Risk and Safety Specialist

Full-time - Entry Level

San Benito, CA

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

About the position

Under general supervision, to provide staff support to the Human Resource Department in the coordination of county wide safety programs, insurance benefits, workers' compensation; to perform safety inspections; to coordinate safety training; to develop and maintain records on safety, accidents, injuries, and claims; to provide technical support to Administrative Office professional staff; and perform related work as required. The Risk and Safety Specialist is a technical, para-professional level classification utilized in the Administrative Office under general supervision of the Deputy County Administrative Officer and/or their designee. Incumbents will perform routine duties relating to the County's risk management, insurance, liability, and worker's compensation programs and will be responsible for establishing objectives, timelines, and methods to execute various risk programs. Incumbents are expected to provide technical assistance, support and resources relating to employee benefit and risk management programs. Incumbents work with considerable independence within an established framework of policy and procedure and carry out technical-level risk and benefits administration duties with a high consequence of error.

Responsibilities

• Assists in the coordination, developing and monitoring of the County insurance programs and policies, including employee benefits, workers' compensation, disability, Affordable Care Act, general liability, risk management, safety and other County insurance programs, as assigned.
• Conducts a variety of safety inspections throughout the County, ensuring compliance with Federal and State safety regulations and standards.
• Receives and makes initial assessment of insurance claims and makes recommendations as needed.
• Participates in joint powers authority safety program and attends joint powers authority safety meetings.
• Works closely with third party administrators on risk management and safety-related issues.
• Acts as a liaison between the County and employees, administrators and providers regarding insurance programs and benefits administration.
• Coordinates the processing of workers' compensation claims for submission to a third-party claims administrator.
• Ensures accurate and timely coordination of workers' compensation claims.
• May coordinate and/or schedule worker's compensation interviews and depositions as needed.
• Evaluates workstation ergonomics, developing recommendations and assists employees with making needed changes.
• Conducts interactive process meetings.
• Conducts investigations of reports of incident hazards and County property damage as needed.
• Coordinates open enrollment of health insurance, Section 125 Plan (flexible spending) and other insurance or employee benefit programs.
• Independently prepares correspondence and reports.
• Develops and coordinates special programs to promote employee safety and welfare.
• Trains County employees and departments on workers' compensation, workplace safety and other related topics, as assigned.
• Oversees the Affordable Care Act requirements.
• Responsible for the preparation and distribution of minutes of meetings related to County's health insurance meetings or committees.
• May coordinate and oversee the County's vehicle license policy and Pull Notice programs.
• May assist in Request for Proposal (RFP) process within areas of program responsibility related to employee benefits and insurance.
• Acts as County liaison between departments, medical providers and employees in scheduling non-industrial Fitness for Duty examinations and ensures all appropriate paperwork and medical records are submitted in a timely manner, at the County level.
• Coordinates and ensures appropriate processing of Industrial Disability retirements.
• In case of employee death, completes and submits death notification forms to appropriate agencies and notifies dependents of potential benefits.
• Serves as a resource on safety issues.
• Networks with a variety of groups, including employees of the County, vendors, third-party administrators and various committees on safety issues.
• Provides technical support to Administrative Office professional staff.
• May assist in other clerical and front office/desk reception duties in the Administrative Office.
• Completes special assignments and projects as needed.
• Assists in preparation of risk/insurance-related aspects of the departmental budget.

Requirements

• Equivalent to graduation from the twelfth grade.
• Two years of responsible clerical/technical public contact experience involving risk management, worker's compensation, benefits, insurance or claims administration, or workplace safety; OR Three years of full-time experience performing complex technical or clerical work including explaining policies, regulations, and procedures, checking documents for accuracy and conformance with established guidelines, performing data entry, and processing forms and records.
• Completion of one year (30 semester units) or more college coursework in business, human resources, risk management, public administration, or a closely related field may be substituted for up to one year of the required experience.
• Possession of a valid California operator's license issued by the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles at the time of appointment.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience working as a San Benito County Department Safety Representative (DSR) or with an outside agency safety program in the capacity of as a DSR (or equivalent) coordinating and providing training for employees.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Retirement plans
• Paid time off
• Training and development opportunities