Customer Service Specialist (CS Section)

THE POSITION

This position’s responsibilities may include cashiering oversight, cash control, bank deposit batching, and radio dispatching support. Additionally, this position provides front counter and phone customer support, including customer escalations. The primary responsibilities also include crafting and responding to customer service e-mails and correspondence, staff training including drafting, amending and implementing complex procedures, performing quality assurance through customer call review, account/billing analysis, and complex billing research.

IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT

The ideal candidate for this position is equally adept at working within a team and independently, in an environment that requires responding to a high volume of daily customer contacts in person, over the phone, via written and e-mailed correspondence, and/or radio dispatching to City Field Crews. The ideal candidate will value and enjoy providing guidance to staff and exceptional customer service with frequent customer escalations that can, and do, become contentious.

To perform difficult and complex technical public contact and record keeping work related to billings, taxes, fees, and services; processes transactions and independently resolves problems related to complaints and inquiries according to established City standards and procedures.

This is the advanced-journey level class in the Customer Service series. The Customer Service Specialist class works under minimal supervision, and is considered the technical expert of the series having the knowledge and authority to handle issues beyond the first attempts of lower-level Customer Service staff. The Customer Service Specialist level may be assigned to lead lower-level Customer Service staff. This class is distinguished from the Customer Service Supervisor class in that the latter is the full supervisory class, responsible for a customer service unit, operation, or special program. This class is distinguished from the Customer Service Representative class in that the latter is the journey-level class in the series where incumbents work under immediate supervision.

General supervision is provided by a Customer Service Supervisor or higher-level management staff. The Customer Service Specialist may provide lead direction as assigned.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide lead supervision of staff, and adjust work schedules and assignments as needed to ensure adequate coverage of telephone and public counter operations; assist supervisor in overseeing the completion of daily assignments and special projects.
• Represent the City and the department to the public, callers, and visitors in a professional and effective manner over the telephone and at a public counter; answer and respond to a high volume of phone calls; follow general customer service policy and procedure.
• Interact with customers to respond to complaints and inquiries; contact customers as needed regarding service accounts, fees, licenses, permits, and service level; assist staff in the resolution of complex and difficult customer service problems; transfer call, and/or direct callers to department/unit as requested.
• Calculate and collect payments for various City services, and ensure all requirements are met; initiate billing; collect opening, current, and closing payments and fees; perform collection efforts on delinquent accounts for City services; complete refund request; and calculate and process claims on bankrupt and deceased creditors; interface with department staff as needed.
• Research and retrieve information, and analyze accounts to reconcile errors and modify account transactions; review and interpret billing statements; authorize the removal of penalties and issuance of credits or refunds; and recommend extensions on delinquent accounts; correct service records and repair orders received from field crews.
• Make change and issue receipts; pro-rate accounts for established, changed or stopped service; prepare documents for recording and transmitting fees received; maintain daily balances; input debit applications and cancellation information to customer accounts.
• Perform a variety of general accounting duties, including accounts receivable, accounts payable and bank deposits; verify accuracy of checks, payment cards and bank deposits; locate, gather and compile information regarding payments received without payment cards to identify account to be credited; maintain petty cash, daily cash and daily revenue records; and submit daily records; and maintain files and records.
• Perform specialized work involving independent judgment, including database maintenance and customer information billing system activities, as required; update databases to reflect relevant legal information; research and compile information and data for statistical and financial reports/charts from oral direction, rough draft, forms, copy, or notes; maintain a variety of statistical records; and check and tabulate statistical data; perform notary services.
• Calculate required fees in accordance with established policies; calculate, issue and collect payments for various service accounts; ensure accuracy, and all other requirements are met; issue licenses and other business related citations
• Prepare and enter a variety of detailed commands into a computer in order to set parameters for a variety of billing services and reports; produce account statements; prepare backup files for protection of a department database; and update official City maps and records as required.
• Utilize various systems to locate information, retrieve, research and review; determine the status of accounts and conditions; create or make adjustments to service requests; route work requests, follow-up and monitor posting of labor and materials billing; operate 2-way radio or other telecommunication device.
• Create or make adjustments on property/parcels; research and verify correct lot splits, lot mergers, and lot line adjustments; update accounts to provide accurate billing information; update systems and run reports of various computer systems; research and establish correct ownership, change ownership information and deed date; generate inspections; process service records and repair orders received from field crews.
• Confer with management staff regarding division and/or unit operations, procedures and regulations; provide responsible operational support to technical staff, unit supervisor, and lower-level staff; may assist higher level staff with development and revision of procedures; interpret City codes and ordinances, policies, procedures and regulations.
• Participate in the training of staff in various systems, procedures and operations; provide functional direction of lower-level personnel as assigned; participate in the evaluations of subordinate staff; attend meetings as directed.
• Perform notary duties.
• Provide exceptional customer service to those contacted in the course of work.
• Other related duties may also be performed; not all duties listed are necessarily performed by each individual.

QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of:

• English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Basic bookkeeping and record keeping methods.
• Mathematical procedures and calculations, including percentages, calculations, and pro-rations.
• Methods of researching and recording.
• City codes and ordinances, policies, procedures, and regulations of assigned division/department.
• Various rates and fees schedules.
• Assessing maps, as assigned including geographic information system (GIS), parcel, subdivision, etc.
• Methods and equipment used in processing payments.
• Modern office methods, practices, procedures for billing purposes.
• Computer operations, including computer software applications and other specialized business applications.
• Principals of supervision and training.

