Occ. Code 6681520
MINORITY BUSINESS SPECIALIST 2, GRADE 23
New York State Department of Civil Service
Classification Standard
NATURE OF WORK
Minority Business Specialists 2 develop and direct programs designed to encourage, facilitate, and monitor the participation of minority and women‑owned businesses in providing goods and services for publicly‑funded projects, programs, and agencies.
These positions are found in several State agencies.
CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA AND DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Minority Business Specialist 2 positions are characterized by developing, implementing, and directing an agency's minority business participation program, including developing and directing an outreach and assistance program to increase the participation of minority owned businesses in publicly‑funded programs and projects, monitoring the compliance of the agency, grantees, and contractors with program requirements, developing policies, procedures, and reporting requirements, and supervising lower level Minority Business Specialists.
Minority Business Specialists 2 are responsible for smaller Minority Business Programs and supervise Minority Business Specialists 1 assigned to the Minority Business Program. Minority Business Specialists 2 are supervised by higher level positions in the Director of Affirmative Action Programs title series who provide program and policy direction and general supervision of the minority business program.
The Minority Business Specialist title series is distinguished from the Compliance Specialist title series by the latter classes' primary activity of monitoring the employment and training practices of contractors, subcontractors, consultants, unions, and public and private not‑for‑profit organizations, which receive public funds for goods and services, to assure that they comply with State and Federal Equal Employment Opportunity statutes, rules, regulations, and policies.
Positions in the Affirmative Action Administrator title series develop, implement, and monitor affirmative action programs for an agency's work force.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES, TASKS, AND ASSIGNMEMTS
Plans and directs the Minority Business Program for an agency and grantees and local governments receiving project or program funds controlled by the agency.
- Consults with minority organizations and businesses, community leaders, and agency staff to identify barriers inhibiting minority businesses and organizations from competing for government contracts or funding for goods and services.
- Evaluates contract and consultant requirements, policies, and procedures to determine if requirements are unnecessarily restrictive and inhibit minority businesses from competition and, based on findings, recommends changes to facilitate minority business participation.
- Develops and revises manuals, procedures, policies, standards, guidelines, and reporting formats for the program.
- Reviews and interprets existing and revised laws, rules, regulations, and policies and assures that the agency and local governments, grantees, and other fund recipients comply with them.
- Prepares periodic reports of program activities for the agency and other State and Federal agencies.
- Coordinates program activities within the agency and with State, Federal, and local agencies.
- Represents the program with the Legislature, other government agencies and private organizations.
- Evaluates staff reports and determines actions needed to improve minority business participation in projects or programs, including determining sanctions against non‑complying grantees, contractors, and businesses and meeting with them to discuss and negotiate solutions to effect compliance.
Supervises and directs an outreach program, to increase minority business participation in publicly‑funded projects and programs.
- Assists community organizations and businesses in the development of organizational structures and businesses capable of competing for contracts.
- Identifies funding and technical resources available for minority businesses and assists businesses and groups in applying for funds.
- Coordinates and participates in meetings with State and local agencies, community organizations, and government officials to encourage, promote, and assist them in locating and using minority owned businesses.
- Provides technical assistance and advice to minority owned businesses about bonding, financing, estimating, packaging, and other technical matters.
- Designs payment schedules to minimize cash flow problems of minority owned businesses.
- Assists municipalities in developing goals and timetables for contracting with minority owned businesses.
- Administers training seminars for local governments, grantees, contractors, and minority businesses.
Supervises subordinate staff.
- Interviews and selects employees for appointment in the program.
- Plans work schedules and assigns staff to meet schedules.
- Assigns staff to field reviews and special projects.
- Trains staff and provides periodic retraining as programs or the mandates governing them change.
- Evaluates staff performance to assess strengths and weaknesses, determine individual and group training needs, and counsel individuals about individual performance standards and how they should meet them.
- Reviews work activities and reports and assists staff in resolving problems and developing alternative actions or solutions to problems.
- Interprets laws, rules, regulations, and policy for staff and assures that staff comply with these.
Monitors the agency's purchase of services and goods to assure that minority businesses are participating in bidding and are awarded contracts; investigates noncompliance and develops and implements methods, procedures, and policies to insure participation.
May perform, direct and/or supervise a combination of tasks and activities described in the standard for Minority Business Specialist 1, Compliance Specialist, and/or Affirmative Action Administrator/ Director.
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
Minority Business Specialists 2 have frequent oral and written communications with representatives of Federal, State, and local agencies, grantees, consultants, contractors, minority owned businesses, public and private not‑for‑profit organizations, and agency business and program management staff to coordinate program activities, explain and promote the program, provide technical assistance and advice about the program and its requirements, investigate and resolve problems, interpret statutes, policies, rules, and regulations, evaluate program effectiveness and participant compliance, and exchange information. Incumbents must exercise tact and diplomacy to gain acceptance and support for the minority business program, negotiate and resolve problems, and encourage compliance; and be sensitive to the needs of protected class members.
Minority Business Specialists 2 supervise lower level Minority Business Specialists and administrative support staff by reviewing work for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with program requirements; evaluating performance; training; establishing program priorities, interpreting policies, procedures, laws, rules, and regulations; and resolving complex problems. As assigned, Minority Business Specialists 2 may supervise lower level Compliance Specialists and Affirmative Action Administrators.
Minority Business Specialists 2 are supervised by higher level Directors of Affirmative Action Programs who review program operations, evaluate program effectiveness, and provide general direction and advice.
- Good knowledge of Federal and State laws, rules, regulations, policies, and Executive Orders governing minority business programs.
- Good knowledge of the standards and procedures used in evaluating programs and determining compliance or noncompliance.
- Working knowledge of the agency's purchasing, contract, consultant selection, and grant programs.
- Working knowledge of contract and grant provisions governing the program.
- Working knowledge of the principles of supervision.
- Working knowledge of program planning and work scheduling.
- Basic knowledge of State purchasing, bidding, and contract requirements.
- Ability to establish satisfactory relationships with others and establish rapport with a variety of groups and individuals.
- Ability to train and supervise subordinate staff.
- Ability to prepare, evaluate, and interpret narrative and statistical reports describing and documenting findings.
- Ability to develop and evaluate programs, policies, and procedures.
- Ability to select, from a variety of alternatives, the most effective methods of gaining minority business participation and compliance or sanctions appropriate to findings.
- Ability to establish program priorities.
Promotion: One year of permanent service as a Minority Business Specialist 1, Affirmative Action Administrator 1, or Compliance Specialist 1.
Open‑Competitive: Five years of experience in the planning, development, implementation, and review of programs dealing with equal employment opportunity, human rights, affirmative action, minority business program coordination, affirmative action compliance review, labor relations directly relating to affirmative action, or in the development and administration of programs directly related to minority community access to employment or business opportunities in the public and private sector. One year of this experience must have been in a management or supervisory capacity. Graduate and undergraduate credits may be substituted for experience, on the basis of 30 credit hours for each six months of experience.
NOTE: Classification Standards illustrate the nature, extent and scope of duties and responsibilities of the classes they describe. Standards cannot and do not include all of the work that might be appropriately performed by a class. The minimum qualifications above are those which were required for appointment at the time the Classification Standard was written. Please contact the Division of Staffing Services for current information on minimum qualification requirements for appointment or examination.
Reviewed: 3/03