Employment Specialist 2 (BES2) – Multiple Permanent Opportunities in North/ Northeast PDX – Spanish Bilingual Preferred

Initial Posting Date:

08/15/2025

Application Deadline:

08/24/2025

Agency:

Employment Department

Salary Range:

4409.00 - 6123.00

Position Type:

Employee

Position Title:

Employment Specialist 2 (BES2) – Multiple Permanent Opportunities in North/ Northeast PDX – Spanish Bilingual Preferred

Job Description:

*Spanish bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply but Spanish bilingual skills are not a requirement for this position!

At the Oregon Employment Department, we actively support a workforce that is representative of the people we serve including people from various races, genders, abilities, cultures, language skills, geographic locations, and justice system involvement. We value your life experiences and encourage everyone to apply with your transferable skills and qualifications from your work, school, and volunteer experiences. Please let us know if you need a reasonable accommodation.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Join an amazing team that helps Oregon’s most under-served populations find the resources they need to take that next step! WorkSource Oregon (WSO) Employment Specialists with the Oregon Employment Department have the skills to help Oregonians get the jobs they want, provide career coaching, help employers, provide Veteran Services and much more. Partner and work closely with Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), our workforce board, other workforce programs and many other partners. In this role you will: 

• Meet with individual Oregonians to help and assess job seeker's transferable skills, interests and employment goals.

• Provide services and referrals which may include access to STEP support, work experience opportunities, High School/GED support and services, training, community resources, supportive service agencies and other programs.

• Identify barriers to successful job search and explore possible solutions to remove the barriers.

• Work with program data systems to track activities, attendance, and progress.

For a complete review of the position and responsibilities, please click HERE.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Required Minimum Qualifications-

Two years providing customer service, which included requesting and reviewing information, documentation, and deciding an action based on the information.

Examples of qualifying experience are eligibility interviewer, application examiner, unemployment insurance, examination proctor, information clerk, insurance aide, public counter intake person, employment and claims aide, employment services, job placement, recruiter, vocational guidance, or retail industry if it involved the above stated experience.

Two years of education or experience. Listed above are examples of acceptable experience. 45-quarter (30-semester) college-level credits in Human Resources, Vocational or Career Counseling, Social Services, Psychology, Education, Business or Public Administration, Communication or related field substitute for one year of experience.

Desired Attributes-

• Commitment to valuing diversity and promoting inclusion.

• Customer Focus: Ability to professionally interact with a high volume of diverse customers providing service that exceeds the customers’ expectations. 

• Resilience: Ability to be comfortable with changing or uncertain environments. An ability to remain professional, calm and adaptive communication style with diverse customer needs or customers that are frustrated, upset or critical. 

• Working with Information: Ability to efficiently and effectively use data, critical thinking, and analytical reasoning to gather information and apply laws, rules and policies to solve problems and make decisions. Ability to comply with requirements regarding sensitive and confidential data.

• Case Management: Develops a case plan and identifies the needed steps for individuals. Guides continued job search activities.

• Strong reconciliation, research and problem-solving skills.

• Preference: Bilingual English/Spanish preferred, not required.

*This position is bilingual English/Spanish preferred, not required. The successful candidate for the preference will demonstrate language competency in Spanish/ English language by demonstrating (only required if applying for Spanish Bilingual Differential Pay):

• The ability to communicate at informal and some formal level.

• The ability to converse with more detail about familiar topics.

• The ability to comment on unfamiliar topics with some difficulty but still be able to express the main idea.

• The ability to form long sentences with sufficient vocabulary but tending to maintain native language syntax.

• Intelligible pronunciation, which does not interfere with understanding.

• The ability to sustain a fluent conversation.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU:

• A workplace that balances productivity with enjoyment and encourages learning and mentoring.

• Rewarding work in a dynamic and creative environment with colleagues who are passionate about public service.

• Work/life balance, 11 paid holidays a year, and a competitive benefits package.

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness opportunity!

• Get There - Oregon’s easy-to-use carpool matching tool and trip planner.

