Civil Rights Program Specialist VI

Location: Austin, TX

About the role

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, and numerous opportunities for career advancement.

Responsibilities

• Performs highly advanced training, policy, and quality management activities for the HHSC Civil Rights Office (CRO) and its divisions in compliance with HHS policy and applicable federal and state civil rights laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI and Title VII; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.
• Develops, coordinates, and manages training systems and quality management for the CRO.
• Conducts specialized training on civil rights-related topics for CRO staff and external customers, including managers.
• Monitors, reviews, and produces reports of findings and provides technical consultation on CRO activities, including investigations, training, civil rights casework, and other CRO activities.
• Develops, researches, and analyzes complex program and management policy issues and initiatives; identifies the need for new and/or revised programs, policies, and procedures, and makes recommendations for improvement.
• Completes management reports and recommends appropriate changes; establishes goals and objectives; takes a leadership role in special projects and assignments; serves as a mediator and helps prepare resolution agreements.
• Develops schedules, priorities, and standards for achieving quality in discrimination complaint investigations, reasonable accommodation requests, and all CRO activities.
• Serves in a specialized consultative capacity in planning, developing, and administering training and quality management; in employment-related and service-related complaints; reasonable accommodation requests; and other high-level activities such as Management Initiated Investigations, Mediation, and Facilitation.
• Provides consultation and technical assistance relating to the employment of HHS employees, managers, and customers, serving as a liaison between CRO divisions, staff, and external partners, including managers on complaint processing and other CRO activities.
• Investigates discrimination complaints, including specialized complaints, and prepares detailed comprehensive reports on findings and recommendations for resolutions.
• Processes reasonable accommodation requests.
• Coordinates, consults, oversees, and mentors civil rights staff in employment and service-related issues.
• Provides leadership and direction to civil rights staff on employment and service-related complaints and inquiries.
• Monitors and analyzes federal and state legislation, regulations, court decisions, and initiatives relating to employment civil rights and HHS policies and programs and recommends appropriate responses.

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university.
• Civil rights experience in a program specialist or manager role may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the education requirement.
• Experience in conducting civil rights complaint investigations.
• Experience in processing reasonable accommodation requests.
• Experience in mediation and conflict resolution.
• Experience in conducting training.
• Experience working with federal and state laws relating to employment and service, including equal opportunity agencies and civil rights laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Skills

• Knowledge of federal and state civil rights laws, including Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, and related executive orders and regulations.
• Knowledge of HHS policies and programs, state and federal laws, and regulations relating to HHS programs.
• Knowledge of quality assurance and continuous improvement processes in a public sector environment.
• Knowledge of training principles and techniques.
• Knowledge of program planning and implementation.
• Evaluating complex programs, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Technical writing, including the ability to draft clear, concise, and accurate reports, policies, procedures, and correspondence.
• Performing complex research.
• Analyzing and evaluating complex program and policy issues.
• Investigating complaints and using investigative tools and methods, including researching, gathering, organizing, and analyzing information to reach a determination and finding.
• Problem-solving, mediation, and conflict resolution.
• Ability to gather, assemble, correlate, and analyze facts to devise solutions to complex problems and prepare concise reports.
• Ability to develop and evaluate administrative policies and procedures and devise solutions to administrative problems.
• Ability to manage multiple and competing projects and program activities with tight deadlines.
• Ability to plan, assign, and coordinate the work of others.
• Ability to establish goals and objectives and develop schedules, priorities, standards, and evaluation activities.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing to all levels of staff.
• Ability to use sound judgment and discretion in decision-making and problem-solving.

Benefits

• 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees.
• Defined benefit pension plan.
• Generous time off benefits.
• Numerous opportunities for career advancement.

Pay

Salary Range: $5,089.66 - $6,701.75 per month

Schedule

• Full-time
• Day shift
• Eligible for telework
• Travel: Up to 20%