Administrative Assistant III

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS • Austin, TX

1d • $2,953 - $3,660 • Onsite

About The Position

DSHS is committed to hiring skilled and dedicated individuals who share a passion for public health to pursue our vision of A Healthy Texas. If you are looking to make an impact and tackle new challenges, we encourage you to consider a career with us.

Employee Benefits:
DSHS offers insurance coverage and other benefits available through the State of Texas Group Benefits Plan administered by the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS). To learn more about all the benefits available to you as a DSHS employee and other DSHS opportunities for early career pathways, visit the DSHS Careers Page.
Review our Top 10 Tips for Success when Applying to State of Texas Jobs.

Functional Title: Administrative Assistant III Job Title: Administrative Asst III Agency: Dept of State Health Services Department: Quality Assurance Posting Number: 18825 Closing Date: 08/09/2026 Posting Audience: Internal and External Occupational Category: Office and Administrative Support Salary Range: $2,953.25 - $3,659.50 Pay Frequency: Monthly Salary Group: TEXAS-A-13 Shift: Regular Weekend Day Additional Shift: Days (First) Telework: Not Eligible for Telework Travel: Up to 5% Regular/Temporary: Regular Full Time/Part Time: Full time FLSA Exempt/Non-Exempt: Nonexempt Facility Location: Job Location City: AUSTIN Job Location Address: 1100 W 49TH ST (DBGL)

Brief Job Description:
Works under the minimal supervision of the Manager of the Specimen Acquisition Branch with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. Coordinates Branch Administrative activities to achieve efficient administrative management of the Branch. Performs highly responsible administrative support and technical program assistance work. Drafts and develops training material, procedures and protocols and implements new procedures and/or changes of administrative tasks. Prepares reports, letters and manuals regarding technical work. Maintains Branch filing, record-keeping and records management systems. Coordinates, trains, assigns, monitors and verifies the work of others. Manages the Rabies Hotline for incoming submission of rabies specimens. Drafts and/or reviews standard operating procedures regarding data entry and Rabies Hotline tasks. Consults with programs, submitters and laboratory staff. Provides assistance to branch supervisor and group managers. Based on your work area, consistently comply with DSHS Laboratory, local, state and federal guidelines to ensure a safe functioning laboratory. Performs other related work as assigned including COOP activation.

Requirements

• Knowledge of Department, Division, and Laboratory Services Section policies, regulations, and procedures and the ability to interpret them.
• Knowledge of English grammar and spelling.
• Knowledge of modern office practices and procedures and the use of office machines and equipment.
• Knowledge of public personnel administration and office management principles and ability to apply those principles.
• Knowledge of administrative support operations.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint (conference room scheduling system, DSHS policies, etc.).
• Advanced knowledge in organizational skills.
• Ability to participate in the management, plans, and direction of the Branch’s administrative personnel.
• Ability to implement administrative procedures and evaluate their effectiveness.
• Ability to understand complex oral/written directions.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals: Branch Managers, Group Managers, Team Managers, peers and subordinates, and other groups.
• Ability to participate in the direction and coordination of the work of a large group of employees engaged in a variety of tasks; to analyze and solve work problems and to make decisions and delegate authority.
• Ability to deal with stressful situations in a diplomatic and tactful manner.
• Ability to handle high-level and confidential personnel issues.
• Ability to lift, push, pull and carry packages/boxes/coolers up to 50 lbs repeatedly throughout the day; for all packages over 50 lbs, assistance is required.
• Skill in establishing priorities.
• Advanced skills in learning and adapting computer programs to specific tasks.
• Skill exercising independent judgment and being a self‑starter, flexible and working under minimum supervision.
• Skill in communicating orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner.
• Skill in prioritizing work and the ability to meet stringent deadlines.
• Experience providing customer service via phone, fax or email
• Experience with reading or editing or preparing Standard Operating Procedures
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite
• Must possess a valid Class C Texas driver's license, or equivalent license from another state.

