Secretary 2 (Meat & Poultry Inspection Bureau)

The approximately 345 employees of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship  (IDALS) are responsible for a wide range of programs that affect the quality of life of every Iowan.  Both Iowans living on the farm and those in our towns and cities are impacted almost daily by the work of the Department.

The Meat & Poultry Inspection Bureau is recruiting for a full-time Secretary 2 position, working from the Bureau's main office at the Wallace State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa. The successful candidate will provide administrative support to the Bureau's mission of inspecting locker plants, small packing plants, and other meat processing facilities to ensure compliance with food safety and animal handling standards under the Iowa Meat and Poultry Inspection Act.     

Essential Duties

• Provides administrative support to the Bureau Chief and office staff, answers main phone line, directs calls and visitors, processes incoming and outgoing mail, and manages Bureau's main email inbox.
• Receives, organizes and files reports from staff, tracks completion of reports and required training, and sends reminders to staff on missing reports.
• Compiles and organizes data received into spreadsheets, reports key information to federal counterparts, and ensures completeness.
• Inventories supplies, receives requests from office and field staff, researches cost-effective sources and completes purchase requests.
• Maintains electronic and hard copy plant files, starts new files for prospective new facilities, shreds documents and closes files for withdrawn facilities according to Bureau policy.
• Manages plant licensing process, including maintenance of licensing database, processing of licensing applications and grants of inspection, and yearly renewals.
• Assists in maintenance of labeling tracking logs and database; copies or destroys label information as directed for new submissions or rescinded labels.
• Serves as a backup to assist staff with simple tasks involving navigation and use of Workday system and other computer programs.

The preferred candidate would:

• Possess excellent oral and written communication skills, and demonstrate the ability to maintain cordial professional relationships with staff, other agencies, and industry representatives.
• Be independent and motivated, able to work successfully and efficiently from the office or home without extensive supervision, and quickly master new duties and procedures.
• Have experience in collection and management of data, manipulation of Excel and Access files, and reporting of consolidated information to outside agencies.
• Be familiar with procedures for inventory and ordering of supplies, including research on pricing and working with vendors to ensure correctness of special-order purchases. 
• Possess a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs and other common software, sufficient to both complete administrative tasks and assist other staff with simple tasks and troubleshooting of these programs.
• Possess a strong working knowledge of the state's Workday personnel management system or similar systems, sufficient to provide guidance and support to Bureau staff on simple tasks.

Applicants may attach a cover letter and resume to their application. Application materials can be uploaded in the Attachments Section during the application process

As an employee of IDALS you are a State of Iowa employee and eligible for a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Low out of pocket, high quality family medical insurance as low as $205.00 per month, single as low as $61.00 per month
• Dental insurance is free for single and $46.00 per month for family coverage
• $20,000 basic life insurance at no cost, voluntary supplemental life for an additional cost, and long term disability insurance at no cost
• Exceptional retirement package includes IPERS (Iowa Public Employee Retirement System) which is a fixed income or defined benefit pension plan
• In addition to IPERS a deferred compensation plan (similar to a 401K) with a state match of up to $75.00 per month
• Paid leave includes - 9 holidays, sick, vacation, military leave, and jury duty leave

To learn more about benefits available as a State of Iowa Employee click here to visit the web page.N/AExperience equal to two years of full-time general office work, one year of which must have involved secretarial or related administrative support duties;

OR

post high school course work in an accredited secretarial, business, or closely related curriculum may be substituted for the required experience on a month-for-month basis;

OR

completion of thirty (30) semester (or equivalent) hours of undergraduate college level course work may be substituted for the one year of required general office experience;

OR

certification from the State of Iowa Administrative Assistant Certificate Program will substitute for six months of the required experience;

OR

employees with current continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes the equivalent of one year of full-time work as a Secretary 1.

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description.

 Typing Requirement: Applicants may be required to have the ability to type 40 wpm net.  If included in the Minimum Requirements of this job vacancy, you must provide verification of your typing score prior to the closing date of this vacancy. (Click here for more details about the typing test.)