CIVIL SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Cortland County Office of Personnel/Civil Service

County Office Building, Cortland NY 13045

EXAMINATION ANNOUNCEMENT

OPEN-COMPETITIVE

INFORMATION SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR

CONTINUOUS RECRUITMENT

Cortland County is an Equal Opportunity Employer

APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED CONTINUOUSLY

EXAM #100-71

The exam for Information Systems Administrator will be administered on a continuous recruitment basis. The examination will be scheduled by a representative of the Personnel/Civil Service Department, within 7 calendar days from the date that the Civil Service application for this examination is received by the Personnel/Civil Service office.

REVIEW THE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

EXAMINATION FEE: Each application for a Cortland County Civil Service examination must be accompanied by a $12.50 certified check or money order payable to the "Cortland County Treasurer." Applications will not be reviewed unless accompanied by the fee. NOTE: ALL CSEA COUNTY EMPLOYEES, MANAGEMENT COMPENSATION PLAN EMPLOYEES, CORTLAND COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE UNIT #6550-02 AND CORTLAND COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF CORRECTION OFFICER UNIT #6550-03 will PAY $5.00 to be paid with cash, a certified check or money order made payable to "Cortland County Treasurer." Personal checks will not be accepted. The application fee is non-refundable.

APPLICATION FEE WAIVER: A waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver of application fee will be allowed if you are determined eligible for Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Security Income payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance) or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a state or local service agency. All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification. If you can verify eligibility for application fee waiver, complete a “Request for Application Fee Waiver and Certification” form and submit it with your application. You can obtain a copy of the Application Fee Waiver and Certification Form by contacting the Personnel/Civil Service Office or by going to our website at www.cortland-co.org/personnel.

SALARY: $23.9129 - $29.0937/hr. (Cortland County salary); salary varies by jurisdiction

VACANCY: The list established as a result of this exam will be used to fill any vacancies that may occur during the life of this list.

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT: There are no residency requirements for this exam. Preference in certification may be given to successful candidates who are residents of the municipality one month prior to the date of certification.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: Incumbents in this position are responsible for all aspects of the implementation and use of computers in a large county department. The Information Systems Administrator is expected to analyze the computing and automation needs of the department and to write, purchase, and customize computer programs and hardware as needed. This position is also responsible for providing training and consulting services to department employees and for routine and exceptional system maintenance. The work is performed under the general supervision of the department head, a deputy or assistant department head or other generally responsible administrative director or office of the department. Supervision may be exercised over lower level technical or clerical personnel, but such supervision is not a necessary function of this class. Does related work as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Either

1. Graduation from a regionally accredited college or university or one accredited by the New York State Board of Regents to grant degrees with a Bachelor's degree or higher in information systems management, computer science, information technology or closely related field and one (1) year of experience in network administration, information systems management, or analyzing business processes for computerization or automation; or
2. Graduation from a regionally accredited college or university or one accredited by the New York State Board of Regents to grant degrees with an associate's degree or higher and three (3) years of experience as defined in (a);
3. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and five (5) years of experience as defined in (a); or
4. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (a), (b) and (c).

SUBJECT OF THE EXAMINATION: The examination for the position will consist of two parts: a related evaluation of training and experience and a qualifying pc-administered test. You must pass the evaluation of training and experience in order to take the qualifying pc-administered test. You must pass both tests in order to be considered for appointment. Only your rating on the evaluation of training and experience will be considered when computing final scores.

RATED EVALUATION OF TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

You will complete a questionnaire that asks for specific information on your information technology education (formal degrees, IT-related training courses, certifications) and experience. You will also be asked to briefly describe a significant achievement in each of the job's areas and to provide the name and contact information for someone who can verify your information. The information you provide about your experience will be rated against the following areas: Computer Programming, Help Desk, User Support, Network Administration, Data Communications, Telecommunications, Business/Systems Analysis, Web Site Development, and Microcomputer Repair.

