Case Officer

Role Responsibilities

The Case Officer will report directly to various Team Leads in the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) within the Family Support Order Services (FSOS) Branch. The Case Officer is the primary decision maker and main point of contact for clients and stakeholders of the MEP on matters related to the collection and enforcement activities on MEP files. 

Case Officers can be assigned to any of the MEP work units that are directly, or indirectly responsible for the delivery of services. They are required to be proactive in the detection of file issues, as well as reactive to file inquires, and to design and implement solutions to secure compliance or resolution by way of conducting inquiries, negotiations, initiating collection and/or enforcement actions.  

As the successful candidate will be required to display the creativity necessary to craft solutions for unique and/or unusual situations, all delivered in a responsive, professional, and impartial manner while acting as the frontline ambassador for the program. The incumbent operates within a changing and highly legislated environment and are therefore required to be agile and adaptive to change.

The Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) enforces maintenance obligations awarded in court orders and certain agreements by collecting payments. This can be a very emotional time for MEP clients, which can result in difficult and challenging conversations. Candidates that have strong de-escalation techniques and experience dealing with difficult situations and are able remain objective will be the most successful in this role. 

The main responsibilities of these positions include, but are not limited to: 

• Daily contact with clients and stakeholders via telephone or email.
• Processing client information into internal computer system.
• Negotiating payment arrangements.
• Initiating enforcement action.
• Communicating and working with clients to maintain regularity of payment.
• Analyzing, interpreting and action related correspondence or forms including court orders, Statement of Finances, Child Status Reviews, and other related legal documents.
• Referring files to other collection units. 

The successful candidates will have:

• Excellent customer service and telephone etiquette. 
• The ability to treat all of our clients with Respect and Integrity.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail; the ability to multi-task and set priorities.
• The ability to deal with confrontation and sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy.
• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills.
• Proficient MS Office Suite experience. (Word, Excel, and Outlook)
• Will have strong computer skills and experience with in-house database programs.
• Experience in implementing de-escalation techniques to resolve issue and/or conflict. 

Our Case Officers are team players and are in frequent contact with a wide group of stakeholders, on a daily basis.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.
 

Qualifications

A High School Diploma plus a minimum of four years related progressively responsible experience

Equivalencies considered:
Directly related education or experience will be considered on the basis of 1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or 1 year of experience for 1 year of education.

Required

• Experience in collections, customer support and/or administrative support is required.
• A cover letter with a detailed example of how you have de-escalated an emotional, angry, or hostile client. Those that do not provide a clear example will not proceed to the next stage in the recruitment process. A cover letter is required and applications without will not be considered.
• Minimum of four years of work experience using Microsoft Office products. (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Assets:

• Experience analyzing and working with court orders and related legislation.
• Experience previously working in the Family Support Order Services Branch.
• Experience in a call-centre environment.
• Knowledge and experience of computer systems and software and ability to learn in-house database programs.
• Knowledge and experience applying related legislation and Acts/Regulations with demonstrated proficiency in the interpretation and application of the Maintenance Enforcement Act and Regulations, FOIP, Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act, Divorce Act and Family Law Act and others as applicable.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 
Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.
 

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies: https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.
 

• Agility - Ability to quickly adapt to changing priorities and to respond with effective decisions.
• Build Collaborative Environments - Ability to work as a member of a team comprised of stakeholders both within and outside of government whose goal is supporting and protecting vulnerable Albertans.
• Creative Problem Solving - Ability to assess options and implications in new ways to achieve outcomes and solutions.
• Drive for Results: Ability to proactively build networks, connect and build trust in relationships with different stakeholders.
• Systems Thinking – Ability to understand the broader impact of your work and to anticipate outcomes. 

Notes

Hours of work:  Monday – Friday, 8:15 am - 4:30 pm (36.25/week).

Positions Currently available: A number permanent salaried positions.
                                                   Two (2) temporary salaried positions (expected end dates - March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2026). 

Location: John E. Brownlee Building, 10365 – 97 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3W7. 

Meeting Requirement: The management will be hosting a few brief online meetings to discuss the Case Officer role and the difficult conversations they have and must be able to deescalate to be successful in this role.  You will be required to attend one of these meetings. If you do not attend your application will then be moved to unsuccessful. After the meeting, the management then will ask you to self-asses and to determine if you will be a good fit for the Case Officer role. If not, it would be suggested that you withdraw your application from the competition.|

Testing Requirements: This competition will require those candidates that feel the Case Officer role to be a good fit to complete a written online exam to proceed to an interview. Not all candidates that complete the testing will proceed to the interview, only those that reach a specific mark will be offered a chance to interview.

Final candidates will be asked to undergo a security screening.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in. 

What we offer: 

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreement
• Leadership and mentorship programs