Nice To Haves

• Prefer experience with confidential information

Responsibilities

• Serves as administrative assistant for the Specimen Acquisition Branch (SAB) Manager and also provides administrative support for Group Managers.
• Prepares, interprets and disseminates information concerning agency programs and procedures.
• Prepares, edits and distributes correspondence, reports, studies, forms, and documents for the branch.
• Handles administrative personnel activities of the branch.
• Responds to inquiries regarding rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Prepares, reviews and/or submits laboratory supply and office orders weekly/monthly or as needed to maintain branch inventory.
• Maintains Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) information for the branch.
• Maintains organizational branch chart.
• Maintains new employee information such as emergency numbers, contacts and driving eligibility.
• Consults with customers to determine needs and resolves complex problems or customer concerns.
• Performs general office duties including assisting with general human resources work.
• Participates in the development of policies and procedures used to ensure accurate and thorough communication between the support and technical staff.
• Presents procedural changes and project updates to supervisor.
• Coordinates, assigns, performs and verifies data entry of samples submitted for environmental chemistry and consumer microbiology.
• Enters complex information concerning Environmental Services Division samples and bacteriological water examination for the Consumer Microbiology Group, according to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
• Trains branch staff and data entry clerks of the Micro Demographics & Test Entry Team on data entry procedures of bacteriological water samples into Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
• Determines acceptability and appropriate billing for bacteriological water samples and assigns new submitter number, if needed.
• Notifies Revenue Management of bacteriological water submission changes or new address or assigning new submitters.
• May receive and check in bacteriological water samples.
• Conducts pre-analytical evaluations for samples according to test request(s) and has the authority to reject specimens not meeting sample acceptability requirements.
• Sorts, determines acceptability and assigns lab numbers for samples that are suitable for DSHS laboratory testing.
• Reviews and verifies accuracy of work performed by others.
• Completes and documents all required quality control (QC) steps as defined in the SOP manual.
• Distributes samples and forms to appropriate areas.
• Plans and participates in the direction of staff of the SAB performing administrative tasks.
• Implements an office management system which will ensure coordinated telephone coverage and customer service.
• Provides assistance for answering telephone calls, routing calls, taking messages and greeting visitors; contacts submitters concerning inaccurate specimen and patient information and large-scale problematic specimen quality issues.
• Develops training material, procedures and protocols and implements new procedures and/or changes for support staff.
• Trains, assigns, monitors and verifies the work of others.
• Compiles, analyzes and calculates data when composing reports and charts such as monthly/yearly totals of specimens received by the Laboratory.
• Manages the Rabies Hotline for incoming rabies specimen submissions.
• Drafts and reviews SOPs for Rabies Hotline.
• Trains, assigns, monitors and verifies the work of others related to Rabies Hotline SOP.
• Ensures branch logs and Central DSHS mailroom manifests are reconciled daily by 3 PM in accordance with pre-notification delivery time provided by submitter.
• Consults problems or difficulties with supervisor to minimize downtime or delay of specimens.
• Manages and tracks all paper flow through the Branch office.
• Develops, coordinates and maintains record keeping and filing systems.
• Organizes and participates in meetings and conferences.
• Composes, edits, types and proofreads letters, purchasing requisitions, reports and manuals using MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software utilizing desktop publishing techniques.
• Initiates changes in correspondence to assure concise, accurate terminology is utilized in explaining procedures.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Actively participating and/or serving in a supporting role to meet the agency’s obligations for disaster response and/or recovery or Continuity of Operations (COOP) activation.
• Safe operation of either a state owned vehicle or personal vehicle is required to conduct state business and an acceptable driving record must be maintained in accordance with DSHS Policy OS-3901, Fleet Operations and Management & Procedures and standards developed by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Benefits

• insurance coverage and other benefits available through the State of Texas Group Benefits Plan administered by the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED