Review Vacancy

Date Posted: 12/22/25
Applications Due: 01/05/26
Vacancy ID: 205554

Position Information

NY HELPYes

AgencyPeople With Developmental Disabilities, Office for

TitleProgram Operations Specialist 1

Occupational CategoryOther Professional Careers

Salary Grade18

Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)

Salary RangeFrom $66951 to $85138 Annually

Employment Type Full-Time

Appointment Type Permanent

Jurisdictional Class Competitive Class

Travel Percentage 15%

Schedule

Workweek Mon-Fri

Hours Per Week 37.5

Workday

From 8:30 AM

To 4:30 PM

Flextime allowed? No

Mandatory overtime? No

Compressed workweek allowed? No

Telecommuting allowed? Yes

Location

County Albany

Street Address 44 Holland Ave

City Albany

StateNY

Zip Code12229

Job Specifics

Duties Description The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) has approximately 18,000 employees across
1,000+ locations, and provides services to approximately 121,000 people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
OPWDD's Office of Investigations and Internal Affairs (OIIA) is the independent investigative arm for OPWDD. OIIA has an
investigative presence in all twelve regional offices across the six state operational regions. With this position, we are looking for
a supportive team member who is organized, eager to learn, and has a strong sense of responsibility to their coworkers and
communities.

The Program Operations Specialist 1 will report to the Chief of Investigations and support them to complete critical professional and
administrative tasks to meet the daily needs of the office and agency, and carry out the mission of the Office. The position will work
closely with all members of the Investigations team and interact with OPWDD leaders and staff from other divisions and in multiple
locations of NYS.

Additional duties include:
• Support the daily operational activities of the Chief and Deputy Chief of Investigation in the Office of Investigations and Internal
Affairs.
• Assist the Deputy Chief of Investigation in the management and notification of OIIA's regional weekly case updates.
• Coordinate with the Supervising Investigators in the facilitation and of incident and investigative regional case updates to include
facilitating investigative updates with IMU specific to non-state operated investigative assignment.
• Receive training on the multiple systems for investigating, and interpreting OIIA incidents for assigning priority reviews and field
observations of reportable abuse, neglect, significant incidents and serious notable occurrances particularly with the Samsara team (formerly Lytx).
• Coordinate and document reported issues from OIIA field offices to OIIA Leadership.
• Other duties as assigned.


**Telecommuting to be discussed at interview**


Preferred qualifications:
• Strong organizational skills and analytical skills
• Excellent communication skills
• High Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel
• Presentation skills

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nys-office-for-people-with-developmental-disabilities/posts/?feedView=all

#LI-GM1

Minimum Qualifications OPEN COMPETITIVE:
Program Operations Specialist Trainee 1, NS (equivalent to SG-14):
A bachelor’s degree in a human services field.

Program Operations Specialist Trainee 2, NS (equivalent to SG-16):
A bachelor’s degree in a human services field and one year of experience in a federal or state certified human service program, which must have been in a professional administrative position in which a major duty involved planning, coordinating, monitoring or evaluating a provision of services for people with developmental disabilities. This experience must have included information gathering and analysis.

Program Operations Specialist 1, SG-18:
A bachelor’s degree in a human services field and two years of experience in a federal or state certified human service program. One year of this experience must have been in a professional administrative position in which a major duty involved planning, coordinating, monitoring or evaluating a provision of services for people with developmental disabilities. This experience must have included information gathering and analysis.

COMPETITIVE:
Candidates must be reachable for appointment on the current Civil Service Eligible List or the Professional Career Opportunities (PCO) Eligible List for this title.

Substitution:
A Juris Doctor, master's or higher degree in a related field can substitute for one year of specialized experience.

TRANSFER:
Candidates must have one year of permanent competitive or 55-b/c status in the posted title and be eligible for lateral transfer; OR be eligible to transfer via Section 70.1, 70.4, or 52.6 of Civil Service Law. The transfer cannot be a second consecutive transfer resulting in an advancement of more than two salary grades.

To determine if your current Civil Service title is eligible for transfer to this title, visit the Career Mobility GOT-IT website https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/index.cfm.

55 B/C QUALIFICATIONS:
• Possess the minimum qualifications for this title as established by the Department of Civil Service and listed on the most recent exam announcement.
• Meet the applicable minimal mental and/or physical requirements for the job (with a reasonable accommodation, if necessary).
• Have a current Eligibility Letter from the NYS Department of Civil Service, www.cs.ny.gov/rp55/, and be able to provide it to the Human Resources Office upon request.

