Description

OAH Mission: To hear and independently resolve disputes between the public and state agencies with an impartial, quick, and easy to access process.

OAH Vision: All people of Washington can meaningfully participate in their hearing and understand the result.

OAH Values:

• Fairness and independence
• Diversity, equity, inclusion and respect
• Performance excellence
• Integrity

OAH Goals:

• Performance Excellence: We deliver high quality, timely work.
• Convenience & Accessibility: We make it easy for people to do business with us.
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Respect: We promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect.
• Good Stewards: We are efficient, effective, and accountable.

OAH Offers:

• Work that is important and makes a difference.
• In-house training and professional development opportunities.
• Healthy work/life balance, including remote work options.
• Comprehensive benefits package.

The Opportunity:
OAH is currently looking to fill a new Language Access Coordinator (Program Specialist 4) position. This position functions within the Headquarters Division and reports directly to the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager. The Language Access Coordinator is critical to OAH’s ability to provide access to hearings for participants with limited English proficiency. This position has agency-wide program management responsibilities, and contributes to the mission of OAH by administering, overseeing, and directing all language access program activities, services, and resources, including the design and continuous improvement of the processes and systems required to administer those services. This position helps OAH measure, monitor, and improve the language access services offered by the agency, whether through internal OAH systems or those provided by vendors including interpreter proficiency, translation accuracy, and overall customer experience. The Language Access Coordinator partners with programs across the agency to ensure that staff are educated on and capable of supporting OAH’s language access services.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to:

Language access services coordination and consultation

• 
  Lead the development and implementation of the OAH language access plan.
• Develop and document agency processes and protocols for providing language access services.
• Coordinate language access service requests for translation and interpretation.
• Manage OAH’s interpreter scheduling process.
• Identify service barriers for OAH participants with limited English proficiency and collaborate with programs and staff to mitigate service barriers.
• Provide language access coordination and planning support for community engagement activities.
• In collaboration with the DEI Manager, determine language access priorities and set service objectives.
• Develop, revise, implement, interpret, and administer program specific policies, procedures, practices, and set standards for existing and new language access activities and resources impacting hearing participants and members of the public.
• Administer language access activities to ensure consistent approaches are utilized agency-wide.
• Provide leadership around language access, and establish and maintain working relationships with internal customers and external agencies, vendors, and community organizations.
• Provide guidance and analysis to updates on OAH’s rules and policies relating to the use of interpreters and language access services.
• Assist with language access and interpreter training.
• Monitor proposed or pending changes in business operation requirements, laws, policies, and procedures regarding language access services and the potential impact on agency operations.

Language access services performance and analysis

• Gather and analyze data about customers with limited English proficiency (LEP).
• Monitor and provide analysis on agency expenses for language access.
• Provide reports and analysis on language access service efficacy to executive management.
• Research and develop recommendations on proficiency standards for translation and interpretation.
• Provide support to the Call Center Team for maintaining and administering the testing of new bilingual agents.
• Partner with the Call Center Team and OAH In-House Court Certified Interpreters for bilingual quality standards and review processes including agreed words, terms, and expressions used in translation.

Language access resource management

• Maintain a current inventory of OAH translated documents and other material.
• Maintain translated templates and other material in OAH’s standard templates and case management systems.
• Coordinate development for new translated material as needed.
• Conduct annual review of OAH language access plan and make revisions or updates as necessary.
• Coordinate and resolve resource conflicts related to language access program and activities.
• Maintain Language Access page on OAH’s intranet.
• Maintain a list of pre-qualified interpreters.
• Coordinate and maintain language access information on OAH’s public website.
• Coordinate the expanded translations for standard language on notices of hearings, issue statements, order summaries, and appeal rights.

Language access contract management

• Provide best practices recommendations for the use of interpreters and translation.
• Manage contracts for translation.
• Manage agency vendor feedback and service quality for interpretation and translation services.

Language access liaison

• Serve on OAH Language Access Governance Team.
• Participate in meetings and projects for the Washington State Supreme Court’s Interpreter and Language Access Commission.
• Represent OAH in cross-agency language access workgroups and committees.
• Build relationships and maintain communication with referring agency Language Access Coordinators or equivalent position to keep OAH informed of language access service coordination and program updates at referring agencies.
• Partner with the OAH Writing Style Committee on best practices translated documents and plain talk for participants with limited English proficiency.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• 
  A Bachelor’s degree** with a focus in public administration, business, communications, education, social or behavioral sciences, or other related field AND
• 2 years of experience in a related field, including: program management, project management, change management, policy development and analysis, and/or coordination and consultation with a variety of public and private agencies, organizations and/or levels of government.

**Additional qualifying professional experience may substitute year-for-year for education requirement.

Desired Qualifications:

• Able to read, write and speak fluently in at least one other language in addition to English.
• Experience working with a bilingual team.
• Experience in administering or measuring spoken and written language proficiency, interpretation and translation accuracy.
• Experience managing contracts and vendor relations.
• Experience working in a legal organization.
• Experience working on a project team or workgroup conducting process mapping, process improvement, or change management planning.
• Experience working with people with disabilities or disability related organizations, people with limited English proficiency, or other marginalized communities.

Supplemental Information

How To Apply
To begin the online application process, click the green "Apply" button on this announcement at careers.wa.gov or governmentjobs.com. To be considered for this position, you must include the following information in your online application and complete the supplemental questionnaire. Application materials must clearly show how you meet the qualifications for the position in order to be considered.

Application Must Include

• A letter of interest describing what interests you in this position and what makes you a viable and competitive candidate.
• A resume highlighting relevant experience.
• A completed online application profile that includes education and employment history.
• A minimum of three (3) professional references with your application, including at least one supervisor.
  • A professional reference is defined as an individual who has either been paid to supervise your work or worked directly with you and can attest to your work performance, technical skills, and job competencies. If your references do not meet these criteria, please include non-related professionals, such as educators or other professional associates.

OAH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, honorably discharged veteran, veteran status, genetic information, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.

For questions about this recruitment, or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email us at OAHHR@oah.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.