Definition
Functions as the initial and primary focal point of contact for a variety of employment and unemployment programs with customers of Iowa Workforce Development, such as claimants, job applicants, employers and the general public; advises customers on programs; resolves problems and errors for customers; provides supportive tasks and performs related work as required.
Work Examples
Receives job applicants, claimants, and other visitors; assists customers by answering routine questions; provides general program and intake information; makes appointments for customers to see various staff; and gives out application forms and updates information in the database.
Advises claimants and employers of their legal rights and responsibilities as related to unemployment insurance laws, rules, and regulations. Answers questions from UI recipients by researching the existing claims; problem solves errors on claims and makes the appropriate corrections by making changes to the UI database.
Acts as a resource and provides detailed information to applicants, claimants, employers, and other interested parties by providing answers to inquiries on all phases of unemployment insurance benefit claims, employers, and other interested parties.
Informs customers of services; applies knowledge of programs; explains standard forms; checks forms for completeness and correctness; processes, files, and codes forms.
Writes job orders from employers as a primary contact in order to record an accurate description of required job duties, wages, working hours, and other pertinent referral information by phone or in person; selects appropriate occupational and industrial codes from classification manuals to ensure proper job order classification and verifies results of job referrals by contacting employers by mail and phone.
Performs the function of processing initial, reopen, or additional claims filed by unemployed workers.
Conducts unscheduled interviews with claimants to gather appropriate facts regarding issues of availability for work, errors or discrepancies in claims documents, continued claims, and work search information for unemployment insurance purposes. Applies inter/intra state and federal unemployment insurance laws, rules, and regulations using interviewing techniques.
Provides customers with general labor market information, such as wage and salary, occupational growth within industries, labor availability, and labor benefits, and answers technical questions pertaining to applicable programs and procedures by phone or in person.
Communicates with customers to provide information about and to make referrals to other organizations in the community. Providing general/routine information about the services, policies and procedures for worker’s compensation and labor programs and refer IWD customers to the appropriate resources. Makes referrals to various other agencies and divisions within state government using knowledge of types of services available; referring customers to other community resources to address immediate income and support needs.
Performs support services for the Workforce Development Center staff; gathers and compiles statistical information to track and monitor program performance; schedules, administers and scores performance and other tests.
Facilitates job search, job seeking, and job keeping workshop(s) using prescribed curriculum(s) provided by the agency
Competencies Required
Knowledge:
- Customer and Personal Service – Principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- English Language – The structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administrative – Administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Administration and Management – Business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Abilities:
Oral Expression – Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension – Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Clarity – Speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Comprehension – Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression – Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning – Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning – Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions.
Information Ordering – Arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Problem Sensitivity – Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Skills:
Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension – Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Social Perceptiveness – Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Writing – Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Service Orientation – Actively looking for ways to help people.
Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Negotiation – Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Active Learning – Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making – Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
Graduation from an accredited college or university with an associate’s degree in any field.
Three years of full-time work experience in public contact work obtaining, analyzing, and evaluating data such as job/claims interviewing, testing, referral, and/or placement, sales representative, credit investigation, or related public contact work dealing with job applicants and employers in a variety of supportive clerical and outreach functions.
A total of three years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number two), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university coursework in any field equals one year of full-time experience.
Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes eighteen months of full-time clerical work or direct customer service work in an Iowa Workforce Development office.
Notes
Travel may be required for positions in this class. Employees must arrange transportation to and from assigned work areas.
Effective Date: 04/26 SA