Program Specialist I, Grade 18

About the Position

Please note: The salary range above represents the earning potential for this position. The anticipated hiring range for this position will be $64,104 to $89,079, based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

WHO WE ARE

Montgomery County is located adjacent to Washington, D.C., and, with over one million residents, is the most populous County in the State of Maryland. The County is also the most diverse County in the State and ranks among the top ten most diverse Counties in the nation. Montgomery County is home to many major U.S. government offices, scientific research and learning centers, and business campuses. The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for delivering the County’s public health and human services to meet the needs of our community’s most vulnerable children, adults, and seniors. The Department provides services through more than 120 programs at more than 20 locations. With over 2,000 employees, the Department of Health and Human Services is the largest County Department. As a department, we believe the county's health and wellness can only be achieved by ensuring that every resident has fair opportunities to reach their fullest potential. This means access to quality housing, transportation, education, employment, health care, human services, safe neighborhoods, and healthy food. HHS provides critical services to residents facing a variety of obstacles to achieving their full potential. HHS plays an essential role in building a healthy and strong community.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The Crisis Center is currently recruiting for an enthusiastic and conscientious Program Specialist to join our team as a primary data analyst. The right individual for this position will have a strong background in data analytics, be detail-oriented, and be able to work independently to meet deadlines for data-reporting mandates. Self-motivated individuals who would enjoy working in a dynamic, multi-disciplinary environment are encouraged to apply. This position will require a combination of remote and on-site work, particularly during the onboarding/orientation period. What You'll Be Doing

• Collect, clean, and validate Crisis Call Center, Crisis Center walk-in, and Mobile Crisis Outreach Team service utilization data.
• Collaborate with Crisis Center managerial and frontline staff to understand data needs
• Ensure compliance with privacy, security and data-governance requirements
• Prepare and submit monthly, quarterly, annual or as-needed data reports to state and local entities
• Identify and communicate any trends in internal data collection
• Attend any related meetings, workgroups, or committees tasked with improving efficiency, transparency and accuracy in data collection.
• Perform related duties as required.

Additional Information:

Medical and Background: Selected candidates for this position will be subject to a pre-employment medical exam, drug screening, and criminal records check through the Maryland State Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.Minimum Qualifications Experience: One (1) year of professional experience collecting, validating, analyzing, and reporting data for program operations, performance measurement, quality improvement, or compliance purposes. Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree. Equivalency: Unless otherwise stipulated, an equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted. Medical exam protocol: This position requires completion of a pre-employment medical history form to assess your ability to safely perform the essential duties of the role.Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences

1. Please provide background experience in data analysis, data visualization and interpretation, program evaluation and/or process involvement in an academic, data administration or business data analytics environment
2. Describe experience working within a healthcare or behavioral health setting
3. Describe experience working with electronic health records systems and with PHI
4. Describe experience collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams
5. Describe experience generating systematic data reports for Federal, state, or local entities

Interview selection will be based on the following interview preference criteria:

1. Experience working within governmental agencies
2. Experience working with electronic health record systems/PHI
3. Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams
4. Experience completing data reports for compliance with Federal, state or local mandates
5. Strong communicator and ability to work independently and to meet deadlines

Benefits

Leave Benefits

Our generous leave package starts with non-MLS permanent and term employees earning 15 days of sick leave and 15 days of annual leave in their first year, as well as up to three additional personal days each calendar year. Positions in MLS earn 35 days of paid time off each year. In addition, we offer all employees 10 paid holidays. Our leave policies adhere to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, and we provide six weeks of paid parental leave for new parents.

Retirement Benefits

All permanent and term positions are eligible for robust retirement plans. Public safety positions are eligible for a defined benefit pension plan in which they are vested after only five years. Employees in non-public safety positions can participate in retirement plans that contribute up to 12 percent of their annual salary. All employees can also participate in a supplemental retirement plan, the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, to contribute even more to their retirement goals.

Tuition Assistance & Student Loan Forgiveness

Montgomery County employees are eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Participants who meet all requirements may qualify for forgiveness on the remaining balance on their Direct Loans after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time in a qualifying public service position. To learn more about PSLF, please visit the Student Loan Repayment Benefits page. Our tuition assistance program allows you to receive up to $2,130 annually in tuition assistance to help you achieve a degree that supports your career path.

Free Mass Transit Benefit

County employees are entitled to use the RideOn Bus service for free with a valid County-employee ID. This benefit can be used any time of the day or evening, including weekends. We also offer a pre-tax flexible spending account to reduce the cost of other mass-transit options such as MARC trains and Metro.

Reduced Child and Health Care Costs

Working for Montgomery County also entitles permanent and term employees to participate in healthcare and childcare Flexible Spending Accounts. These plans allow eligible employees to save on a pretax basis for healthcare and dependent care costs incurred during the plan year.

Employee Wellbeing

We deeply care about your holistic wellness. Our award-winning wellness program, LiveWell, will support you in improving and maintaining your physical, mental, financial, social, and intellectual well-being.

Learn more about our wonderful benefits available to you once you join our team. Montgomery County Benefits

Checking and Understanding Your Application Status: Your current application status is always available on GovernmentJobs.com. Learn what your application status means and review our FAQs here.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at Hiring@montgomerycountymd.gov. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.Members of Montgomery County Boards, Committees, and Commissions who are pursuing permanent employment should seek advice from the Ethics Commission.