Program Monitor DHH (Nutrition Operations Program Monitor)

 
The Louisiana Department of Health is dedicated to fulfilling its mission through direct provision of quality services, the development and stimulation of services of others, and the utilization of available resources in the most effective manner. 
This position is located within the Louisiana Department of Health / Office of Public / Bureau of Nutrition Services / East Baton Rouge or Orleans Parish
 
 Announcement Number: OPH/DPT/192443
 Cost Center: 3262107630
 Position Number(s): 50372363
 
This vacancy is being announced as a Classified position and will be filled as a  Probationary appointment.
 
No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.
 
Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with Federally funded nutrition programs
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills
• Ability to work independently in creative and fast moving work environments
• Produces high quality content with an eye for detail
• Strong skills in Excel and Word
• Demonstrated success working with a team of diverse initiatives and staff role

WIC MIS Nutrition Operations Program Monitor

WORKING JOB DESCRIPTION: 
 The Bureau of Nutrition Services, in the Office of Public Health, is responsible for the administration and management of two federally funded nutrition programs: the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Commodity Supplemental Nutrition Program (CSFP). WIC has an annual budget of approximately $110 million ($70 million is dedicated to supplemental food costs) and provides supplemental foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare services to approximately 105,000 participants (low-income women, infants, and children up to five years of age) monthly.

Through the WIC Program, BONS also administers the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Grant Program (annual budget of approximately $1 million). CSFP has an annual administrative budget of approximately $4.5 million and provides supplemental foods to approximately 40,000 participants (low-income individuals over 60 years of age) monthly. The value of the USDA donated supplemental foods is approximately $12 million annually. These services are provided to eligible Louisiana residents at over 60 CSFP distribution sites and 105 WIC clinics across the state.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provides regulatory guidance for both of these federally funded programs. With approximately 60 BONS state agency staff, the Bureau oversees all programmatic operations, executes and monitors 50 contracts, provides technical assistance to local staff and authorized vendors (grocery stores), and conducts required monitoring site visits, management evaluations, and investigations to ensure compliance with federal regulations and state statutes and policies.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:
The incumbent in this position serves as Program Monitor in the Nutrition Operations Section in BONS. The Nutrition Operations Section has four functional areas (breastfeeding, maternal and child nutrition, senior nutrition services, and monitoring and compliance) and is responsible for the oversight of WIC programmatic services provided by parish health units (PHU) and contract agencies at 105 sites throughout the state, oversight of the CSFP programmatic services provided by contracts agencies throughout the state, the maintenance of the management information system (MIS) LAWIN that certifies eligible WIC participants and issues electronic benefit transfer (EBT) Smart Cards to participants, food rule and food package maintenance, training and technical assistance, nutrition education and breastfeeding support, WIC clinic management evaluations and CSFP distribution site visits, participant investigations, disputes, and complaints, participant outreach, partnership with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry on the Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and management of the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Grant Program, policy development, and customer service.

The duties and responsibilities of this position include but are not limited to:
 Maintains advanced working knowledge of service provisions when using the WIC management information system (MIS) and identifies as the subject matter expert (SME) for the MIS