QUALIFYING PC-ADMINISTERED WRITTEN TEST WILL BE DESIGNED TO TEST FOR KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND OR ABILITIES IN SUCH AREAS AS:

• Logical Reasoning/Interpreting Instructions for Computer-Related Positions: These multiple-choice questions test for ability to reason logically and interpret instructions in a computer-related context. They cover verbal and quantitative reasoning, flowchart interpretation and applying written directions. The verbal and quantitative reasoning questions include logical implications (e.g., if A and B, then C) and relations (e.g., greater than). Knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is necessary, but neither mathematical sophistication nor computational speed is needed. The interpreting instructions questions provide the instructions and specific rules for applying them. All the information needed to answer the questions is presented with the questions.
• User Support and Training: This simulation exercise requires candidates to assume the role of a staff member in a Help Desk support unit. Candidates will be presented with a user's problem. During the course of handling the problem, candidates will be required to: demonstrate communication skills, apply troubleshooting practices and tools, determine the appropriate level of training needed by the user, and educate the user of the proper use of computers.
• Working Effectively with Others to Solve Job-Related Problems: This simulation exercise requires candidates to assume the role of a staff member in an Information Technology work group who is working with colleagues during a time of change in policy or procedure, in a particular agency. During the exercise, candidates will be required to deal with obstacles within the working environment, which includes peer relations and the demands of handling multiple tasks. Candidates will be required to demonstrate the ability to be flexible, creative and persistent as a team player. They will also need to demonstrate the ability to cooperate, show initiative, and establish positive working relationships with peers and administrators.

Qualifying test scores may be banked and applied to future examinations for titles that require the same test plan.

If a candidate has previously passed an IT Qualifying Test prepared by the New York State Department of Civil Service and using the same test plan as announced, the qualifying test may be waived. A candidate requesting such a waiver must submit verifiable evidence of passing the qualifying test, including the name of the Civil Service agency that administered the test and the test date.

Retest Policy: Candidates who fail the qualifying test or candidates who wish to improve their position on the eligible list, may reapply to retake the examination after a six (6) month period has passed from the date of previous examination.

VETERANS OR DISABLED VETERANS who are eligible for additional credits must submit an application for veterans credits prior to the establishment of the eligible list for the examination. Only those veterans who have served on active duty during the creditable periods of war will be eligible for veterans credits. Additionally, Veterans credits will only be added to the score of a candidate who has attained a passing grade of 70 or higher. Veterans credits may not be used to achieve a passing score.

APPLICATIONS CAN BE OBTAINED at the Office of Personnel, 60 Central Avenue, Cortland NY. Applications may be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on the last filing date.

TIME AND PLACE OF EXAMINATION: Approved candidates will be notified by mail regarding the time and place the exam is to be held. If notice of approval or disapproval is not received three (3) days prior to the exam date, please call this office at 607 753-5076.

An Equal Opportunity Employer: M/F

This examination is being prepared and rated by the NYS Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23.2 of the Civil Service Law. The provisions of the NYS Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the ratings of exams will apply to this test.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION

1. Falsification of any part of the "Application for Employment" will result in disqualification.

2. Applicants must answer every question on the application form and make sure that it is complete in all respects. Incomplete applications will be disapproved.

3. If you have applied for other Civil Service examinations for employment with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction to be held on the same date as this exam, you must make arrangements to take all the examinations at one test site. If you have applied for both State and Local go

4. Government examinations, you must make arrangements to take all your examinations at the State examination center by calling 518 457-7022 no later than two weeks before the test date. If you have applied for other local government examinations, call or write to each Civil Service Agency to make arrangements. You must make your request for these arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of examinations. You must notify all local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of the test site at which you wish to take your examinations(s). For this examination call 607 753-5076 or write to Cortland County Personnel, 60 Central Ave, Cortland, NY 13045.

5. Appointments from an Eligible List must be made from the top three candidates willing to accept appointment. The duration of an Eligible List may be fixed for a minimum of one (1) year, and a maximum period of (4) years.

6. It is the responsibility of the candidate to notify the Office of Personnel/Civil Service of any change in address. No attempt will be made to locate candidates who have moved.

7. Under specific circumstances, an alternate test date may be arranged. Your request with written documentation must be received in this office no later than the Thursday preceding the exam date.

DATE ISSUED: 2/14/02 AMENDED: 1/23/06; 1/25/07; 4/25/08