Administrative Specialist II

King County, WA; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Transit pass

Paid holidays and vacation

Flexible schedules

Training and career development

Job summary

Public Health – Seattle & King County is seeking an Administrative Specialist II for the CD-Imms section to provide pivotal administrative support in a fast-paced public health environment.

You will triage multi-line calls, process communicable disease reports, coordinate specimen handling, and maintain multiple databases with strict confidentiality and accuracy.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience providing administrative support full time in healthcare or government settings with medical providers and laboratories.
• Experience working in a busy office with high-volume calls and data entry.
• Ability to handle confidential information with tact and discretion.
• Knowledge of equity and social justice principles and practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide healthcare administrative support by contacting providers, labs, and hospitals to obtain patient demographics and confidential information.
• Route communicable disease reports to internal and external partners and manage intake in databases.
• Provide information to the public and healthcare providers via phone, email, and postal mail.
• Maintain and organize disease case reports across multiple secure channels and databases.
• Coordinate specimen pickup and delivery to labs, including after-hours and weekend coverage.
• Offer direct customer service over the phone in a fast-paced environment.

Skills

Administrative support

Customer service

Data entry

Communication

Teamwork

Tools

MS Teams

Outlook

Word

Excel

SharePoint

PowerPoint

Job description

The Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization (CD-Imms) section resides within the Prevention Division here in Public Health – Seattle & King County. The CD-Imms section focuses on three major functions: Disease Surveillance, Case Investigation and Intervention. The section is led by the Chief and the Deputy Chief and is composed of 4 teams: Investigations, Analytics and Informatics, Immunization and Administration. We are a large, skilled, passionate team of ~ 70 FTEs that oversees the 65+ reportable diseases and conditions (excluding TB, STD and HIV) from healthcare professionals and laboratories in King County. Some of our work includes investigating cases and identifying other exposed persons requiring follow up; analyze disease report data and trends to identify opportunities for disease prevention; monitor emergency department visits for indications of outbreaks or biological terrorism; conduct influenza surveillance year-round. We also lead immunization strategies to increase vaccine uptake especially among school age children and high-risk groups. Cross-collaboration across teams is central to our workflow and each team supports one another to achieve the objectives of the section. The Administrative Specialist II position will be responsible for administrative support to the Communicable Diseases Epidemiology & Immunization Section (CD-Imms). This position will provide customer service and support in a fast-paced work environment. This position will be responsible for triaging multi-line calls from healthcare providers, laboratories, and the public, intake of communicable disease cases reports over the phone, requesting and reviewing lab reports from medical facilities, coordinating and transporting specimens throughout King County, performing high-volume data entry into multiple databases, and other administrative duties as assigned. This position reports to the Public Health Administrative Support Supervisor (PHASS).

NOTE:

Commitment To Equity and Social Justice

Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures. The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts. We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. To learn more, please visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx

Work Schedule

The work schedule for the position is from 8AM to 5PM Monday through Friday and may include occasional nights and weekends. This position is overtime eligible.

Work Location

Chinook Building - 401 5th Ave. Seattle, WA 98104

Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

Job Duties

Healthcare Administrative Support

• Contact health care providers, laboratories, and hospitals to obtain patient demographic and confidential information.
• Route communicable disease reports received by email/fax to internal and external partners, including other local health jurisdictions and the Washington State Department of Health.
• Provide sensitive communicable disease information to the public and health care providers through various channels (telephone, email, mail).
• Maintain electronic records of disease case report files, request older case reports from the record center as needed, and send records to the archives.
• Arrange for specimens to be picked up from various locations (including private residences) throughout King County and be delivered to local or state laboratories for testing, including on evenings, weekends and after hours, either by driving the specimens or arranging for a courier service.
• Provide direct customer service and support over the phone to healthcare providers, laboratories, and the general public in a fast-paced work environment.

Case Management

• Process high-volume communicable disease reports submitted over the phone, via electronic fax, US mail, and the disease report line and perform daily intake by entering information in a timely and accurate way into multiple databases and triaging calls to staff.
• Maintain case reports received in various secure email mailboxes in Microsoft Outlook
• Maintain the disease hotline and record new messages as needed

Data Entry and Clerical Work

• Sort and distribute incoming mail, and process outgoing mail by creating labels, updating mailing lists, and assisting with bulk mailing projects.
• Perform data entry corrections in the local and state surveillance databases and participate in annual data reconciliation.
• Coordinate and schedule meetings, reserve conference rooms via MS Teams and Outlook and set up audiovisual equipment, record meeting minutes, and attend meetings as a representative of the administrative team as requested.
• Manage the distribution and collection of equipment to staff, including computers and peripherals; provide instructions for use of computers, projector screens, phones/headset, scanners, faxes, printers and copiers and facilitate resolution of technical issues by calling maintenance service or repair if needed.
• Prepare and maintain documents, packets, manuals, and forms, spreadsheets, and mailing lists.
• Update inventory for the section.
• Maintain and update loaner laptops.
• Maintain and create personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for employees.
• Fax, copy, conduct word processing, create transparencies, and provide support with Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentations, Publisher, and Access as needed; provide file management support in Teams and SharePoint.
• Perform other duties as assigned

