Program Specialist 2 - Professional Certification Office

State of Washington•Thurston County – Olympia, WA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is seeking multiple Program Specialist 2 professionals to join our growing Professional Certification Office team. These full-time permanent roles are based in Olympia, Washington. After completing training, employees may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule that includes partial telework. This position requires regular on-site work and is not eligible for full-time remote work. During the initial training period, successful candidates will be required to work in the office five days a week. OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K–12 education in Washington state. Working with the 295 public school districts and 7 state-tribal education compact schools, OSPI allocates funding and provides tools, resources, and technical assistance so that every student in Washington receives a high-quality public education. OSPI is committed to its work but values the balance with personal lives and demonstrates this commitment by providing an environment that fosters professional growth and values employee expertise. OSPI has several initiatives to help create a great working environment, including supporting a healthy work/life balance with flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile/telework options, offering a tuition assistance policy and supporting employees seeking tuition waivers, and having an Infant at Work Program. OSPI values and is actively involved in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion through a cross-divisional, collaborative committee. The agency's vision is for all students to be prepared for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement. The mission is to transform K-12 education to a system centered on closing opportunity gaps and characterized by high expectations for all students and educators, achieved by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities. The agency's values include Ensuring Equity, Collaboration and Service, Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement, and Focus on the Whole Child.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or 4 years of customer service experience in an education, administrative, or office setting. Year-for-year experience may substitute for education.
Experience showing a high standard of professionalism and customer service in all interactions
Experience organizing and prioritizing necessary workloads.
Experience working both independently and collaboratively within a team.
Experience answering a high volume of phone calls and responding to emails for extended periods.
Experience with Microsoft Office Applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.)
Must reside in the state of Washington
Must be able to work from OSPI’s Olympia, WA Office.
Minimal travel will be required
Must be able to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and maintain excellent attendance.

Nice To Haves

1 year of experience in educator certification or other education-related work.

Responsibilities

Provides customer service for the certification department by answering phone calls, assisting in-person visitors, and responding to emails and voicemails.
Answers incoming customer phone calls and responds to or takes messages for certification specialists.
Reads and responds, clearly and concisely, to emails from stakeholders regarding the status of applications and questions about Washington state certification, helping to identify certification requirements and clarifying certification processes.
Responds to in-person requests by guiding the completion and submission of applications and corresponding documents.
Corresponds with districts and school personnel on certification policies, procedures, and status of certification applications.
Independently resolves stakeholder problems by identifying issues, determining procedural steps necessary for resolution, working with stakeholders and Certification staff to implement a solution, then communicating results to the stakeholder.
Assists stakeholders with understanding RCW and WAC requirements for Washington state educator certification.
Provides technical assistance to stakeholders navigating the E-Certification system, including issues with the EDS sign-in, online applications, and other general account information concerns.
Responds to stakeholder questions on the phone by using a multi-line phone system.
Is attentive to stakeholders that may come to the agency for assistance.
Accesses and uses the Outlook system to review, research, and respond to customers’ certification questions by email.
Coordinates with other Program Specialists to respond to all emails and voicemails within 24 hours.
Collaborates with all Professional Certification department representatives using advanced communication skills and the ability to find information to serve stakeholder needs best.
Assists the supervisory team in the training of new Program Specialist personnel.
Assists the supervisory team in training new hires as part of the multi-week training schedule.
Assists the supervisory team by showing new hires the breakdown of weekly Program Specialist duties.
Works directly with new hires to complete instructional phone calls, while still providing stakeholders with assistance.
Assists in the continued growth of new hires after successful completion of the training period.
Completes certification duties related to partner specialist’s needs and specialization area of focus, while managing and maintaining stakeholder records.
Creates and manages educator profiles and maintains the integrity of educator data and information while delivering specialized certification services.
Receives, reviews, and logs into the database all incoming certification applications and additional documentation.
Checks applications for completeness, reviewing additional documents for certification type and authenticity.
Scans additional materials into E-Certification that are mailed, emailed, or brought into the Professional Certification department.
Receives fees and logs fee information into the E-Certification system, sending deficiency notices if necessary for incorrect and returned fees.
Manages own queue of previously reviewed applications completed by partner evaluator and issues certificates after fulfillment of outstanding deficiencies.
Reviews specialization area of focus webpages, forms, and other certificate-related materials for accuracy, recommending updates when needed.
With partner specialist, creates informational documents to be used at presentations and other field events.
Participates in meetings regarding implementation of new RCWs and WACs under the direction of the partner specialist and other staff within area of focus.
Acts as office’s secondary program expert in support of specialization area of focus.
Opens, receives, and logs in documentation received by mail and all fiscal information received from the Fiscal Department.
Accesses and scans educator information into E-Certification.
Completes certificate verifications upon request by educator or other state agency.
Retrieves educator transcripts and other application materials from online resources and loads them to educator online profiles.
Responsible for the processing and management of specialized educator documentation that is held in online systems, microfiche, physical documents, and other digital formats.
Works with supervisory team on the management of forms and records necessary for program operation.
Self-monitors daily and weekly tasks, adjusting when necessary to achieve program goals.
Assists the Certification team in promoting the Certification Department to external institutions, organizations, and the public.
Assists Certification leadership team and other Certification program personnel in presentations and public events.
Represents the department and the agency at field events and meetings with internal and external partners as a secondary program expert for the specialization area.
Participates in various certification information presentations to districts and the public.
Assists in other field events attended or sponsored by certification program personnel.
Works with the supervisory team and other certification program staff to identify opportunities for improvement in customer service.
Identifies opportunity gaps in current office policy and processes that may be negatively affecting customer service levels.
Formulates potential solutions for areas of opportunity and presents to supervisory team with supporting evidence for evaluation.
Identifies areas of service that need review for potential negative impacts to diverse and underserved populations.
Researches concerns regarding policy and procedures currently in place and presents information to supervisory team for further conversation and analysis of potential issues.
Works within the certification team to implement changes for positive effects on policy/procedure and effective workflow.
Tracks information regarding changes to ensure that implemented changes are making the desired impact.