Program Specialist 3 Cannabis (NY HELPS) VID 165169

Applicants may be appointed to this position if currently reachable on the appropriate eligible list for this title OR are a current New York State employee with one year or more of qualifying permanent service in a position allocated to a Grade 25 or above and eligible for transfer under Section 52.6 of the Civil Service Law.

This title is also part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS)* and applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications to be considered for this position:

Applicants must possess a bachelor's degree or higher and five years of professional experience in a regulatory compliance/oversight entity that included two or more of the following: accounting and auditing; investigating and/or inspecting regulated entities and facilities; interpreting and explaining policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals; policy analysis and research; surveillance; quality assurance that included evaluating whether projects met/are meeting requirements that included risk assessment; providing professional level economic development products or services; community outreach which included vulnerable populations; negotiating and/or approving contracts or agreements with suppliers, distributors, federal or state agencies, or other administrative control processes. Two years of the experience must have been at a supervisory level.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experienced professional with 5+ years of relevant industry expertise in Customer Success, Salesforce, or other relevant platform use or project leadership.
• Must have successfully implemented and trained staff to use customer service platforms in previous/current roles.

Preferred Skills/Qualities:
• Demonstrates a strong collaborative approach to cross functional teamwork.
• Well-organized, disciplined, and able to incorporate feedback to improve best practices.
• Creative thinker who enjoys fast-paced environments
• Ability to independently write, prepare and edit in a creative and clear manner.
• Strong interpersonal communications, high emotional IQ, and ability to build and manage internal agency relationships.
• Familiarity with regulatory compliance and industry standards.
• Ability to act independently and exercise discretion involving the interrelationships among the agency, outside stakeholders, licensees, and other members of the legal cannabis ecosystem.
• Experience managing and implementing email marketing tools and customer service software is a must.
• Knowledge of Salesforce product and platform features, capabilities, and standard methodologies. A good understanding of enterprise architecture principles.
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills with a demonstrated track record of influencing effectively at all levels of the organization.
• Highly adept at working autonomously, demonstrating initiative and ownership in driving projects forward.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including communications, policy, compliance, and intergovernmental affairs.
• Problem-solving and solution oriented. Track record of identifying customer challenges, developing creative solutions, and implementing strategies to overcome obstacles and achieve desired results.
• Committed to continuous learning and adaptability, ongoing professional development, staying abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices.
• Proficiency in leveraging data and analytics to inform decision-making processes, track performance metrics, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Duties Description The Office of Cannabis Management is seeking an experienced, dedicated and detail-oriented Associate Director of Customer Service to join our growing External Affairs team. They will work directly with the Director in designing, developing, establishing, and implementing a centralized intradepartmental approach to customer service.
In this role, the candidate will be responsible for hiring, training, and managing supportive customer service representatives, drafting, triaging, and disseminating weekly analytical bulletins for Executive Leadership, and creating knowledge base, for call center and email communications. This role is critical in maintaining timely, consistent, and accurate messaging across all customer service channels within the Office.

Duties include, but are not limited to:
• Manage workflow of the customer service representatives.
• Regulatory Bulletins: Draft and strategize drip campaigns to manage consistent communication and inform key stakeholders about important policy and regulatory updates, supply chain trends, and compliance requirements.
• Coordinate with team members and other subject matter experts within the Office to develop and maintain call center and email knowledge base to ensure customer service representatives have clear, accurate, and up-to-date information to assist customers.
• Update FAQs on a timely basis to ensure communication is up-to-date and consistent for stakeholders.
• Email Scripts: Coordinate, create and revise cannabis-related email scripts for customer service interactions, ensuring messages are professional, informative, and aligned with organizational standards.
• Feedback/Analytical Integration: Work across teams to collect and triage inquiries from customer service representatives and other stakeholders to continuously improve scripts, bulletins, FAQs, and ensure consistency and alignment in all communication.
• Pitch monthly conversations for the Office to address based on analytical reports from inquiries and concerns.
• Quality Assurance: Review and proofread communications for accuracy, clarity, and adherence to regulatory guidelines.
• Training Support: Assist in the development of interdepartmental trainings and reference materials. Provide ongoing training for customer service representatives on call center and email knowledge base.
• Develop and implement standards for customer service, including key performance indicators, policies, and procedures for triaging issues and tracking to resolution.
• Tracking and Reporting: Monitor data, analyze trends, and provide regular reports on performance and key benchmarks, the effectiveness of the messaging and customer feedback.
• Compliance: Ensure all communications comply with regulations, organizational policies, and legal standards from the Office of General Counsel.

Additional Comments *There is no examination required for appointment to a NY HELPS position. Candidates hired via NY HELPS will be appointed on a permanent non-competitive basis and will begin a probationary period.

At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected that NY HELPS employees will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to take an exam. Employees will then be afforded with all the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is an equal opportunity employer, and we recognize that diversity in our workforce is critical to fulfilling our mission. We encourage applicants for all communities to apply. For a full version of OCM's EEO/AA statement and benefits of joining OCM, please visit: About | Office of Cannabis Management (ny.gov).

NOTE ON TELECOMMUTING: Employees are required to apply and obtain approval through management to telecommute according to the agency's Telecommuting Program Guidelines.

Drivers license is required.

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

Name Human Resources/AS

Telephone 518-473-5282

Fax 518-486-1631

Email Address HRresumes@ogs.ny.gov

Address

Street NYS Office of General Services, HRM

31st Floor Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza

City Albany

State NY

Zip Code 12242

Notes on Applying Please submit a resume and cover letter detailing how you meet the minimum qualifications. Indicate the Position Title & Vacancy ID number of each position you are applying to.