Skill in:

• Computer keyboard, typewriter and 10-key calculator.
• Working as part of a team.
• Phone skills and diplomacy.
• Computer and Internet searches.

Ability to:

• Exercise tact, judgment and patience in dealing with the public, staff and client departments.
• Utilize specialized computer business applications and systems for account and billing purposes.
• Analyze, read, and prepare schedules, maps, permits, reports, and statements regarding municipal operations.
• Analyze and prepare schedules, reports and statements regarding municipal operations.
• Interpret and apply City regulations and procedures as applicable to billing, fees and collections.
• Work independently with minimal supervision.
• Work any shift, including weekends and holidays is mandatory for some assignments.
• Perform specialized technical work involving independent judgment.
• Type at a speed of not less than 35 net words per minute.
• Perform mathematic calculations.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Perform concurrently multiple complex customer service related duties.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

Any combination of experience and education that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience:

Two (2) years of progressively responsible journey-level experience performing customer service work responding to customer complaints and inquiries in a public service operation.

Education:

Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade.

PROOF OF EDUCATION

Should education be used to qualify for this position, then proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted with your application and will be required at the time of appointment. Unofficial documents and/or copies are acceptable.

An applicant with a college degree obtained outside the United States must have education records evaluated by a credentials evaluation service. Evaluation of education records will be due at time of appointment.

SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS

Driver License:

Possession of a valid California Class C Driver License at the time of appointment. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to physical disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD: 

Employees must complete twelve (12) months of probation at a satisfactory performance level prior to gaining permanent status.

THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

Please note, the City of Sacramento’s preferred method of communication with applicants is via e-mail. As such, please ensure you verify the e-mail address on your application, and check your e-mail frequently, including your spam and junk folders. All e-mail notifications can also be accessed through the governmentjobs.com applicant inbox.

1. Application: (Pass/Fail) – All applicants must complete and submit online a City of Sacramento employment application by the final filing deadline;

• Employment applications must be submitted online; paper applications will not be accepted.
• Employment applications will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified:
• If applicants do not list current and/or past job-related experience in the duties area of the “Work Experience” section. Note: Qualifying experience is based on full-time experience (40 hours per week). Qualifying experience is calculated to the full-time equivalent (pro-rated if less than 40 hours/week).
• If “see resume” is noted in the “Work Experience” section; a resume will not substitute for the information required in the “Work Experience” section.
• Proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted online with your application. Proof of education will be required at time of appointment.
• Position/job titles will not be considered in determining eligibility for meeting the minimum qualifications for this position.
• If you’re requesting Veteran’s credit, a copy of your DD214 must be submitted online with your application or emailed to the Employment Office by the final filing deadline. Information regarding the use of Veteran’s credit can be found in the Civil Service Board rules under rule 4.9C. (Download PDF reader)
• Applicants are responsible for attaching a copy of their DD214 to each position for which they apply.

2. Training and Experience Exam: (Weighted 100%) – The questions located at the end of the application are the Training and Experience (T&E) Exam.Responses to the T&E questions will be rated and scored. This exam will evaluate the relevance, level, and progression of a candidate’s education, training and experience. The exam score will determine your ranking on the eligible list for this job. When completing the T&E questions, please note:

• Responses to the T&E questions must be submitted online; paper questionnaires will not be accepted.
• A resume will not substitute for the information required in the T&E questions.

3. Eligibility: Candidates who pass the Training and Experience Test will be placed on the eligible list. The hiring department may contact candidates for interview at any time during the life of the one-year list. Candidate’s eligibility expires one year from the date of notification of a passing score for the Customer Service Specialist examination.

4. Screening Committee: (Pass/Fail)– All candidates that pass the examination and are in one of the top three ranks will have their application forwarded to the hiring department for review. The hiring department will select the most competitive applications for further consideration. Human Resources will only evaluate employment applications for the minimum qualifications, as stated on the job announcement, for applications selected by the hiring department.

5. Conditional Hire: Upon receipt of a conditional offer, the selected candidate must complete and pass Live Scan/fingerprinting. If applicable, candidates may also need to pass a pre-employment medical exam, controlled substance and/or alcohol test, and possess any required licensure or certification prior to receiving a start date from the Department. Failure to meet these prerequisites will be grounds for withdrawal of your conditional offer of employment.

QUESTIONS:

For questions concerning this job announcement and the application process: 

• Please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/Home/ApplicationGuide for a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the application process.
• For technical support between 6 AM – 5 PM PT, contact Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627.
• Visit the City of Sacramento Human Resources Department website at https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/HR/employment;
• Send an email to employment@cityofsacramento.org; or
• Call the Human Resources Department at (916) 808-5726

Bilingual Pay 

Did you know that the City offers bilingual pay? That’s right, most labor agreements offer the option of providing employees with bilingual pay if the department deems it to be operationally necessary.

Pension Reform Act

The City of Sacramento is covered by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and as such, must adhere to the California Public Employee’s Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013. Please note that the provisions within this act may affect or impact an applicant’s eligibility and/or selection for open vacancies at the City of Sacramento. 

Equal Opportunity Employer

The City of Sacramento is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Additional Information

Civil Service Rules: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/hr/documentlibrary/CivilServiceBoardRules62012.pdf (Download PDF reader)

Union Contracts:https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/HR/labor-agreements.html

Salary Schedule: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/hr/documentlibrary/SalarySchedule.pdf (Download PDF reader)

Read Full Description