Additional Comments This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). HELPS Program titles may be filled via a non-competitive appointment. This means that you do not need to take an exam to qualify, but you do need to meet the minimum qualifications of the title.

At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), employees hired under NY HELPS are expected to have their permanent non-competitive employment status converted to permanent competitive status. You will not have to take an exam to gain permanent competitive status.

• Appointments may also be made at the Program Operations Specialist Trainee levels. Candidates hired at the entry-level title (Program Operations Specialist Trainee 1) may be advanced to the full-performance level (Program Operations Specialist 1) following satisfactory completion of two-years of service.

Salary range listed below encompasses the hiring rate of a Program Operations Specialist Trainee 1 through the job rate of a Program Operations Specialist 1.

• Program Operations Specialist Trainee 1: $53,764*

• Program Operations Specialist Trainee 2: $59,994*

• Program Operations Specialist 1: $66,951* - $85,138*


• If you are currently a New York State employee serving in a permanent competitive qualifying title and eligible for a transfer via Section 70.1 or 52.6 of the Civil Service Law, you may be appointed to this title as a permanent competitive employee.

• The assignment of PS&T employees will be made in accordance with any agreed upon Memorandum of Understanding between PEF and the local DDSO regarding the posting of job vacancies.

• Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this on your resume.

• All OPWDD employees must be eligible and maintain eligibility for full and unconditional participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Continued employment will depend on maintaining eligibility.

• If you are employed by state government you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments have been made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. For more information on PSLF, please visit www.studentAid.gov/publicservice.

• Employees on long term leave can bid on positions but must be able to report to work within fourteen (14) days and be able to perform the essential functions of their positions with or without reasonable accommodation (RA).

• If an employee or job applicant believes that they need a reasonable accommodation, they should contact the Reasonable Accommodation Unit at (518) 486-7222 or email accommodationrequests@opwdd.ny.gov to obtain information and RA forms.

• Savings programs such as the U.S. Savings Bond and the College Savings Plan.

• Voluntary pre-tax savings programs such as Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account offer employees options to pay for uncovered health care expenses or dependent care expenses.

• Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) an assessment and referral service that connects employees with local service providers and support services to address their personal needs.

• Life insurance and Disability insurance.

• The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan is a voluntary retirement plan that offers employees the option to invest a part of their salaries for retirement on a tax-deferred basis.

• Paid Holidays and Leave:
° Thirteen (13) paid holidays each year.
° Thirteen (13) days of paid vacation leave initially.
° Five (5) days paid personal leave each year.
° Thirteen (13) days of paid sick leave each year (PEF/CSEA), which may carry over from year to year.
° Up to three (3) days professional leave each year to participate in professional development events.

• Health Care Coverage:
Employees and their eligible dependents can choose from a variety of affordable health insurance programs. Employees are provided family dental and vision plans at no extra cost.

• Paid Parental Leave:
Paid Parental Leave allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave at full pay for each qualifying event. A qualifying event is defined as the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.

• Retirement Program:
Participate in The NYS Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), which is recognized as one of the best-managed and best-funded public retirement systems in the nation.

• Professional Development and Education and Training:
NYS offers training programs and tuition assistance to eligible employees to maintain and increase their professional skills and prepare them for promotional opportunities. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/training-and-professional-development.

• Additionally, the Public Service Workshops Program (PSWP) offers certain professional training opportunities for PEF represented and M/C designated employees that may grant continuing education credits towards maintaining professional licensure. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/public-service-workshops-program-pswp.

• OPWDD is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer dedicated to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion. We believe that we are most effective in managing and improving our service system with a diverse team of employees. With such a large workforce, we rely on the collective individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, ideas and talent that our employees bring to their work. This speaks to our culture and is a key part of our successes. As we continuously recruit people for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that applicants bring in terms of their education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

***All people with disabilities are encouraged to apply***

Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.

How to Apply

Name Central Office Human Resources

Telephone 518-473-4785

Fax 518-474-9902

Email Address MainOffice.Careers@opwdd.ny.gov

Address

Street Central Office Human Resources

44 Holland Ave

City Albany

State NY

Zip Code 12229

 

Notes on ApplyingPlease email your resume to Mainoffice.Careers@opwdd.ny.gov and reference vacancy ID in your email.