HOW TO APPLY:

• Required: Attach a resume and cover letter. Your cover letter must not exceed two (2) pages. Please make sure your cover letter clearly addresses the desired attributes and minimum qualifications you have under the “What We Are Looking For” section above. Please upload your documents in the “Resume/Cover Letter” section of the application. In addition to your related work experience and education, we will use the desired attributes and required minimum qualifications to determine who to interview.

• External Applicants: Click on the “Apply” link above to fill out the online application and submit by the posted closing date. Please use your preferred name on application materials.

• Current State of Oregon employees (this includes temporary employees): Apply through your employee Workday account. Please ensure the work history in your applicant profile is up-to-date and reflects your current position.

• Important: Please monitor both your email and Workday account for updates regarding this recruitment. You may be asked to submit additional information after initial application.

• The job posting closes at 11:59 PM (PDT/PST) on the close date. Immediately after you submit your application, be sure to respond to the two questionnaires relating to public records requests and veterans’ preference. These questions are necessary to complete the application process.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• The use of outside resources such as Artificial Intelligence software during applicant skill assessments, examinations, and/or interviews is prohibited unless otherwise stated by the hiring agency. Unauthorized use of outside resources during the hiring process will result in disqualification.

• Bilingual Pay Differential: Employees assigned to use Spanish bilingual skills in the regular performance of their duties will receive a monthly pay differential of 5% over their base salary pay.

• This position is represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).  

• This recruitment may be used to fill current and future Permanent, Limited Duration, Job Rotation and Temporary vacancies as they occur.

• The salary listed is the non-PERS qualifying salary range. If the successful candidate is PERS‑qualifying, the salary range will reflect the additional 6.95%. Please review the Classification and Compensation page for more details.

• Salary Determination: The information in your Workday profile will be used to complete an equal pay assessment to determine salary placement upon hire.

• Veterans: Eligible veterans who meet the qualifications will be given veterans' preference. For more information, please visit Veterans Resources.

• United States Employment Eligibility: The Oregon Employment Department does not offer visa sponsorship. Within three days of hire, all applicants will be required to complete the US Department of Homeland Security's Form I-9, confirming authorization to work in the United States. If your employment authorization and documentation is contingent on sponsorship now or in the future, you will not meet Agency employment eligibility standards. The Oregon Employment Department is an E-Verify employer. If you are the successful candidate you must present your I-9 acceptable documents (See page 2) for employment verification.

WORK LOCATION INFORMATION:

This position will report to the WorkSource Oregon Center office in N/ NE Portland and is not suitable for remote or hybrid remote work.

CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK:
The Employment Department is committed to being a leader in providing its employees with fair and equal employment opportunities and recognizes that as a best practice in equity and inclusion, criminal background check policies shall be job related and consistent with business necessity. For positions with authorized access to FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) information, a separate criminal records check is conducted by the Oregon State Police. If you would like further information on how each criminal records check is conducted, please read our Criminal Record Check Policy or contact us at the number below with any questions. Note: To verify identification, the successful candidate will be subject to a criminal background check which may require a fingerprint-based background check as a condition of employment.  

CONTACT INFORMATION & HELPFUL LINKS:

If you have questions about the position or need an alternate format to apply, please contact us at 503‑947‑1289; humanresources@employ.oregon.gov. Please be sure to include the job requisition ID number.

Guidance our hiring managers use: Equity and Inclusion Recruitment​ Questions and Gender Identity and Expression Procedure!
 

Reasonable Accommodations | Veterans Resources | How to Set Job Alerts | Workday Applicant FAQ

Interview Scoring Criteria used during recruitment | What You Need to Know to Get the Job

Come for a job. | Stay for a career. | Make a difference ... for a lifetime!

The Oregon Employment Department is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer Committed to Workforce Diversity. At the Oregon Employment Department, we foster fairness, equity, and inclusion to maintain a workplace environment where everyone is treated with respect and dignity regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, veteran status, disability, or status as a victim of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking. This applies to every aspect of our employment practices, including recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, and training.