Senior Program Associate

General Description
POSTING TYPE: Open Competitive

DEPARTMENT: Employment & Economic Assistance (E&EA), Medical Assistance

HOURS: Full-time

SALARY RANGE: $52,326 - $81.760/year (Salary Grade 105)

PREFERRED HIRING RANGE: $52,326 - $58,867 per year

LOCATION: West Saint Paul, MN

UNION: AFSCME 306

CLOSE DATE: 4:30 p.m. on 1/29/2026

Senior Program Associates
assist a wide variety of public assistance programs and provides a variety of highly skilled administrative functions and tasks under limited supervision.

The Core Initial Functions Of This Position Are

• This position has heavy phone presence.
• Initial eligibility review of Medical Assistance (MA) renewal documents for completeness, send requests for information, create Income Calendars, process returned mail, and support other casework.
• Document identification, upload and indexing into electronic data management systems
• Answer incoming and initiate outgoing phone calls to advise clients on public assistance case questions, renewal processes, what month client renewals are due, documentation needed for renewal, and to complete applications by phone.
• Other tasks to support Medical Assistance and/or other public assistance casework.

Minimum Qualifications

• High School Diploma AND Three (3) years of full-time progressively responsible administrative work experience in an office environment.

OR

• Associate degree in business administration, human services or related field ANDOne (1) year of progressively responsible administrative work experience in an office environment.

AND

• Candidate must be proficient at keyboard skills including typing at least 35 WPM.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bilingual skills are desirable
• High level of skill with Microsoft Office applications
• Experience in electronic databases and records management systems
• Experience in working with diverse populations and clients with limited English proficiency

To be eligible for hire, an applicant must meet the criminal history background criteria required to access certain networks/systems necessary to perform the essential functions of the position.
Duties & Responsibilities
These examples do not include all possible tasks in this work and do not limit the assignment of related tasks in any position of this classification. Regular attendance according to the position's management approved work schedule is required for all positions.

Duties Completed By Employment & Economic Assistance Staff

• Receive and make phone calls to respond to requests from customers and clientele.
• Respond to requests for program or client-specific information.
• May provide orientation & training to new staff for various department functions.
• Serve as a floater/trainer, covering support staff positions and training new staff in the unit as necessary.
• Receive incoming phone calls and provide specific program information to callers which may involve gathering information from computer systems.
• Update, compile, and prepare statistical and technical reports.
• Handles confidential client information with integrity and in compliance with legal regulations.
• Initiate and manage specific program transactions, which may include vendor payments, auditing, processing billings, issuing checks and cash handling while adhering to appropriate process and procedures. May calculate, prepare, and monitor invoices & payments for department expenses & accounts receivable, purchasing or track expenses.
• Maintains program supply inventory to ensure supplies are available when needed.
• Assess applicant needs against available community resources and assist with program application completion and submittal.

Ongoing duties completed by all staff in the Senior Program Associate classification:

• Serves as program or department liaison for community partners, customers, and clients in order to respond to inquiries or resolve service issues.
• Serves as a resource regarding information maintained in state and county databases , as well as tracking or updating information in state and county databases.
• Processes program information, verifies and enters information into appropriate data systems specific to program, assuring data integrity.
• Provides administrative support for multiple program areas, which may include accounting functions.
• Recommends and develops internal work methods and assists with establishing new procedures and processes to accommodate administrative and program activities.
• Coordinates initial screening for programs by assessing service needs in person, virtually or on the phone . Provide program information and make appropriate referrals.
• Assesses applicant needs against available county services, c ommunity resources and may assist with program application completion and submittal.
• May determine eligibility for certain programs, initiate client or provider contact.
• May provide administrative support to the departments or in support of programs, including but not limited to: organize, prepare, maintain forms, documents and other program materials; maintain office equipment, call for maintenance; process incoming and outgoing mail and faxes; photocopies documents and distributes to appropriate parties.
• Performs special projects in support of department programs.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities And Work Environment

• Knowledge of State, Federal and County guidelines for appropriate programs.
• Ability to perform in position that is routinely very busy and has high phone volume.
• Ability to deal effectively with multiple and sometimes conflicting demands while maintaining composure and professionalism.
• Ability to work effectively with clients and staff from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
• Ability to recognize and comply with HIPAA and other data privacy regulations.
• Ability to audit and reconcile various financial records for accuracy related to program services.
• Knowledge of productivity application software (Microsoft Office, etc.).
• Understanding of mission and vision of department and program operational guidelines, business practices, staff needs, and client service outcomes.
• Considerable ability to conduct research, analyze, prioritize and coordinate work according to client and agency needs.
• Ability to utilize County electronic data management system to organize and manage confidential documents in a centralized method.
• Ability to make problem solve while demonstrating good judgment.
• Ability to work independently and as a team member.

Work Environment
The work is mostly sedentary and has extensive use of computer. Employee may need to lift up to 20 pounds on an occasional basis. Items carried typically include light objects such as briefcases, notebooks, work papers, laptop and data printouts. Lifting of moderately heavy objects generally is not required. Equipment used may include, but is not limited to computer, printer, calculator, projector, telephone, copy and fax machine.

Location & Schedule
Staff in this classification will start by working full-time in the office for training purposes. Once there is demonstrated knowledge, skills, and ability to complete assigned work, it may lead to a hybrid schedule. In-person work is at our Northern Service Center in West St. Paul, MN and telework needs to be completed in a designated off-site location. Work is performed Monday through Friday during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).

Benefits

• Comprehensive and affordable medical, dental, vision, and other benefits insurances.
• Excellent work-life balance.
• Generous paid time off (accrual rate starts at four weeks per year).
• Eleven paid holidays each year and one floating holiday.
• Pension with a generous employer contribution.
• Ability to work from home some of the time.

*Selection Process*

• You submit an online application that includes supplemental questions.
• Your application is scored based on your qualifications.
• Top scoring candidates are referred to the hiring manager for interview consideration.
• Interviews and reference checks are conducted.
• Dakota County extend a conditional offer and conducts a background check on its preferred candidate.