Appeals Officer (Promotional)

YOU MUST BE AN ALAMEDA COUNTY EMPLOYEE TO APPLY
THIS IS A NEW PROMOTIONAL ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended. Current employment and completion by (x/x/xx), of the equivalent of six months of continuous service following a regular appointment in the Alameda County classified service (non-classified includes the District Attorney’s Office, the Medical Center, and the Superior Court).  A regular appointment does not include provisional, TAP (Temporary Assignment Pool), or STEP-UP appointments. 

 

Supplemental Questionnaire:  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Postmarks are not accepted.  Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

The Alameda County Social Services Agency is comprised of 2,400 men and women working collectively and in partnership with community-based organizations to serve the needs of the community. Services are provided through five departments: Agency Administration and Finance, Adult, Aging and Medical Services, Children and Family Services, Workforce and Benefit Administration and Policy Office.

The Agency assists approximately 11.3 percent of Alameda County's residents. Benefits programs contribute over $278 million to the local economy through cash assistance and CalFresh (formerly known as Food Stamps). Every month, more than 52,000 people receive CalWORKs (assistance for families with children), CalFresh and General Assistance. Every month health insurance is made available to more than 78,000 people through the Medi-Cal program. More than 11,000 frail, elderly and disabled individuals receive in-home care, adult protection and support managing their affairs monthly and 16,000 seniors will receive services through the Area Agency on Aging throughout the year. Three thousand and seven hundred children are in foster care. More than 1,600 reports of child abuse or neglect are filed with SSA each month. Emergency shelter is made available to 415 people nightly.

The Appeals Officer is responsible for reviewing welfare case records when clients or applicants have appealed an action taken by the Social Services Agency relating to Benefits programs.

 

IDEAL CANDIDATE

 

In addition to the minimum qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will have a strong history of demonstrated expertise in the following areas:

 

§  Effective communication, both written and oral

§  Establishing  and maintaining cooperative working relationships with culturally diverse employees and clients

§  Negotiation and problem resolution

§  Interpreting and/or explaining State and Federal regulations and procedures to legal representatives, employees and clients

§  Maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information.

 

Either I

Experience:

The equivalent of two years full-time experience in the class of Supervising Eligibility Technician in the Social Services Agency.

Or II

The equivalent of three years full-time experience in the class of Quality Assurance Technician, Employment Counselor or Eligibility Technician III in the Social Services Agency.

Or III

Education:

Possession of a Bachelor's Degree in a social science from an accredited college or university AND

Experience:

The equivalent of two years of full time experience representing clients or an agency as an advocate of recognized programs/functions that affect the economic or social advancement of low income clientele. (Additional experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year for year basis.)

License or Certificates:

Some positions in this class require a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's license.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge:

• Federal and State welfare regulations and County policies and procedures.
• Social Services Agency staff and their functions and those of other relevant agencies.
• Social Services Agency programs and other relevant programs.

Ability to:

• Read and interpret complex State and Federal regulations and Agency procedures.
• Synthesize large amounts of information.
• Work with legal information.
• Use correct English grammar and composition in speaking and writing.
• Interview claimants, witnesses and others.
• Represent the Agency and speak effectively before hearing officers and others.
• Use analytical judgment.
• Organize work and keep adequate records.
• Negotiate and resolve conflicts.
• Make sound decisions and execute them.
• Use computer programs to research information.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) A written test which will be pass/fail. Those candidates scoring highest on the written test will move on to the next step in the examination process.  4) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.  CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.  We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

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Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing:                                                                                                                              August 27, 2013

Review of Minimum Qualifications:                                                                                         September 13, 2013

Written Examination:                                                                                                                 September 30, 2013

Panel Interviews:                                                                                                              week of October 21, 2013

 

 

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statues.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website,

www.acgov.org/hrs

 

 

 

 

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Represented management employees are entitled up to three additional days of management paid leave. Unrepresented management employees are entitled up to seven days of management paid

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

 

Ione Bell, Human Resources Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

510-272-6456