Senior Manager of Appeals - Attorney 4 - Paid Leave

Working Title: Senior Manager of Appeals

Job Class: Attorney 4

Agency: Department of Employment and Economic Development

• Job ID : 82413

• Location : St. Paul

• Telework Eligible : Yes, may be eligible to telework up to four (4) days per week

• Full/Part Time : Full-Time

• Regular/Temporary : Unlimited

• Who May Apply : Open to all qualified job seekers

• Date Posted : 12/7/2024

• Closing Date : 01/02/2025

• Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit : Employment & Economic Development Department- Managerial

• Division/Unit : Paid Family & Medical Leave

• Work Shift/Work Hours : Day Shift

• Days of Work : Monday - Friday

• Travel Required : No

• Salary Range: $45.03 - $64.69 / hourly; $94,022 - $135,072 / annually

• Classified Status : Classified

• Bargaining Unit/Union : 220 - Manager/Unrepresented

• FLSA Status : Exempt - Executive

• Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities (~~~/) : Yes

The work you'll do is more than just a job.

At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.

About the Paid Leave Division:

Paid Leave is a new program launching in 2026. The program will provide partial wage replacement to Minnesota workers who are out of work due to a qualifying condition, such as a severe health condition that prevents them from working, or when they need time to care for a family member or a new child.

We are building a program that will be easy for every Minnesotan to use. We are engaging the people who depend on us-workers, employers, caregivers, and insurers-to learn from them and build the program around their needs. We are using modern service delivery and product practices to deliver the program.

The Paid Leave team has high standards and an unrelenting commitment to serving Minnesotans. It is a start-up environment without legacy systems or preconceived ways of working, so we have a unique opportunity to create human-centric processes and systems to deliver this new benefit to Minnesotans.

Position Purpose:

The Senior Manager of Appeals plays a critical role in our organization by providing strategic leadership and oversight to adjudicate all Paid Leave appeals. As the incumbent, you will be responsible for creating the team, processes, and identifying the systems required to deliver successful appeals capabilities that meet all statute and legal requirements. Once live, you will manage the day-to-day activities of the appeals function, ensuring prompt scheduling, thorough preparation and documentation, and high-quality adjudication and decisioning. Additionally, you'll synthesize your learnings and partner across the division to resolve issues that lead to appeals. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you're key to the overall success of our division.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead Appeals Division: Provide leadership to a team of 25-35 employees, including hearing lawyers, examiners, and administrative staff.

• Appeals Hearings and Adjudication: Oversee end-to-end operations of appeals hearings, including scheduling and administration, prioritizing clear communications with on-time and quality decisioning.

• Legal Advice: Provide legal advice to senior staff, supporting consistent interpretation of applicable statutes and rules related to Paid Leave.

• Quality and Compliance: Review draft decisions to ensure quality, consistency, and compliance.

• Start-up Spirit: We're a start-up within state government; you are excited to play a key role in developing the organization, processes, and systems required to deliver the appeals capabilities for Paid Leave.

This position is telework (~~~) eligible and is occasionally required to be on-site at the St. Paul office. Staff are provided with the tools and equipment to be successful in a virtual work environment and may telework from anywhere in Minnesota or a neighboring state. Please note, the telework policy could change with notice based on business needs.

This posting may be used to fill multiple positions.

Minimum Qualifications

Please ensure that your resume clearly describes your experience in the areas listed and indicates the beginning and ending month and year for each job held. Only applicants whose resumes clearly demonstrate fulfillment of each of these minimum qualifications will be considered for this position.

Four (4) years of experience in a supervisory, managerial, or leadership role overseeing administrative law processes in a law firm, legal nonprofit, or public sector setting. Two (2) of those years must include experience conducting legal research, writing, and analysis in a law firm, legal nonprofit, or public sector setting.

Applicants that meet the above minimum qualification will be further evaluated on the following

• Juris Doctorate (JD) from an ABA accredited law school

• Licensed to practice law in Minnesota

• Experience designing new processes or improving existing processes

• Ability to cultivate strong, trusting relationships with internal and external stakeholders

• Ability to identify and solve root causes to eliminate reoccurring issues

• Coaching, mentoring, and developing staff while building relationships

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of appeals processes and hearing requirements at scale

• Demonstrated ability to measure and meet operational service level agreements

• Experience partnering with Product Managers to translate your vision into functional and technical requirements

• Ability to develop a measurement plan with clear metrics and dashboards to accurately depict the health of your business processes and direct your attention to top priorities

• Ability to work in a start-up environment where roles will evolve over time based on the needs of the organization

Our employees are dedicated to ensuring cultural responsiveness. Preferred candidates will have a variety of experiences working effectively with others from different backgrounds and cultures

Additional Requirements

A job offer will be contingent upon successfully passing a background check. The background check may consist of the following components:

• Criminal Background Check

• Employment Record Review (current and former State employees only)

• Employment Reference Check

• Conflict of Interest Review

• Driver's Record Check

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will not sponsor applicants for work visas. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is an Equal Opportunity employer/educator committed to the principles of diversity. We prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or membership in a local commission as defined by law. As an affirmative action employer, we actively seek and encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and individuals with protected veteran status.

Reasonable accommodations will be made to all qualified applicants with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability who needs assistance or cannot access the online job application system, please contact the job information line at ~~~ or email ~~~ . Please indicate what assistance is needed.