materials and a computer screen; and hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone. This is an active office classification requiring standing in work areas and walking between work areas. Finger dexterity is needed to access, enter and retrieve data using a computer keyboard, typewriter keyboard or calculator and to operate standard office equipment. Positions in this classification occasionally bend, stoop, kneel, reach, push and pull drawers open and closed to retrieve and file information. Employees must possess the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects necessary to perform job functions.
Employees work in an office environment with moderate noise levels, controlled temperature conditions and no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances. Employees may interact with upset staff and/or public and private representatives in interpreting and enforcing departmental policies and procedures.

Fair Labor Standards Act labels cannot be given to a group of employees. Each employee must meet every requirement for the claimed exemption. The designation mentioned above is for general manager guidelines.