Senior Program Associate

Senior Program Associate

Salary

$52,326.00 - $81,760.00 Annually

Location

West St. Paul, MN

Job Type

Full-Time

Remote Employment

Flexible/Hybrid

Job Number

11092EEA.26.002

Department

FINANCIAL WORKER UNIT X - 2100211

Opening Date

09/22/2026

Closing Date

10/6/2026 4:30 PM Central

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

General Description

POSTING TYPE: Open Competitive

DEPARTMENT: Employment & Economic Assistance (E&EA)

HOURS: Full-time

SALARY RANGE: $52,326 - $81,760 / year (Salary Grade 105)

PREFERRED HIRING RANGE: $52,326 - $65,408 / year

LOCATION: West Saint Paul

UNION: AFSCME 306

CLOSE DATE: 4:30PM on 10/6/206

Who We Are

Dakota County is Minnesota's third largest county and home to more than 400,000 residents. We strive every day to achieve excellence public service, with a focus on four values: Service, Integrity, People, and Innovation.

Dakota County aims to create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of diverse people, backgrounds, and experiences. Our goal is to have a workforce that is reflective of the communities and individuals we serve. We promote an equitable and culturally aware work environment where everyone can be their authentic selves.

What you will do

Senior Program Associates assist a wide variety of public assistance programs and provide a variety of highly skilled administrative functions and tasks under limited supervision. The position assists all levels of community program services and staff through skilled administrative and program functions. There are three full-time positions: two positions with the Employment and Economic Assistance (EEA) Adult Assistance Unit and one position with the Public Assistance Support (PAS) team (call center and METS assistance).

The primary responsibilities of the Adult Assistance Unit:

• Initial eligibility review of public assistance program 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
• 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 public assistance casework.

The primary responsibilities of the Public Assistance Support Unit:

• Manages a large volume of phone calls daily.

• 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

• Associate degree AND
• One year of administrative experience in an office environment.

OR

• High School Diploma AND
• Three years of administrative experience in an office environment.

OR

• An equivalent combination of education and experience total three years.

AND

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

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bilingual skills
• 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 positions management approved work schedule is required for all positions.

• Research client data in multiple state and county systems to assist customers for program support.
• Receive and make phone calls to respond to requests from customers and clientele.
• Respond to requests for program or client-specific information.
• 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.
• Prescreen clients in person or over the phone for services according to program criteria to provide program information and make appropriate referrals.
• Assess applicant needs against available community resources and assist with program application completion and submittal.
• Send requests for information and schedule interviews.
• Serves as program or department liaison for community partners, customers, and clients in order to respond to inquiries or resolve service issues.
• Recommends and develops internal work methods and assists with establishing new procedures and processes to accommodate administrative and program activities.
• Performs special projects in support of department programs.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 1-11

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities and Work Environment

• Knowledge of State, Federal and County guidelines for appropriate programs.
• 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 handle confidential client information with integrity and in compliance with legal 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
• 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.
• Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications 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.

Visit our Benefits site for more information.

01

Applicants for this recruitment will be rated based on their answers to the supplemental questions listed below and application materials. It is IMPERATIVE that information provided on the application and resume are detailed and clearly outline your work experience & skills. They must also support and/or match answers to the supplemental questions. Please initial the box below to CONFIRM that the information provided is accurate and true to the best of your knowledge. Falsification may result in disqualification from consideration for this and subsequent recruitments with Dakota County for up to three years.

02

Select the highest level of education COMPLETED/Degree held. (Degree must be held by closing date.)

• High School Diploma/GED
• Associate Degree
• Bachelors Degree or higher
• None of the above

03

What is your typing speed? If you are unsure of your typing speed you can take a free online typing test at www.typingtest.com

• 0 - 19 WPM
• 20 - 34 WPM
• 35 - 49 WPM
• 50 plus WPM

04

Select from the list below your total number of years administrative experience in an office environment.

• No experience to less than 1 year
• 1 year
• 2 years
• 3+ years

05

Which of the following systems have you worked in? Select all that apply. This experience should be clearly listed on your application.

• OnBase
• SMI
• MNCIS
• SC Client Index
• Prism
• MEC2, MAXIS and/or METS
• None of the Above

06

Which of the following Microsoft products have you worked in? Select all that apply. This experience should be clearly listed on your application.

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Access
• No experince

07

Are you proficient in a language in addition to English?

• Yes
• No

08

How many years of experience do you have working or volunteering with underrepresented communities (people of color, lower social-economic levels, etc.)? Include positions where your clients were at least 20% from these populations. This experience should be clearly listed on your application.

• Less than 1 year
• 1 year
• 2 years
• 3 years
• 4 years
• More than 5 years

09

Have you completed a pathways training program or similar training program related to working in a Human Services agency?

• Yes
• No

10

The full salary range for this position is $52,326 - $81,760 and preferred hiring range is $52,326 - $65,408 annually. The amount that is offered is dependent on the candidates' overall skills, education, experience and internal equity. The offer would also include the Countys benefits package.

Taking that information into consideration, what would be the minimum salary youd accept if selected for the position?

11

Your response to this question will help Dakota County evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment sources for this specific position. Please select the one source that most closely describes how you first learned about this opportunity.

• Facebook
• Friend, Family or Colleague
• Indeed
• Job Fair or Dakota County Event
• Job Interest e-mails from Dakota County
• League of Minnesota Cities
• LinkedIn
• Diversityjobs.com
• Minnesotaworks.net
• Minnesota Association of Counties
• Monster
• Professional Association Website
• Referred by a Dakota County Employee
• College Website, Instructor, Career Services
• Dakota County Website
• Project for Pride in Living
• Other

12

If you selected "other" above, please indicate where you heard about this opportunity with Dakota County.

Required Question

Employer Dakota County

Address Administration Center

1590 Highway 55

Hastings, Minnesota, 55033-2372

Phone 651.438.4435

Website http://dakotacountymn.gov