Public Guardian 1/2/3 (02-1743)

Job Description

This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our

residency definition

to determine if you qualify.

While this position is flexibly staffed, applicants will only be considered for the Public Guardian 3 level.

What You Will Be Doing

Public Guardian 3 represents the advanced level of public guardianship. These roles manage complex dockets of 60 or more clients, requiring sophisticated review of financial documents and the effective handling of multifaceted issues involving client trusts, assets, public and private entitlements, housing, medical and mental health needs, and other personal matters. Public Guardians at this level provide training and mentorship to Public Guardian 1 and 2 staff through the formalized Public Guardian training program and help prepare staff for the CGC/NGA certification exam. Public Guardian 3 staff also collaborate with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure clients obtain and maintain the benefits and services to which they are entitled.

As a Public Guardian 3, you will:

Provide job training and guidance to journey-level public guardians in caseload management, financial oversight, property management, housing coordination, court reporting, and client visitation.

Buy and sell property on behalf of clients or their trusts.

Manage complex financial cases to ensure clients qualify for necessary public entitlements.

Provide surrogate or substitute decision-making regarding clients’ mental health care, vocational training and education, residential placement, selection of service providers, and protection of legal and human rights.

Supervise and have journey-level public guardians shadow you on specific case assignments.

Train journey-level staff on national guardian standards in preparation for the national certification exam.

Maintain regular contact with clients through home visits, directed home visitation, correspondence, telephone communication, and office appointments. This includes ongoing collaboration with case managers, care coordinators, home administrators, and other service providers, as well as coordination with local, state, and federal agencies to manage complex cases.

Establish and run Medicaid Qualifying Trusts. Act as trustee for assigned cases with or need trusts.

Manage a complex statewide caseload, primarily based in Anchorage but extending to other regions as needed. Caseloads typically include 60 or more clients and require ongoing assessment, oversight, and coordination to ensure effective care.

Participate in, and at times coordinate scheduled treatment and case planning meetings, often involving local, state, and national agencies.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture

The Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) provides legal advocacy and guardianship services to vulnerable Alaskans throughout Alaska out of four separate offices. OPA also advocates for abused and neglected children in protective proceedings, provides attorney services for respondents in adult guardianship proceedings for parents in Child in Need of Aid cases, and for conflict criminal cases received from the Public Defender Agency in other units within the Agency.

The Benefits of Joining Our Team

The Public Guardian Section of OPA is a fast-paced environment made up of individuals who care deeply about our responsibilities to the clients to whom we are appointed. We are the appointment of last resort for these vulnerable adults and a place where compassion and problem solving are needed to meet our obligations to some of Alaska’s most vulnerable adults. The Public Guardian section is organized into smaller teams, each led by a senior lead guardian with over five years of experience. These teams are designed to support newer guardians and those with experience as they develop the skills necessary to manage increasingly complex cases The Public Guardian section maintains some of the most complex cases in the state.

The Working Environment You Can Expect

The Public Guardian unit is located in downtown Anchorage. The office is located on the first floor of the 5

th

Avenue Building. We offer free parking and are within walking distance of many great restaurants, coffee shops and the courthouse. Telework is available with supervisor permission. Requires travel to visit clients and meetings on a regular basis within the State.

Who We Are Looking For

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

Advocacy: Organizes and leads advocacy efforts with local, state, and federal government entities and elected officials that support the mission of an agency.

Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.

Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior

Minimum Qualifications

Competency Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions

This job class uses competency based minimum qualifications.

Please ensure your application

(through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description

The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations, as opposed to specific tasks, and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Current certification or eligibility for certification as a registered or master guardian from a nationally recognized organization

AND

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in

Integrity/Honesty:

Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.

Interpersonal Skills:

Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.  Has experience effectively dealing with children, adults, or persons with a mental illness, developmental disability, traumatic brain injury, age-related dementia, or other form of disability.

Oral Communication

: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Technical Competence:

Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one’s job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Team Building:

Inspires and fosters team co