L&I Communications Consultant 5 (Spanish Bilingual Preferred)

About the role

This is a Spanish Bilingual preferred position. If hired as bilingual, our top applicant will be required to pass an assessment of your ability to write and speak Spanish fluently. We do not use translating software. Employees with bilingual responsibilities receive a 5% increase in pay.

This is a non-permanent position expected to last through 6/30/2027.

Our Mission and Values

Our Mission: Keep Washington Safe and Working!

Our Values: Customer Focus, One L&I, Respect, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Learning and Growth, Reliability

The Team

This position is within the Community Relations unit of the Financial Management division. The Community Relations unit is the department’s primary point of contact with the state’s Limited English Proficient (LEP) community regarding complex policy issues and the department’s policy direction. The unit helps ensure that customers with Limited English proficiency can navigate L&I services throughout the agency by bridging together with staff, managers, and external stakeholders. This unit supports L&I’s goal of “Make it easy to do business and engage with L&I” through statewide public information outreach and campaigns and ensuring that LEP customers know their rights regarding safe workplaces, wages, and working conditions.

Responsibilities

• Provide consultation and direction in developing and implementing strategic communication plans, projects and events aimed at Washington's limited English proficient (LEP) communities.
• Build awareness of and support for the agency's language access policies, programs and activities within the agency and among the LEP communities served.
• Develop Language Access policies and plans, provide recommendations and advice to the agency's leadership about the best ways to implement all Language Access policy requirements, and conduct research to support Cultural Responsiveness and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
• Manage emerging issues, make recommendations to the Language Access Program Manager, Director of Community Relations, and Leadership Team and develop effective outreach communication strategies.
• Develop agency-wide training, workshops and seminars for bilingual staff to ensure they have the competencies required to produce accurate and clear communication to LEP customers.
• Assist in completion of L&I Language Access initiatives and projects.
• Identify and execute marketing/outreach opportunities to educate LEP injured workers via earned media, paid media (advertising), the website and other venues.
• Manage the successful completion of communication/policy projects that require the participation of staff from other programs.
• Advise and assist agency divisions on projects that have public impact.
• Ensure that critical information is captured on L&I's Spanish language website.
• Expand outreach communication strategies to ethnic communities in Washington state including but not limited to Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and African Americans.
• Create communication messages for internal stakeholders on newly produced material for outreach education to LEP customers.
• Assess translated materials for translation accuracy.
• Coordinate translation of vital documents in English to Spanish and Spanish to English and serve as the final reviewer/authority for publications, news releases, mass media and social media messaging, forms, marketing materials and other high-profile documents.
• Collaborate with staff across the agency to ensure that documents are written in plain language before translating into world languages by noting and attending to cultural nuances and identify and explain terms that are unique to the US health care and legal systems.
• Institute necessary and appropriate procedures to ensure that translation processes by vendors meet agency quality standards under language access policies.
• Monitor interpreter and translation vendor performance including communication with interpreter and translation vendor administrators, customer service managers and staff to ensure optimal performance of these services.

Qualifications

Required

• Four year degree in communications or public administration OR five years of equivalent work experience.
• Knowledge of the Latino community and ability to establish and maintain close relationships with the Latino community.
• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Desired

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in both English and Spanish.
• Advanced-level skills using SharePoint for managing workflow processes to streamline project tasks for an array of participants.
• Advanced level skills using Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Experience leading complex, multi-issue projects.
• Experience managing contracts and vendor performance.
• Have a minimum of two years' experience teaching or delivering training in translation.
• Experience translating legal documents.
• American Translators Association certification (English/Spanish).
• American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Advanced High test score in Spanish.
• Advanced writing skills in English and Spanish.
• At least three years' experience translating documents.
• Critical thinking, strategic planning, and good judgement for issues management.
• Taking the initiative for new ideas and execution of new projects for media/marketing/outreach.
• Being sensitive and proactive to public attitudes and concerns.
• Recognizing the external environment and working effectively in a political environment.
• Ability to develop communication strategies and plans that increase interest, engagement and commitment to making it easy for LEP customers to do business with L&I.