1 July 23, 2015 1. IDENTIFICATION
Position No. Job Title Supervisor’s Position
17-10153 Sr. Program Specialist 17-01417 Manager Income Assistance
Department Division/Region Community Location
Family Services Income Assistance/HQ Iqaluit Iqaluit Fin Code:
2. PURPOSE
Main reason why the position exists, within what context and what the overall end result is.
Under the direction of the Manager Income Assistance, the Senior Program Specialist, and providing technical direction to a team of Verification and Investigation Officers is accountable for developing Income Assistance programs and evaluating and supporting their delivery for Nunavut residents.
3. SCOPE
Describe the impact the position has on the area in which it works, or if it impacts other departments, the government as a whole, or the public directly or indirectly. How does the position impact those groups/individuals, the organization and/or budgets? What is the magnitude of that impact?
Income Assistance programs assist eligible Nunavut residents to meet their basic family needs. The Department administers approximately $44 million in assistance to Nunavut residents through a number of programs including Social Assistance, Senior Fuel Subsidy, Senior Citizens Supplementary Benefit and Day Care User Subsidies. Regional Managers of Income Assistance in 3 regions deliver these programs through community Income Support Workers.
Located in Iqaluit, and reporting to the Manager Income Assistance, the Senior Program Specialist develops and interprets the framework for the introduction, administration, delivery and evaluation of the Government’s Income Assistance Programs. As the Government expert on these assigned programs, the Senior Specialist provides advice and assistance to delivery staff as required.
This position impacts all divisional staff and program recipients via involvement in the development, implementation and delivery of the full range of programs and services. The Senior Specialist works collegially with the Manager Training/Development to ensure that delivery agents receive adequate training to effectively deliver the programs.
4. RESPONSIBILITIES
Describe major responsibilities and target accomplishments expected of the position. List the responsibilities that have the greatest impact on the organization first and describe them in a way that answers why the duties of the position are being performed. For a supervisory or management position, indicate the subordinate position(s) through which objectives are accomplished.
Under the general direction of the Manager Income Assistance, the Senior Program Specialist is accountable for developing the legislative, policy and operational framework for Income assistance
2 July 23, 2015 programs by:
Initiating and developing regulation amendments;
Developing and documenting program and service standards and best practices; Developing and implementing delivery procedures;
Developing process performance standards;
Managing and contributing to the negotiation and administration of program delivery contracts. Supports the delivery of programs by interpreting program legislation, policies and guidelines by;
Providing advice to delivery staff on the interpretation of legislation , regulations, policies and guidelines;
Providing advice on individual client files where complex issues exist.
Working with Verification and Investigation Officers, the Senior Program Specialist evaluates, monitors and reports on program activity by:
Developing a comprehensive plan and process to ensure systematic monitoring, reviewing and evaluating of Income Assistance programs;
Conducting program evaluation, identifying problems and addressing them with legislative, policy or procedural changes;
Referring files for investigation where suspected financial irregularities are detected;
Coordinating the collection of monitoring, review and evaluation reports, collating and analyzing these reports and sharing the results with appropriate managers;
Monitoring program delivery and addressing non-compliance and underperformance with corrective action;
Ensuring appeal process operates fairly and within guidelines; Reporting on program delivery goals and operational plans;
Preparing briefing notes, decision papers, options papers, FMB submissions and reports; Taking necessary corrective action to deal with the findings of audit reports;
Reviewing and monitoring agreements with outside delivery agents to ensure programs and services are delivered in accordance with policy and regulations.
Participates in setting strategy direction for the programs in the context of the identified needs of the Nunavut population and the recommendations of the Nunavut Poverty Reduction Strategy by:
Recommending new initiatives to meet the needs of residents.
