Social Services Specialist (Head Start)

Job Overview

Performs information gathering and dissemination duties to assist in determining client eligibility to receive benefits under public social services programs.

 

Salary

Minimum: $34,320.00- 44,616.00

 

Core Competencies

• Customer Commitment - Proactively seeks to understand the needs of the customers and provide the highest standards of service.
• Dedication to Professionalism and Integrity - Demonstrates and promotes fair, honest, professional and ethical behaviors that establishes trust throughout the organization and with the public we serve.
• Organizational Excellence - Takes ownership for excellence through one's personal effectiveness and dedication to the continuous improvement of our operations.
• Success through Teamwork - Collaborates and builds partnerships through trust and the open exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives to achieve organizational goals.

Tier 1

Duties and Responsibilities

Note: The following duties are illustrative and not exhaustive. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. Depending on assigned area of responsibility, incumbents in the position may perform some or all of the activities described below.

• Interviews clients, reviews documents and completes forms to acquire a limited amount of readily available financial and other information which may be used for comparison against elementary standards to determine eligibility for basic social services programs.
• Provides elementary social services program information to clients.
• Provides elementary social services directly to clients where program eligibility is easily determined; or refers clients to others where program eligibility requires more in-depth analysis.
• Schedules and administers client health screenings, coordinates client transportation needs, schedules meetings and public workshops, and maintains follow-up on the status of these activities.
• Obtains information from service providers to authorize payment for their services.
• Performs telephone answering, filing, mail handling, photocopying, distribution, record keeping and other clerical duties.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Job Specifications

• Knowledge of applicable Federal, State, County and community social service programs, policies and procedures.
• Skill in interviewing clients to identify deficiencies in elementary personal, legal, social, economic, and health needs.
• Skill in conducting speech, hearing, and other routine physical tests and documenting findings.
• Ability to work effectively with others.
• Ability to collect and compare data to standards.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to use a computer terminal to quickly and accurately enter data.

 

 

 

 

Physical Requirements

• Performing duties while under pressure to meet unexpected deadlines, dealing with hostile and/or upset clients in person and on the telephone. 
• Sitting, standing, working in front of computer screen, and noise associated with office equipment. 
• Nature of this position is mentally demanding and at times chaotic, levels of patience and communication are tested on a daily basis.

Work Category

• Light work - Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg control requires exertion of forces greater than that of sedentary work and if the worker sits most of the time, the job is considered light work.

Minimum Qualifications Required

• Graduation from high school or possession of a GED Certificate; AND
• One year of experience interacting with clients in an office environment to gather and provide information;

       OR

• An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that would reasonably be expected to provide the job-related competencies noted above.

Emergency Management Responsibilities

In the event of an emergency or disaster, an employee may be required to respond promptly to duties and responsibilities as assigned