CUSTOMER CARE TEAM LEAD/ADV CUSTOMER CARE AGENT LEAD/ADV

State of Maryland; Maryland; Remote; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hours

Hybrid teleworking

Paid holidays 12-13 per year

Generous leave package (annual, sick,?

State Pension

Job summary

Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation seeks a Team Lead/Advanced Specialist for the FAMLI Customer Care team. Lead customer care operations, guide staff, and resolve complex inquiries across multiple channels to ensure accurate, timely service.

The role emphasizes policy knowledge, cross-team collaboration, and ongoing training, with flexible hours and hybrid telework as part of benefits.

Qualifications

• Three years of customer service experience in a call center environment.
• One year of experience in a customer service environment.
• CRM experience (Salesforce & Genesys preferred).
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred.

Responsibilities

• Handles incoming calls from employers, workers, and other stakeholders regarding FAMLI program eligibility and documentation requirements.
• Responds via multiple channels: phone, email, webmail, live chat.
• Provides day-to-day direction and workload management to Customer Care staff.
• Directs workload distribution and operational priorities based on needs.
• Supports onboarding, training, and quality reviews within the team.
• Resolves complex inquiries with advanced program knowledge and escalations.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Call center experience

Leadership

Bilingual (preferred)

Education

Bachelor's degree

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Genesys

Job description

Introduction

Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program makes sure all workers in Maryland have paid time off for medical and family reasons. FAMLI is a social insurance system covering 2.6 million workers and 180,000 employers, delivered as a digitally native, public-facing service. We’re in the early stages of building something as big and as far-reaching as unemployment insurance or a new health department. We know that delivering services primarily through a website, over the Internet, is a new way of doing business in government. The Customer Care team is the first point of contact for the FAMLI program, providing essential support to employers and workers. The Customer Care team strives to meet people where they are and create pathways for people of different needs and abilities to get the services they need. The Customer Care team’s clear, empathetic, and effective assistance is at the heart of our mission to ensure Maryland workers get paid when they need time to care for themselves and their families.

Remote Position

This is a Remote position.

Grade

ASTD13

Location of Position

100 S. Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Main Purpose of Job

The Customer Care team within the Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) at the Maryland Department of Labor serves as a critical connection between the program and the workers and employers it supports. As a Team Lead/Advanced Specialist, this position provides advanced program support, guidance, and leadership to help ensure the delivery of accurate, consistent, and high-quality customer service. A Customer Care Agent Lead/Advanced is the lead or advanced level of work providing customer support on the customer care team in the Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) at the Maryland Department of Labor. Employees in this classification respond to inquiries from claimants and employers, provide assistance with account creation, and provide support to claimants that seek to file for FAMLI benefits. Employees in this classification with lead level responsibilities assign, review, and approve the work of and train lower-level Customer Care Agents. Employees in this classification with advanced level responsibilities function as a customer care specialist and work to respond to and resolve complex inquiries and manage customer claim escalations. The role serves as a subject matter resource for Customer Care staff, assists with resolving complex or escalated inquiries, supports case management and quality assurance efforts, and provides guidance on program policies, procedures, and service expectations. The position also supports daily Customer Care operations by identifying trends, addressing service delivery challenges, and helping staff navigate issues that require advanced review or coordination with other FAMLI teams.

Position Duties

Team Lead Responsibilities

• Handles incoming calls from employers, workers, and other stakeholders regarding FAMLI program eligibility, account creation, claim status, and documentation requirements.
• Respond to inquiries using multiple communication channels, including phones, email, webmail, and live chat.
• Provides day‑to‑day support and operational direction to Customer Care staff while maintaining an active individual workload.
• Directs daily workload distribution, staffing coverage, case assignments, and operational priorities based on business needs and service volume.
• Supports onboarding, training, quality reviews, performance monitoring, and employee development.
• Monitors team performance, case queues, workload, and service levels and identifies areas requiring additional support or intervention.
• Provides leadership during high-volume periods, complex customer situations, critical incidents, and operational challenges.
• Communicates program updates, process changes, and operational expectations and ensures staff understand and apply established procedures.
• Works with the Supervisor to identify performance, staffing, training, and operational needs and recommends appropriate solutions.

Advanced Specialist Responsibilities

• Serves as a senior-level resource on FAMLI policies, regulations, procedures, systems, and program processes.
• Handles incoming calls from employers, workers, and other stakeholders regarding FAMLI program eligibility, account creation, claim status, and documentation requirements.
• Respond to inquiries using multiple communication channels, including phones, email, webmail, and live chat.
• Conducts in-depth research and analysis to resolve complex, unusual, or highly technical customer inquiries and cases.
• Applies advanced knowledge of FAMLI requirements to evaluate issues, identify appropriate resolutions, and determine when formal escalation or program‑area review is necessary.
• Maintains current knowledge of program changes and researches new requirements to support accurate implementation across Customer Care.
• Reviews and supports the resolution of Tier 3/4 inquiries and escalated cases requiring advanced program knowledge.
• Researches recurring issues, process gaps, and policy questions and develops recommendations to improve consistency and customer service.
• Collaborates with Policy, Employer Services, Insurance Plan Compliance, Claims Management, Benefits Payment Management, and other FAMLI teams on complex issues.
• Provides knowledge‑sharing and advanced training to Customer Care staff on complex processes, procedures, and program updates.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Three years of customer service experience, including handling inquiries, resolving issues, and providing information in a call center environment, and one year of experience working in a customer service environment.

Notes

• Candidates may substitute 30 college credit hours from an accredited college or university on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.
• Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

Desired or Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with CRM software (Salesforce & Genesys preferred).
• Bi-lingual communication skills to effectively interact with customers and provide clear, professional service in both languages.
• Experience handling a high volume of inbound customer calls.
• A Bachelor’s degree in a related field (e.g., Public Administration, Business Administration, Social Work, Customer Service).

Special Requirements

All candidates are subject to a background check against files maintained by the Division of Unemployment Insurance (Labor/DUI) to determine whether any monies are owed to Labor/DUI as a result of unemployment insurance overpayment/fraud. Any unpaid debt may have an impact on whether or not a candidate is offered employment.

Benefits

• Flexible hours and hybrid teleworking
• Paid holidays 12-13 per year
• Generous paid leave package (annual, sick, personal and compensatory leave)
• State Pension ("defined benefit" plan)
• Tax-deferred supplemental retirement savings plans (401(k) and 457)
• Comprehensive, subsidized health, dental and prescription plans with little to no deductibles, free generic prescriptions, and free preventative health services
• Flexible Spending Account plans for Health Care and Daycare
• State Employees Credit Union

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of MD Labor that all persons have equal opportunity and access to employment opportunities, services, and facilities without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status.