Regional Liaison - Southeast Region

The Office of the Veteran Advocate (OVA) is a small, growing independent office specifi ed in Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 144 of the Acts of 2022 and established in 2023. The office operates under a flexible work policy that requires at least one day per week in the main workspace.


The Office of the Veteran Advocate (OVA) is dedicated to safeguarding the well-being and upholding the rights of veterans under the care of the Commonwealth. OVA ensures that veterans and their families receive compassionate, timely, and effective services, while advocating for their rights, benefits, and dignified treatment. We strive to foster collaboration among state agencies, facilitate access to federal and state benefits, and conduct thorough investigations to enhance the quality of care provided to veterans.


The Regional Liaison will serve as a critical bridge between OVA and the veterans benefit and service providers at the federal, state, and local levels. This role is designed to enhance communication, coordination, and support for veterans and their families across the Commonwealth. The Regional Liaison will aide and coordinate with municipal veterans' service agents to ensure that veterans receive all available state and federal benefits; and liaise with federal and state agencies to ensure veterans and their families receive necessary services and care. OVA plans to hire a total of four liaisons, each aligned with one region of the Massachusetts Veterans Services Officer Association breakdown - western, central, northeastern and southeastern portions of the state. This is a highly mobile position and requires significant travel within the assigned region. The salary range for this position is $75,000 to $100,000 per year.


Responsibilities Include:

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with municipal veteran service agents, the federal and state agencies providing veteran programs, benefits or services, and local veteran-supporting community partners.
• Facilitating access to federal, state and local programs, benefits, and services within the region, ensuring that they are accessible, effective, and tailored to the needs of local veterans.
• Advocating for veterans' needs and concerns with federal agencies and other stakeholders.
• Repre senting the agency in regional meetings, public forums, and community events.
• Working closely with other OVA Regional Liaisons, state offices, and local service providers to coordinate efforts a nd streamline access to timely, safe and effective services , focusing on consistent and unified approaches to addressing veterans' needs.
• Collecting and analyzing data on veteran needs, program usage, and service outcomes, and using this data to inform program improvements and strategic planning.
• Preparing regular reports on regional activities, challenges, and outcomes for review by the Veteran Advocate and consolidation for the annual report.
• Providing information, education and support to local organizations and community groups on veteran-related issues and available services; promoting awareness and understanding of challenges and resources.
• In coordination with staff, establishing communications with legislators and their district staff to streamline transmittal of key issues affecting veterans and their families .
• Support staff in responding to questions and concerns from legislators, their staff, and their constituents concerning OVA activities.
• Working with the OVA Communications Specialist to conduct two-way information sharing between regional stakeholders, veterans, and their families.
• Participating in OVA strategy and course of action meetings; providing multimodal input, analysis, options and recommendations to the Veteran Advocate
• Conducting other duties and tasks in support of OVA's mission.

Benefits Package :

OVA is pleased to offer a comprehensive benefits package to its employees. The specific components and eligibility may vary based upon position classification, hours worked per week and other variables. Therefore, specific benefits for this position may be discussed as part of the interview and offer process. The overall benefits available include paid vacation, sick and personal leave time, health, dental and vision insurance through the Commonwealth's Group Insurance, and optional pre-tax Health Savings Account plans. In addition, OVA provides employees the opportunity to elect life insurance, long term disability insurance, deferred compensation savings, tuition remission and pre-tax commuter account plans, along with other programs. OVA employees also participate in the Commonwealth's State Retirement Plan, which can become a defined benefit plan for those that both vest and subsequently retire from State service. Follow this link for additional retirement information: http://www.mass.gov/treasury/retirement/state-board-of-retire/ .

Commitment to Diversity:

It is the policy of the Office of the Veteran Advocate and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to afford equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals, without regard to their race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic or status that is protected by federal, state, or local law.

Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Knowledge of serving veterans' benefits and services.
• Familiarity with the laws, rules, regulations, policies, specifications, standards, and guidelines governing state and federal activities, particularly MGL Chap. 115, 123 CMR, 108 CMR, and Title 38 USC.
• Understanding of the organization of state government, including the organizational structure and functions of state agencies providing veteran benefits and services; and the types and uses of state and federal forms, documents, and reports; and of electronic data processing techniques.
• Proficiency with MS products, OnBase and VetraSpec/ETK Veterans' Benefits databases and VBMS applications and virtual platforms.
• Excellent written communication and customer/partner relations skills.
• Outstanding problem-solving skills, including the ability to listen to complex issues and distill them into easy-to-understand concepts and identify suitable solutions.

Pre-Hire Process:
A background check will be completed on the recommended candidate prior to hiring.