Description

Here at the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA), we are passionate about our mission of “Serving Those Who Served.” As a national leader in our advocacy for more than 500,000 veterans and their family members, we strive to connect them to earned benefits as well as innovative programs focused on their overall health and wellness.

We are in need of a Program Specialist 3 for our Enhancement Program and the Olympia Service Center. In this role, you will coordinate all aspects of the Enhancement Program by providing training, technical assistance and specialized consultation to program participants. In addition, you will be responsible for ensuring that interagency information provided on Medicaid client eligibility for veteran benefits is kept up to date by conducting research of eligibility through the VA SHARE and ACES WEB based programs.

Your ability to maintain an open line of communication with other agencies such as the Health Care Authority, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal VA will be critical. You'll also be relied upon for your ability to create complex comprehensive monthly and quarterly reports, summaries, recommendations and progress.

We are looking for someone with strong public speaking skills and the ability to address veterans advocate groups concerning current rules, regulations, changes and trends in the veterans’ benefit domain. Do you want to make a difference by ensuring veterans and their family members are receiving the maximum level of assistance and benefits to which they are entitled? If so, then bring your passion and skills to our team by applying now!

Duties

Some of what you'll be doing includes:

• Preparation of complex comprehensive monthly and quarterly reports, summaries, and recommendations.
• Coordinating, analyzing and implementing operational policies and procedures for all aspects of the Enhancement Program process.
• Maintaining all program related tasks, procedures, tracking and reporting requirements; Ensuring that all program objectives and performance measures are met.
• Serve as a liaison for the Enhancement Program and the Health Care Authority; coordinates activities of related programs and services with agencies such as the Federal VA, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Provide case management activities to veterans and their families by directly interacting with them to conduct assessments to identify claims needs.
• Provide guidance for medical care providers and other government agencies to ensure those veterans and their family members are receiving maximum level of assistance and benefits to which they are entitled.
• Maintain a working relationship with veterans’ organizations staff regarding federal and state programs and services.
• Perform field informational sessions and conducts field visits to clients when necessary.
• Participate in inter agency training sessions, and public speaking events to address rules, regulations, changes and trends in the veterans, benefits domain; support stand-downs and job fairs.
• Provides supervision of Veterans Benefits Specialists and other staff; overseeing productivity.
• Ensuring that VA Claims are properly developed and submitted to the VA Regional office for adjudication in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Required:

• Two (2) years of experience as a Veterans Benefit Specialist 2 in State service

OR

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, counseling, social science or closely allied field from an accredited institution whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or foreign equivalent.

OR

• One (1) year of experience providing benefits information, claims or employment assistance to veterans and their family members.

Please Note: Additional qualifying experience may be substituted, year for year, for education.

Desired:

• The ability to maintain confidentiality in dealing with sensitive issues and clients.
• Ability to work well with clients and provide viable options for their needs.
• Experience explaining policies, rules, benefits and entitlements to clients and customers.
• Ability to make presentations and perform public speaking on veteran's programs and services.
• Advanced level experience with Excel spreadsheets, formula applications and report template design and repairing mail merges.
• Ability to develop reports for agency and staff.

Supplemental Information

Application Process:
The top candidates will be contacted directly to interview for this position. Because the selection will be based on information provided by you, it is in your best interest to identify the knowledge, skills and abilities that address the mandatory and desirable qualifications described below.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. A letter of interest describing specific qualifications.
2. A current resume detailing applicable experience and education.

Finalists will be asked to provide a list of at least three professional references with current telephone numbers.

Other Information:

• State employees must be fully vaccinated. Your vaccine status will be verified at New Employee Orientation.
• Must be able to pass criminal background check performance by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in order to become an Accredited Veteran Service Organization Representative and obtain access to VA and DOD data systems.
• Valid Washington State Driver’s License.

Applicants wishing to claim Veterans Preference should attach a copy of their DD-214 (Member 4 copy), NGB 22, or signed verification of service letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to their application. Please blackout any personally identifiable data such as social security numbers. For further information please contact us at: recruiters@dva.wa.gov.
Here at YOUR Washington Department of Veterans Affairs our employees come from all walks of life. We strive to hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

We believe in the importance of recognizing the value each of us contribute to the success of the mission of the agency. Having a diverse workforce is this agency’s greatest resource of strength and knowledge. It is through the combination of talents and abilities that we can pursue finding effective measures on how we can provide the best customer service. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone.

The State of Washington is an equal opportunity employer. Persons with a disability who need assistance in the application process or testing process, or those needing this announcement in an alternative format, may call (360) 725-2183. TTY users should first call 711 to access the Washington Relay Service.

You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials and we will honor this as you interact with our award-winning diverse and inclusive organization.

If you have any questions regarding this announcement, program, or the agency please contact Ashley Harris at recruiters@dva.wa.gov .