Assistant Business Analyst

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire:  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Postmarks are not accepted.  Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

The Position:
The Assistant Business Analyst will have opportunities to work on impactful projects and be responsible for translating business problems or needs into business requirements and functional specifications.  Under direction, positions in this classification assist in the design, configuration and maintenance of the countywide ALCOLINK (PeopleSoft) HRMS and Financials systems. The Assistant Business Analyst also assists with system set up, testing and ongoing system and end-user functional support for ALCOLINK HRMS or Financials and other databases/systems; and other related duties as required.  Incumbents in this classification are located in the Human Resource Services Department and the Purchasing Department of the General Services Agency. Incumbents report to and receive instruction from the Business Analyst. Incumbents perform journey-level work in the support, design, development, testing and implementation/ upgrade of ALCOLINK HRMS or Financials.

The Ideal Candidate:
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications for the position, successful candidates will possess relevant functional experience analyzing business requirements and information technology needs, preferably in a public sector environment. The Assistant Business Analyst will perform duties pertaining to the identification of department business needs and assist with the development of technology solutions to resolve business problems and/or automation of business processes.  The Assistant Business Analyst may serve as the primary project assistant or lead over assigned technology projects.  In collaboration with department staff, the Assistant Business Analyst will develop, set and complete project goals and milestones associated with the department's business needs.  The successful candidate will exhibit demonstrated experience providing business analysis in the functional areas with proven experience analyzing and documenting user requirements.  Successful candidates will have a experience in the following competencies:

• Assists with the development of strategic and tactical plans involving the implementation of information systems, report and data analytics.
• Assists with the development of training materials and providing system training to end users. 
• Assists with the development of documentation related to "as-is" and "to-be" workflow diagrams and processes.
• Assists with gathering requirements related to reporting and data warehousing.
• Works with end users to define, analyze and document user requirements while translating them into functional system design specifications that can be successfully reviewed by IT teams.
• Works effectively in groups to problem solve situations.
• Plans, organizes and processes work to ensure project deadlines are met.
• Supports end users in troubleshooting business processes issues/gaps and assists with the development of technical solutions to mitigate business problems.
• Assists with the coordination and linking of computer systems/applications within the organization to increase compatibility and efficiencies so information can be shared across platforms.
• Strong planning and organizing skills.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.

Experience

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience with a fully integrated automated system or database. Experience must include responsibility for automated system set up, maintenance, troubleshooting, business process assessment and development and/or end users support in the areas of human resources, payroll, benefits, or purchasing functions. Experience must demonstrate the possession of the knowledge and abilities.

Previous use of web-based PeopleSoft, Oracle, or SAP highly desirable.

Special Requirements:

Incumbents in this classification will be required to work some evenings, weekends and/or on call.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of public sector human resources, payroll and benefits programs, position management concepts, position budgeting concepts or purchasing functions.
• Configuration Tables/concepts and their impacts and relationships to automated system functionality.

Ability to:

• Gather and analyze data.
• Orally communicate effectively.
• Read, interpret and apply laws, rules, regulations, standards and procedures.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Make sound judgments and appropriate recommendations.
• Multi-task and prioritize workload.
• Meet deadlines.
• Read and understand general design of system modification documents.
• Use of other related software i.e. Excel, Word, Outlook, Power Point and Visio.
• Apply County Human Resources or Purchasing policies and procedures.
• Write query logic statements.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process which is a review of the candidates supplemental questionnaire. 2) Supplemental questionnaires will be evaluated on the relevance, level, recency, progression and quality of candidate's education, training and experience. It is imperative that you are diligent and thorough when completing your supplemental questionnaire.  The information that you provide will be used to weigh your experience against other competitors.  Therefore, the candidate's responses to the supplemental questionnaire should be thorough, detailed and complete. The supplemental questionnaire evaluation will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The score from the supplemental questionnaire review will determine the ranking on the eligible/employment list for this examination.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION. We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs. 

Applicants will be informed via e-mail with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

  

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN:

Deadline for Filing: Review of Minimum Qualifications: Review of Supplemental Questionnaires: Oral Panel Interview	5:00 pm, Tuesday, June 16, 2015  June 24, 2015 July 2, 2015 TBD

 *WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN*

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statues.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Sam Gee
Personnel Services Manager
Human Resource Services Division-County of Alameda
510-267-9492
www.acgov.org