• Works with the MIS Vendor and participates in the design, acceptance of requirements and application vendor documentation, user acceptance testing (UAT), and MIS documentation updates
• Creates and maintains UAT test scripts appropriate for each release of the MIS application
• Performs integration testing along with regression test scripts for the verification within each release for the provision of services  
• Works with State and Regional staff, and as appropriate Vendor Operations EBT staff, to coordinate UAT resources
• Maintains UAT results and communicates with the MIS vendor, testers, and management regarding the status of UAT  
• Organizes and assigns test scripts to testers to perform UAT according to scripts and as needed to meet the timelines  
• Works with the MIS Vendor on the updates to the UAT testing environment and maintains UAT separation for UAT and training activities
• Tracks monthly participation and breastfeeding data by region and clinic site and uses graphs and/or charts to illustrate trends
• Completes end of year reconciliation of participation data in the WIC Financial Management and Participation Report (FNS 798)
• Notifies BONS and WIC field staff through various communication methods regarding new or different MIS functionality
• Attends all MIS Vendor, and as appropriate, EBT Vendor and integration calls assigned to support the MIS application
• Creates, maintains, and tests updates for food packages program categories, food rules and policies
• Works with BONS and Regional staff to update MIS policies and procedures as needed
• Participates in Mosaic Regional User Group meetings and calls as needed
• Acts as a liaison with the MIS Vendor Service Desk and Application Support Team.
• Assists with the compilation of summary reporting for WIC management regarding status of the MIS, its releases, UAT, and user adoption barriers
• Coordinates with the Office of Technology Support (OTS) regarding the maintenance and operations of the WIC MIS
• Maintains the WIC approved food and formula list
• In collaboration with Nutrition and Vendor Operations staff, updates the WIC approved food list every 2 years as mandated by USDA regulations
• Assists with the maintenance of policies and procedures for evaluating the WIC approved food list
• Acts as a liaison to wholesalers and manufacturers who wish to have their brand reviewed for the WIC approved food list
• Reviews requests from manufactures to add new products to the Approved Product List (APL) to determine if the product meets state and federal specifications
• Maintains policies and procedures for adding a UPC to the APL
• Responsible for completing the Food Package Design functional areas of the USDA WIC State Plan
• Provides technical assistance to WIC field staff on any MIS related issues that cannot be answered by the MIS help desk
• Develops evaluation tools to disseminate with all trainings and make improvements for future trainings as needed
• Work with OTS and BONS property coordinator to schedule and setup training equipment, training labs and other resources for in-person and virtual MIS trainings. Provides assistance during trainings
• Compiles summary reporting for BONS leadership regarding status of staff trainings and user adoption barriers
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of USDA regulations 
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of program rules and requirements as found in other federal laws, regulations, and policies, the Louisiana Revised Statutes and the Louisiana Administrative Code, and WIC policies and procedures
• Participates in ongoing processes to audit BONS MIS-related activities to ensure program integrity associated with the delivery of services through OPH and contractors
• Prepares and provides data as requested for management evaluations, audits, and quality assurance reviews in a timely manner
• Works collaboratively with Nutrition Operations and other BONS staff responsible for data management and integrity to assist in the application of data analysis to improve program services and operation
• Ensures that files contain complete, accurate, and up-to-date information as required by the USDA and State Agency document retention schedules
• Maintains the confidentiality of participant and program documentation as required by Program policy
• Provides data as requested to assist in program policy/procedure development and implementation

To apply for this vacancy, click on the “Apply” link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.
 
*Resumes WILL NOT be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.*
 
A resume upload will NOT populate your information into your application. Work experience left off your electronic application or only included in an attached resume is not eligible to receive credit
 
For further information about this vacancy contact:
 Debbie Parris-Thymes
 Debbie.Parris-Thymes2@la.gov
 LDH/HUMAN RESOURCES
 BATON ROUGE, LA 70821
 225 342-6477
 
 This organization participates in E-verify, and for more information on E-verify, please contact DHS at 1-888-464-4218.    Function of Work:
To perform research, analysis and policy management activities related to statewide health or social service program(s).

Level of Work:
Advanced.

Supervision Received:
Broad from a Program Monitor Supervisor--DHH or higher level.

Supervision Exercised:
None.

Location of Work:
Department of Health and Hospitals; Human Service Districts as established; and other social service entities as established by an approved DSCS Allocation Criteria Memorandum.

Job Distinctions:
Differs from Program Monitor Supervisor--DHH by the absence of supervisory responsibility.

Differs from Program Manager 1-A--DHH and Program Manager 1-B--DHH by the absence of responsibility for administering small or less complex statewide program(s).Assist with coordination, management and monitoring of statewide program(s).

Plans and coordinates the monitoring and reporting process for statewide program(s).

Develops and implements policy procedures for statewide program(s).

Monitors contracts for adherence to deliverables. Monitors service providers for compliance with federal/state guidelines and financial solvency.

Writes, negotiates and processes programmatic and budgetary contracts; initiates and negotiates contracts for new clinic agencies.

Assists with the writing and managing of grant funds.

May provide functional supervision to regional employees.

Analyzes data to track training and technical assistance needs. May conduct or coordinate training for agency staff.

Presents information to community partners and to relevant agencies.

Prepares and reviews reports from facilities and other programs outlining statistical analysis and trends.

Serve on various committees for the purpose of formulating of policies and quality assurance methods.

Assesses regional needs related to resources, information gaps and barriers to service.

Implements provider recruitment strategies to address resource and service needs.

Assists rural and underserved communities in their efforts to secure grant funding for community-based projects to improve access to local health care services by way of: skill-building, training, grant writing, technical assistance, etc.

Monitors expenditures and accounts payable for grant and contract deliverables.

Tracks occurrences and participates in investigations.

Coordinates and maintains department's internal monitoring procedures for legislation.

Coordinates with Information Technology staff for the design and maintenance of data reports.