Promoting the range of Income Assistance programs and services to increase awareness and improve public access by:
Coordinating the design and development of all program related materials for staff and public; Coordinating responses to information requests;
Working with regional offices and the Communications Specialist to ensure ongoing and timely newspaper and radio ads are created and placed;
Designing and developing program information for the Departmental website. Administering Income Assistance case management and information systems by:
3 July 23, 2015 Determining data and system requirements;
Becoming a subject matter expert on multiple automated case management systems;
Developing a quality control program for data control and managing data verification activities; Determining data access authorization levels;
Participating in system development initiatives and coordinating testing of system changes; Identifying and addressing problems with current systems;
Assisting in the development of user manuals. Participating in risk management activities by:
Identifying risks and areas of uncertainty; Assessing risks for their relative importance;
Assessing and implementing strategies to deal with risks and providing solutions; Implementing a risk management plan of action across Nunavut.
5. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Describe the level of knowledge, experience and abilities that are required for satisfactory job performance.
Knowledge identifies the acquired information or concepts that relate to a specific discipline. Skills describe acquired measurable behaviours and may cover manual aspects required to do a job. Abilities describe natural talents or developed proficiencies required to do the job.
These requirements are in reference to the job, not the incumbent performing the job.
An undergraduate degree in Business/Commerce would be preferable with 3 years of practical experience working in the development and/or delivery of social programs;
Familiarity with a broad range of Federal/Provincial/Territorial legislation related to social policy and a detailed knowledge of Nunavut Income Assistance legislation and regulations;
A sound knowledge of Income Assistance policies, procedures, and legislation.
Knowledge of computer programs such as, financial spreadsheets, word processing and databases; Knowledge of information systems and file retrieval systems;
Knowledge of northern politics; Knowledge of northern culture.
Proven research skills to assess practice in other jurisdictions for relevance and usefulness
Excellent writing skills are required with proven experience in policy analysis, process guidelines and strategy development;
Ability to motivate teams and network effectively and to work collaboratively in a team environment; Ability to interpret complex legislation and to develop standard operating procedures for workers in a
4 July 23, 2015 high volume financial processing environment;
Ability to develop and interpret complex financial spreadsheets and to work effectively with electronic databases;
The ability to speak Inukitut/Innuinaqtun would be an asset.
6. WORKING CONDITIONS
List the unavoidable, externally imposed conditions under which the work must be performed and which create hardship for the incumbent. Express frequency, duration and intensity of each occurrence in measurable time (e.g. every day, two or three times a week, 5 hours a day).
Physical Demands
Indicate the nature of physical demands and the frequency and duration of occurrences leading to physical fatigue or physical stress.
Long periods sitting at a computer station and some airline travel in inclement weather conditions. Environmental Conditions
Indicate the nature of adverse environmental conditions to which the jobholder is exposed, and the frequency and duration of exposures. Include conditions that increase the risk of accident, ill health, or physical discomfort.
Environmental conditions are satisfactory as assigned work areas are in a comfortable office setting.
Sensory Demands
Indicate the nature of demands on the jobholder’s senses. These demands can be in the form of making judgements to discern something through touch, smell, sight, and/or hearing. It may include concentrated levels of attention to details though one or more of the incumbents’ senses.
Sensory demands are not extensive in this position, although sensitivity to clients and co-workers and their stresses is important.
Mental Demands
Indicate conditions within the job that may lead to mental or emotional fatigue that would increase the risk of such things as tension or anxiety.
Political pressures may accelerate project deadlines resulting in very heavy workloads. Mental fatigue may result from working many hours in excess of normal requirements and juggling conflicting priorities between outside organizations.
5 July 23, 2015 7. CERTIFICATION _______________________________________ Employee Signature Printed Name Supervisor Title Supervisor Signature Date: Date
I certify that I have read and understand the responsibilities assigned to this position.
I certify that this job description is an accurate description of the responsibilities assigned to the position.
Deputy Head Signature
Date
I approve the delegation of the responsibilities outlined herein within the context of the attached organizational structure.
8. ORGANIZATION CHART
Please attach Organizational Chart indicating incumbent’s position, peer positions, subordinate positions (if any) and supervisor position.
“The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the incumbent of this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and activities required of this position”.