Minimum

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

• Demonstrated experience of providing administrative support full time in a healthcare related setting or government agency working directly with medical providers and laboratories
• Experience working in a busy office setting with high volume calls, triaging multi line phones.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with others, including working as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience conducting high volume and accurate data entry documentation
• Ability to handle confidential information with tact and discretion.
• Knowledge of equity and social justice principles and practices, and understanding of the effects of place, race and policy, systems and environment -based inequities on marginalized communities and populations.
• Demonstrated effective communication skills that are culturally appropriate, respectful and non-judgmental.
• Demonstrated experience providing customer service with diverse populations, under varying degrees of stress, with discretion, patience, etiquette, and professionalism, in person and over the phone in a fast-paced, high volume work environment
• Documented experience working with electronic health records and disease surveillance systems.
• Skilled at problem-solving, troubleshooting, organizing, prioritizing and completing multiple tasks simultaneously, with the ability to adapt to changes in workload demands and meet strict deadlines.
• Experience gathering, organizing, and evaluating data, utilizing intermediate skills to track, evaluate and report quantitative information.
• Knowledge of medical terminology related to communicable diseases
• Demonstrated ability to lift up to 20 pounds to move boxes, retrieve health records, replenish office supplies with or without reasonable accommodation
• This may involve intermittent lifting, standing, stooping, bending, reaching and extensive walking during course of the workday
• Proficiency with software applications and word processing applications, including Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint, Adobe Acrobat
• Valid Washington State Driver’s license required. (Must be willing to drive to collect/distribute specimens within King County locations during and after business hours – including weekends and nights)

Desired

• Ability to work well under pressure and time constraints
• HIPAA training/ certifications
• Demonstrated ability to identify and prioritize time sensitive matters and respond with a sense of urgency while adapting to changes in workload demands
• Years of experience in general administrative office duties, such as sorting and distributing mail, faxing, scanning, photocopying, setting up printers and copiers, filing a high volume of documents, sending confidential documents via secure email, scheduling meetings and interviews (via MS Teams/Microsoft Outlook) and taking meeting minutes
• Experience performing high volume data entry (experience in using 10 -key)
• Within the last 5 years a minimum of two (2) consecutive years of demonstrated experience in a healthcare field or setting working directly with medical providers and laboratories
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience using surveillance databases such as the Washington Disease Reporting System (WDRS) database, REDCap and the Washington State Immunization Information System (WAIIS)
• Strong interpersonal skills including healthy conflict resolution
• Knowledge of medical terminology related to COVID-19, vaccine preventable and enteric/foodborne related communicable diseases
• Demonstrated ability to reliably attend work and meet obligations
• Experience managing public records requests
• Demonstrated ability to learn and comprehend new and complex bodies of knowledge efficiently

Necessary Special Requirements

• The selection process may include evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.
• The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of Basic Life Support (BLS) / CPR.
• The selected candidate must be able to pass a thorough background investigation and Pre-Employment Physical, but findings may not necessarily disqualify an applicant for employment.
• For more information on our selection process, please refer to www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring. For tips on interviewing, please visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/audience/employees/learning-and-development/Interview_Tips.ashx?la=en.
• Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
• Public Health relies on office automation (Microsoft Office) and web-based enabled tools, therefore candidates must be proficient and comfortable with computer use to perform functions associated with on-going work.
• Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WISHA guidelines including but not limited to completing their mandatory trainings on time and obtaining required immunizations.
• Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health positions.
• When Public Health responds to an emergency, and in accordance with relevant CLA language and/or KC policy and procedures, we may assign duties outside your regular job description. This may involve responding at any time, including nights and weekends, with possible deployment to locations other than the department.

Supplemental Information

Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

King County's Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values

King County serves residents with a relentless sense of urgency, delivering on commitments with transparency and accountability. We are action-oriented, creative problem solvers who collaborate across roles, engage directly with communities, and challenge the status quo to achieve meaningful impact. As a unified team, we uphold high ethical and stewardship standards, embrace change, stay curious, and continuously improve. Across all interactions, we listen first, act quickly, and stay aligned as a team to earn and sustain public trust. Learn more about our Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values here and visit our Why work at King County page here.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on sex, race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age except by minimum age and retirement provisions, pregnancy, status as a family caregiver, parental status, marital status, military status or status as a veteran who was honorably discharged or who was discharged solely as a result of the person's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, citizenship or immigration status, genetic information, or other protected class. However, to the extent that distinction or differential treatment on the basis of citizenship or immigration status is authorized by either federal or state law, regulation, or government contract, it is not an unfair practice. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

Union Membership

Protec 17

Benefits

King County offers a highly-competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet the diverse needs of our employees and support our employees' health and well-being. Eligible positions receive the following benefits and have access to the following programs:

• Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage options: King County provides eligible employees with options, so they can decide what’s best for themselves and their eligible dependents
• Life and disability insurance: employees are provided basic coverage and given the opportunity to purchase additional insurance for both the employee and eligible dependents
• Retirement: eligible King County employees may participate in a pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems and a 457(b) deferred-compensation plan
• Transportation program and ORCA transit pass
• 12 paid holidays each year plus two personal holidays
• Generous vacation and paid sick leave
• Paid parental, family and medical, and volunteer leaves
• Flexible Spending Account
• Wellness programs
• Onsite activity centers
• Employee Giving Program
• Employee assistance programs
• Flexible schedules and telecommuting options, depending on position
• Training and career development programs

For additional information about employee benefits, visit our Benefits, Payroll, and Retirement Page.

This is a general description of the benefits offered to eligible King County employees, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. If any information on this document conflicts with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA prevails.

NOTE: Benefits for Term Limited Temporary (TLT) or Short Term Temporary (STT) positions, including leave eligibility and/or participation in the pension plan through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, will vary based upon the terms and details of the position. Short Term Temporary positions are not eligible for an ORCA transit pass.