Medicaid Communication Specialist

Texas Health & Human Services Commission•Austin, TX

4d•$4,523 - $6,500•Onsite

About The Position

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Medicaid and CHIP Services (MCS) division seeks a highly qualified candidate to fill the role of Medicaid Communication Specialist. This position will play a critical role in communication planning and message development for internal and external MCS initiatives. Working under the Director of Change Management and various project leads, the Medicaid Communication Specialist will develop clear, concise, engaging, accessible and compelling communication tailored to key audiences, including providers, clients, health plans, internal staff and other stakeholders. This role will serve as the plain-language subject-matter expert, ensuring that MCS communications are understandable, accurate, and audience-appropriate. The Medicaid Communication Specialist will manage key team processes, including drafting and editing Medicaid content, maintaining our internal SharePoint site, and monitoring, editing and routing division-wide content requests. This role will also support staff engagement and learning initiatives, including creating and delivering trainings on effective communication and content practices. This position provides biennial support for the development and publication of the Texas Medicaid and CHIP Reference Guide. During the development cycle, this work requires extensive drafting, editing and review of complex content for accuracy, completeness, consistency, plain language and adherence to AP style and established editorial guidance. The candidate must be able to follow detailed instructions and review processes, incorporate feedback accurately, and conduct thorough, detail-oriented reviews throughout the approximately nine-month development cycle. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated and a strong writer and editor who is curious about Medicaid and able to quickly develop an understanding of complex subject matter. This role requires someone who takes initiative and is confident handling multiple projects with competing deadlines, while being detail-oriented, highly organized, and committed to quality.

Requirements

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university
Two years of full-time professional experience developing and editing written communications for multiple audiences, including demonstrated experience adapting content, tone, and level of detail based on audience and purpose.
Must be available to work in person in Austin, Texas

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of or interest in: Using a variety of communication tools (email, PowerPoint, infographics, web content, handouts, video, and others).
Knowledge of or interest in: Writing and editing principles, including plain language, editing for clarity, accuracy, consistency and audience appropriateness.
Knowledge of or interest in: Medicaid and CHIP programs, with demonstrated curiosity and willingness to develop subject matter expertise in complex topics.
Skill in: Superb written and oral communication, excellent proofreading and editing, and the ability to produce high-quality work with minimal revisions.
Skill in: Researching, planning, developing, and evaluating communication materials that are relevant to diverse audiences and aligned with business objectives and strategies.
Skill in: Designing and implementing efficient processes and workflows by working backward from desired outcomes, identifying required steps, dependencies, timelines and stakeholders, and establishing systems to keep recurring and long-term work on track.
Skill in: Owning and proactively managing multiple projects from initiation through completion, balancing competing priorities, planning ahead, clarifying expectations, providing timely updates, delivering work on time, maintaining quality, and escalating issues early to prevent delays.
Ability to: Translate direction and high-level objectives into actionable work plans and deliverables, independently advancing work while seeking clarification when needed.
Ability to: Work independently and collaboratively in an evolving, fast-paced environment, demonstrating sound judgement, adaptability, openness to feedback, attention to detail, and the ability to meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
Ability to: Adapting tone and writing style across formal, technical, conversational and feature-style communications based on audience, purpose and channel.
Ability to: Develop subject matter expertise in complex Medicaid and CHIP programs and communicate technical information in ways that are accurate, engaging and accessible for a variety of audiences.
Ability to: Think critically, plan ahead, identify questions, see hidden problems, look beyond the obvious, anticipate impacts and respond accordingly.

Responsibilities

Develop, write and edit clear, concise, accurate, and audience-appropriate Medicaid content, including articles, PowerPoint presentations, web content, newsletter content, training materials, and other communications (20%)
Review and refine MCS content, including print and web content, media and audiovisual communications, for clarity, accuracy, plain language, editorial style and brand guide compliance, and translate technical information into engaging, audience-appropriate communication (20%)
Support staff engagement initiatives and internal communication, including drafting and reviewing content for our internal newsletter and website (15%)
Collaborate with MCS program areas to ensure alignment on communication objectives, timelines and deliverables that meet quality standards (15%)
Support updates and maintenance of the internal MCS SharePoint, including organizing information logically and developing a process for ongoing content management (10%)
Advise and collaborate with MCS team members on content planning, messaging and the development of communications that resonate with multiple audiences (10%)
Educate MCS staff on best practices related to developing strategic content through the creation of toolkits, templates, trainings and other activities (5%)
Other projects as assigned (5%)