Office Associate II - job 2 of 2

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

Opening Date: June 6, 2023

Closing Date: June 20, 2023

Job Class Code: 6542
Grade: 13 (Administrative Services)
Salary: $15.85-$21.93/per hour*

• New State employees begin at Step 1, $15.85/hour

Position Number: 02000-2675 & 02022-7665

The Office Associate II positions in DSER are full-time Monday-Friday, 8-5. Partial telework schedule may be available with management approval.

Job duties:

The Office Associate II is a paraprofessional position providing administrative support in a Child Support Office. Duties can vary and include, but are not limited to:

• Processing administrative documents and assisting with processing legal documents, which may include wage attachments, license revocation, passport denial and placing/releasing motor vehicle liens
• Communicating with parents, answering questions, and providing information about the child support program
• Managing and prioritizing correspondence/contacts, including electronic and hard mail, addressing time sensitive mail promptly

• Telephone Customer Service
• Building cases and managing contact with individuals applying for child support services
• Document imaging and indexing
• Scheduling genetic testing
• Assisting with general office duties

Minimum Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, you must have training, education, or experience in office and administrative support work that demonstrates 1) competency in applying a solid knowledge of modern office practices to perform complex, varied office support tasks; and 2) the ability to use independent decision making on the appropriate processes to follow, information to process, and actions to take in accordance with standard procedures.

Note: Applicants are subject to pre-employment screening including verification of minimum qualifications, application information, employment history, and references. Conditional offers are made to selected candidates who must successfully complete a pre-employment, fingerprint-based criminal history record check.

Agency information:

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is dedicated to promoting health, safety, resilience, and opportunity for Maine people. The Department provides health and social services to approximately a third of the State's population, including children, families, older Mainers, and individuals with disabilities, mental illness, and substance use disorders. The Department also promotes public health, operates two state psychiatric hospitals, and provides oversight to health care providers.

The Office for Family Independence, Division of Support Enforcement & Recovery (DSER) is responsible for the development and implementation of the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures necessary to ensure that all non-custodial parents are contributing to the economic support of their children. Responsibilities include establishing paternity, locating non-custodial parents, establishing and enforcing child support orders and representing the Department’s interest in the Maine District Court in matters pertaining to child support. The Division of Support Enforcement & Recovery has offices located statewide in Biddeford, Sanford, Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, Rockland, Bangor, Ellsworth & Caribou. This position requires occasional travel.

Application Information:

For additional information about this position, please contact Helen St. Pierre (207) 624-6986

VACANCIES ARE LISTED BY LOCATION for 2 weeks on the State of Maine Career Page. During the recruitment period, please apply online, submitting a resume and cover letter describing your skills as expert, skilled or novice in the following areas:

• Outlook, Excel, MS Word and comparable word processing/spreadsheet applications;
• Data Entry (entering data and narratives)
• Written and Verbal Communications, including keyboarding & telephone skills;
• Customer Service;
• Teamwork

Please Submit all documents or files in a PDF or Word format.

To request a paper application, please contact Ashley.Smith@Maine.gov .

Benefits

No matter where you work across Maine state government, you find employees who embody our state motto—"Dirigo" or "I lead"—as they provide essential services to Mainers every day. We believe in supporting our workforce's health and wellbeing with a valuable total compensation package, including:

• Work-Life Balance – Rest is essential. Take time for yourself using 13 paid holidays, 12 days of sick leave, and 3+ weeks of vacation leave annually. Vacation leave accrual increases with years of service, and overtime-exempt employees receive personal leave.
• Health Insurance Coverage – The State of Maine pays 85%-100% of employee-only premiums ($10,150.80-$11,942.16 annual value), depending on salary. Use this chart to find the premium costs for you and your family, including the percentage of dependent coverage paid by the State.

• Health Insurance Premium Credit – Participation decreases employee-only premiums by 5%. Visit the Office of Employee Health and Wellness for more information about program requirements.

• Dental Insurance – The State of Maine pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums ($350.40 annual value).

• Retirement Plan – The State of Maine contributes 13.16% of pay to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS), on behalf of the employee.
• Gym Membership Reimbursement – Improve overall health with regular exercise and receive up to $40 per month to offset this expense.
• Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts – Set aside money pre-tax to help pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses and/or daycare expenses.
• Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness – The State of Maine is a qualified employer for this federal program. For more information, visit the Federal Student Aid office.
• Living Resources Program – Navigate challenging work and life situations with our employee assistance program.

• Parental leave is one of the most important benefits for any working parent. All employees who are welcoming a child—including fathers and adoptive parents—receive four weeks of fully paid parental leave. Additional, unpaid leave may also be available, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Voluntary Deferred Compensation – Save additional pre-tax funds for retirement in a MaineSaves 457(b) account through payroll deductions.
• Learn about additional wellness benefits for State employees from the Office of Employee Health and Wellness.

There's a job and then there's purposeful, transformative work. Our aim is to create a workplace where you can learn, grow, and continuously refine your skills. Applicants demonstrate job requirements in differing ways, and we appreciate that many skills and backgrounds can make people successful in this role.

As an Equal Opportunity employer, Maine State Government embraces a culture of respect and awareness. We are committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all team members, and our process ensures an inclusive environment to applicants of all backgrounds including diverse race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, familial status or genetics.

If you’re looking for a great next step, and want to feel good about what you do, we’d love to hear from you. Please note reasonable accommodations are provided to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.

Thinking about applying?

Research shows that people from historically excluded communities tend to apply to jobs only when they check every box in the posting. If you’re currently reading this and hesitating to apply for that reason, we encourage you to go for it! Let us know how your lived experience and passion set you apart.