Chief Operating Officer

If you are a current State of Maine employee please submit your application through the internal application process using the Find Jobs report in PRISM. Seasonal employees who do not have PRISM access should apply through the States career page and indicate on the application that they have previously worked for the State.

.

Department ofHealth and Human Services (DHHS)

Public Service Manager III

Opening Date:February 17 2026

Closing Date:March 2 2026

Job Class Code:MA36

Grade:36 (Confidential)

Salary:$92851.20 $131518.40 per year

Position Number:02000-1656

Location:Augusta OFI Central Office

This is a full-time position located in Augusta and offers up to three days per week of telework with management approval.

Core Responsibilities:

As Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Office for Family Independence (OFI) you will work in partnership with the Director and Senior Management Team to implement the Offices strategic priorities operations technology and compliance functions. You will lead by example and serve as a thought partner to the Director and collaborative manager for your direct reports. Key challenges and opportunities that you will address in the first two years include:

Ensuring that Maines SNAP Payment Error Rate reaches 6% by October 2026 and eventually sustains itself at 5% in Federal Fiscal Year 2027.

Ensuring 90-95% of applications renewals and other tasks are processed within internal and external timeline targets.

Operationalizing MaineCare community engagement requirements in 2027.

Managing large vendor-led technology projects to budget and schedule.

Additional responsibilities include:

leading multidisciplinary teams to successful outcomes

making decisions that are in the best interest of the people that OFI serves as well as the Department

providing oversight of the Offices regional and central operations disability determinations business technology HR compliance fraud and contracting functions

collaborating across the Department to balance priorities and ensure unity of effort

coordinating teams and resources to achieve milestones for key projects

engaging with Federal partners and other key stakeholders especially for final approval of technology projects and operational program waivers

working with the Program Financial Officer (PFO) to maintain the financial health of the office including developing the annual budget and reviewing/approving transactions

managing key vendor contracts and competitive procurements in close collaboration with the Departments Division of Contract Management (DCM) and others

attending meetings or making decisions in place of the Director in their absence

Competencies:

Leadership Demonstrated ability to manage coach inspire and motivate staff and others to accomplish mission and goals by providing clear direction and positive interpersonal influence. Acts with integrity and respect. Exhibits empathy and humility in decision-making and interactions.

Focus on Results A record of achieving agency/organizational goals through measuring and monitoring organizational and individual performance.

Data-informed decision making Ability to interpret qualitative and quantitative data to inform operational and resource decisions and to interpret data and use critical thinking skills to identify trends to steer the organization towards continuous improvement.

Staff Support and Development Continuously assesses strengths and development needs of employees. Provides challenging assignments and opportunities for development. Provides clear and regular feedback.

Customer Service Orientation Commitment to meeting consumer needs and building partnerships with constituents staff and other state agencies.

Planning and Organization Highly organized with strong planning prioritization and oversight abilities. Balance competing priorities anticipate risks and ensures work is aligned with our Offices short term/long term strategic goals project timelines and available resources.

Minimum Qualifications:

To qualify your background must include a 10-year combination of education and experience in health or human services or related areas. At least five of those years must be in a senior level role managing multiple teams of professional staff.

The backgrounds of well-qualified candidates should demonstrate:

• A proven ability to successfully manage the delivery of health and human services programs and operations within a large organization.
• A history of being an effective project managerdelegating and holding others accountable for their work products bringing initiatives to successful implementation across multiple teams.
• Large project management expertise especially related to technology project and managing large groups of staff performing similar functions to meet organization objectives (ie eligibility determinations in OFIs case)
• The ability to establish effective internal and interagency working relationships.
• Exceptional communication skills.
• A record consistently demonstrating strong personal attributes including coaching/mentoring/ team-building skills self-organizational skills effective decision-making and professional integrity.
• Professional or lived experience with Medicaid SNAP and/or TANF.

Thinking about applying

Research shows that people from historically excluded communities tend to apply to jobs only when they check every box in the posting. If youre currently reading this and hesitating to apply for that reason we encourage you to go for it! Let us know how your experience and passion set you apart.

Agency information:

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is dedicated to promoting health safety resilience and opportunity for Maine people. The Department provides health and social services to approximately a third of the States population including children families older Mainers and individuals with disabilities mental illness and substance use disorders. The Department also promotes public health operates two state psychiatric hospitals and provides oversight to health care providers.

The Office for Family Independence (OFI) connects Maine families to services and programs that foster health safety resilience and opportunity and help them to meet a wide variety of needs. We determine initial and ongoing eligibility for the MaineCare (Medicaid) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) public assistance programs and issue benefits for SNAP and TANF. We also provide services related to training and education child support disability determination and fraud investigation/recovery.

Application Information:

For additional information about this position please contact Marcus Hatch at or .

A cover letter is required for this position. Applications submitted without a cover letter will not be reviewed. Your cover letter should directly address the following questions:

Why are you interested in this role

Why would you excel in this role

What would you hope to achieve in your first two years in this role

Please submit all documents or files in PDF or Word format.

VACANCIES ARE LISTED BY LOCATION for 2 weeks on the State of Maine Career Page.

To request a paper application please contact

Benefits of working for the State of Maine:

No matter where you work across Maine state government you find employees who embody our state mottoDirigo or I leadas they provide essential services to Mainers every day. We believe in supporting our workforces health and wellbeing with a valuable total compensation package including:

• Work-Life Fit Rest is essential. Take time for yourself using13 paid holidays 12 days of sick leave and3 weeks of vacation leaveannually. Vacation leave accrual increases with years of service and overtime-exempt employees receive personal leave.
• Health Insurance Coverage The State of Maine pays85%-100%of employee-only premiums ($12845.82 - $15112.76 annual value) depending on salary. Use this chart to find thepremium costsfor you and your family including the percentage of dependent coverage paid by the State.
• Health Insurance Premium Credit Participation decreases employee-only premiums by 5%. Visit the Office of Employee Health and Wellness for more information aboutprogram requirements.
• Dental Insurance The State of Maine pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums ($395.72 annual value).
• Retirement Plan The State contributes the equivalent of 18.91% of the employees pay towards the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS).
• Parental leaveis one of the most important benefits for any working parent. All employees who are welcoming a childincluding non-birthing and adoptive parentsreceivesix weeks of fully paid parental leave. Additional unpaid leave may also be available under theFamily and Medical Leave Act.

State employees are eligible for anextensive and highly competitive benefits package covering many aspects of wellness. Learn about additional wellness benefits for State employees from the Office of Employee Health and Wellness.

Note: Benefits may vary somewhat according to specific collective bargaining agreements and are prorated foranything less than full-time.

Theres a job and then theres purposeful transformative work. Our aim is to create a workplace where you can learn grow and continuously refine your skills. Applicants demonstrate job requirements in differing ways and we appreciate that many skills and backgrounds can make people successful in this role.

As an Equal Opportunity employer Maine State Government embraces a culture of respect and awareness. We are committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all team members and our process ensures an inclusive environment to applicants of all backgrounds including diverse race color sex sexual orientation or gender identity physical or mental disability religion age ancestry national origin familial status or genetics.

If youre looking for a great next step and want to feel good about what you do wed love to hear from you. Please note reasonable accommodations are provided to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.

.

If you are unable to complete the online application please contact the Human Resources representative listed on the job opening you are interested in applying for. They will work with you for an alternative method of submitting.