Paralegal Quality Assurance Specialist Human Resources Division

Mission: The mission of the Office of the Secretary of State is to exceed the expectations of our customers the taxpayers by operating at the highest levels of accuracy cost-effectiveness and accountability in a customer-centered environment.

Supervisor: Director of APD

Location: The official workstation is the Tennessee Tower in downtown Nashville Tennessee. After a period of time consideration may be given at the Directors discretion and with the approval of the Secretary of State for a hybrid work arrangement.

Hours: The official work hours are 8:00 am 4:30 pm Central Time. After a period of time consideration may be given at the Directors discretion and with the approval of the Secretary of State for an alternative schedule.

Summary:
The Administrative Procedures Division (APD) within the Office of the Secretary of State aims to serve our clients customers and associatesgovernment agencies citizens of Tennessee and judicial partnersby providing impartial efficient and sound contested case hearings and mediations. More than 70 state and local government agencies open an average of 7000 cases with APD each year on issues that include but are not limited to professional licensure civil forfeiture medical benefits special education and property tax. APD offers an important platform for the enforcement of administrative laws and for citizens to contest administrative rulings from the government.

The Quality Assurance Specialist is responsible for ensuring the accuracy professionalism clarity and quality of all outgoing orders and related communications issued by APD. This position serves as the final quality review prior to issuance of orders verifying grammar spelling punctuation formatting consistency accessibility compliance and overall clarity of written decisions.

The scope of APDs portfolio of cases makes working for APD unique and the course of a week the Quality Assurance Specialist may suggest edits on over 150 orders dealing with anything from a citizens appeal of the denial of medical benefits coverage to a businesss appeal of a fine for alleged environmental contamination. The Quality Assurance Paralegals careful and efficient review of each order is critical to APDs ability to issue high-quality accurate professional and easily understood orders.

The ideal candidate is an experienced proofreader editor or quality assurance professional with exceptional language and document-review skills. Legal experience is preferred but not required. We are willing to train a highly skilled proofreader in the legal subject matter. Successful candidates will demonstrate outstanding attention to detail strong editorial judgment and the ability to ensure that all written decisions are accurate clear professional and ready for issuance.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Proofread outgoing orders and their accompanying documents for grammar spelling punctuation syntax formatting consistency and typographical errors
• Review written orders for clarity readability organization and professional presentation
• Review outgoing orders for sound legal reasoning and logical consistency providing feedback and recommendations to the authoring judge and/or Quality Assurance Committee
• Make suggested edits and corrections for the authoring judges review using MS Word Track Changes and Adobe Pro
• Ensure finalized documents comply with established APD standards policies and quality assurance protocols
• Edit PDF documents as needed to ensure compliance with ADA accessibility requirements prior to issuance
• Process outgoing orders and related correspondence issued through mail email and electronic portal systems
• Reset hearings on the master APD docket schedule pursuant to continuance orders and orders setting hearing
• Receive review and process returned mail
• Monitor and address unsent email notifications and the Do Not Reply inbox
• Staff the Quality Assurance Committee and assist with the review development implementation and refinement of quality assurance procedures and standards
• Provide input regarding process improvements designed to enhance the quality consistency and efficiency of APDs operations and written orders
• Crosstrain on the responsibilities of other support staff and provide backup assistance as needed to ensure continuity of operations
• Demonstrate effective communication and collaboration with judges and staff
• Independently perform all assigned duties with professionalism accountability and productivity in both in-office and remote work environments
• Consistently meet established deadlines while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail
• Perform other duties as assigned

• Bachelors degree in English Journalism Communications Technical Writing Professional Writing or a related field
• Three years of professional proofreading editing quality assurance document review technical editing or related experience

• Or graduation from an accredited college or university resulting in any one of the following: 1) An Associate Degree in paralegal studies from an ABA-approved program; 2) an Associate or Bachelors Degree in any field plus a Technical Certificate in Paralegal Studies from an ABA-approved program; 3) a Bachelors Degree in Legal/Paralegal studies; or 4) a Masters of Legal Studies
• And three years of professional proofreading editing quality assurance legal document review technical editing judicial support or related experience

Knowledge and Abilities:

• Advanced proofreading and copyediting skills preferably with legal documents
• Excellent command of written English grammar punctuation and style
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy of information; ability to identify errors inconsistencies and ambiguities in complex written materials
• Understanding of legal documents and legal terminology preferably associated with litigation is preferred
• Ability to learn and apply legal terminology concepts and procedures
• Ability to communicate recommendations diplomatically and professionally
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Ability to independently prioritize work manage multiple deadlines ensure timeliness in meeting those deadlines and maintain accuracy in a high-volume environment
• Excellent basic computer skills; comfortable and confident with quickly learning a new case management system
• Ability to envision and articulate proposals for how the case management system can be enhanced to improve quality assurance processes
• Ability to use and familiarity with MS Office: Outlook Word Excel and PowerPoint
• Ability to use and familiarity with Adobe Pro
• Ability to use and quickly learn virtual meeting platforms: Webex and MS Teams
• Ability to quickly adapt to new processes when implemented
• Service-oriented attitude both to customers and to colleagues
• Knowledge of administrative law is a plus

Salary: Commensurate with experience and State of Tennessee benefits package