Help Desk Client Services Associate

Job Description and Duties

Under general supervision of the Information Technology Supervisor (IT Sup) II, Public Health Information and Technical Support Unit (PHITSU), the Information Technology Associate (ITA) supports the operation, security, and maintenance of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) web-based mission critical applications, database systems, and enterprise business applications that are hosted in the CDT Managed Cloud Service (MCS). The ITA answers and resolves first level client incidents and requests; analyzes and documents business processes; formulates, delivers, and coordinates end-user training; installs, configures, maintains, and troubleshoots systems; and diagnoses and resolves hardware, software, and network connectivity issues for customers statewide as a first line contact within the WIC/ITSD Technical Support Help Desk. The ITA ensures adherence to the software development life cycle (SDLC).

The ITA will be expected to leverage AI tools including GenAI, AI, Machine Learning, and automation applications and services supplied by the Department to streamline IT service delivery as part of their overall duties. Usage of these tools is expected to ensure a consistent baseline of gained efficiencies, quality and consistency of work. The ITA will be expected to identify opportunities to streamline business processes where the introduction of AI or automation would improve business outcomes.

The ITA performs duties within the Client Services, Business Technology Management, and Software Engineering domains.

In July 2025, the State of California implemented the Personal Leave Program (PLP) 2025. This program temporarily reduces employees’ monthly base pay in exchange for paid leave credits. This position is subject to PLP 2025 and will have a monthly base pay reduction of 3% in exchange for 5 hours of leave credits through June 2027. The salary ranges shown on this job posting do not reflect the salary reduction. 

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Working Conditions

Telework Information:

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework permitted is at the discretion of the Department and is subject to change, consistent with CDPH’s Telework Program. All employees who telework are required to be California residents in accordance with Government Code 14200. Candidates who reside outside of the state of California may be interviewed; however, the selected candidate must have a primary residency in the state of California prior to appointment (and continue to maintain California residency) as a condition of employment. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the job offer being rescinded.

Travel may be required for this position. Reimbursement for travel takes into consideration an employee’s designated headquarters, as reflected in the duty statement, and is subject to regulations and bargaining unit contract provisions. All commute expenses to the designated headquarters office will be the responsibility of the selected candidate.

The headquarters office location for this position is identified in the attached duty statement.

Special Requirements

For experience/education to qualify during the application screening process, and to ensure that minimum qualifications can be determined, applicants should include all employment history on the Employment Application (STD 678) and/or Resume, including detailed job descriptions, hours worked per week , and start/end dates (MM/DD/YYYY) . Application packages without this information will experience delayed processing times and your eligibility for this position may be impacted.

A completed State application (STD. 678) and any other relevant documents (e.g. unofficial transcript, copy of degree, resume, etc.) should be submitted electronically via your CalCareers Account. Please reference Job Control #(533443) and indicate the basis of your eligibility in the Examination(s) or Job Title(s) section. SROA and surplus candidates should submit a copy of their letter with their application . Please remove any confidential information (i.e. social security number, date of birth) from your documents prior to submission.

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareers Account at Submitting an electronic application through your CalCareers account is strongly recommended since electronic applications will be received/processed faster than other methods of filing. Please submit only one application.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically through your CalCareers account, please email View email address on us.fitly.work for assistance and a CDPH Human Resources Division staff member will contact you to assist with the online application process or, a hard copy application package may be submitted through an alternative method as explained in the How to Apply section below. When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Experience working with an Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) solution or similar Help Desk ticketing system.
• 3 or more years of experience in a Help Desk, Service Desk, or similar unit.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; including interpersonal relationship management, communication across technical and non-technical stakeholders, and research/information-gathering skills.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Knowledge of LAN, WAN, and SD-WAN connectivity and troubleshooting.
• Able to work independently and in a team setting.
• Excellent analytical skills to tackle complex challenges.
• Knowledge of web browsers & cloud application support.
• Ability to produce written reports in a professional and effective manner.

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ) Instructions:

PLEASE NOTE: R esumes, letters, Statement of Qualifications, transcripts, degrees, your state application, cover letters and other materials will not take the place of the Supplemental Questionnaire. Responses must be numbered and submitted in the same order as the Supplemental Questions. Simply copying and pasting your resume may not be accepted.

The completed Supplemental Questionnaire is requested to elicit information regarding each candidate’s interest and experience in relation to this position. Response should be no more than two (2) pages in length using 12-point font size and address the questions below. Resumes, letters, and other materials will not be considered as responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire. Applications without a Supplemental Questionnaire will not be considered.

Supplemental Questionnaire Instructions:

1. This role collaborates with the California Department of Technology, the Women’s Infants and Children Program (WIC), WIC vendors, WIC system developers, and WIC local agencies. How do you ensure effective communication and shared understanding across diverse technical groups while managing high visibility, mission critical system requests and incidents that require coordination with multiple teams?

2. Describe a complex technical problem you diagnosed end to end. Outline your analysis steps, tools/logs used (e.g., application logs, IIS, network traces, tickets), key hypotheses tested, and how you validated the final fix in production.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Supplemental Application -

  Please see Supplemental Questionnaire instructions below at end of posting . Any applications received that do not provide a written response to the SQ may be rejected .