Job Description APPLICANTS MUST BE PERMANENT IN THE PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE CIVIL SERVICE TITLE The Office of Constituent Services (OCS) connects New Yorkers in need with vital services and programs, serving HRA and DHS program areas and more than 3 million clients annually. OCS is the central conduit for requests for reasonable accommodations (RAs) and works closely with ITS, CAS, FIA, and other program areas to address these clients’ special needs. With the agency’s Lovely H. settlement, OCS assumed the primary role in new centralized processes for the intake of reasonable accommodation requests (RARs) and outreach to Class Members and other clients requesting RAs, which requires considerable soft skills to empathize and connect with clients who have physical and/or mental disabilities. With the July 2018 automation of requests in POS at the point of application and recertification, the volume of RARs has doubled to tripled on a daily basis. Under the direction of the RAR Floor Supervisor, the RAR Client Advocate will process RARs, which triggers the Central Data Base’s recording of RAs in the Client Services Screen to alert staff about active accommodations, OCS expedites the agency’s services to this vulnerable population, reduces the number and duration of these clients’ visits to centers and offices, improves customer service, and reduces the front-line staff’s workload. OCS is recruiting one (1) Principal Administrative Associate II to function as a RAR Client Advocate who will: - Provide knowledgeable and compassionate outreach to Class Members and other clients to assist them with the reasonable accommodation process - Actively advocate on behalf of clients with multiple HRA/DSS/DHS units through phone calls and emails to ensure all concerns are addressed, proper outcome is obtained, and adverse actions are prevented - Providing excellent customer service, interacting in a professional and empathetic manner and handling callers in a calm and reassuring way - Research and address requests, using most HRA database systems, including the Welfare Management System (WMS), Intranet Quorum (IQ), New York City Work Accountability and You (NYCWAY), Paperless Office System (POS), HRA One Viewer, etc., to determine and assist with the next steps to process the client’s request, including real-time reporting of system glitches to correct any delays in displaying active RAs on the Client Services Screen - Real-time processing of RARs within a few days so that clients are provisionally granted RAs as quickly as possible - Collaborate closely with ITS, CAS, FIA, and the HRA Administrator’s office to review complex and unusual cases, to clarify and streamline the RAR process, and to flag any cases or circumstances that need expediting or escalation - Perform other tasks as assigned Work Location: 4 World Trade Center, New York, NY Hours/Schedule: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Qualifications 1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and three years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience, one year of which must have been in an administrative capacity or supervising staff performing clerical/administrative work of more than moderate difficulty; or 2. An associate degree or 60 semester credits from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience described in "1" above; or 3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and five years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience as described in "1" above; 4. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must possess the one year of administrative or supervisory experience as described in "1" above. Education above the high school level may be substituted for the general clerical/administrative experience (but not for the one year of administrative or supervisory experience described in "1" above) at a rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for 6 months of experience up to a maximum of 3½ years. Additional Information The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.